Awaken... Reflect... Engage...

How? By joining the conversation centered on Choice—hosted by Katie Fields, your Guide for this Steppingstone.

Katie FIelds

Stepping Stone 31 Guide

"Even though I am currently residing in the City of Brotherly Love, I feel most at home in the woods near the mountains! I am passionate about discovering connections between what it means to be human and the complex systems of the Earth we belong to!"

Awaken: A Truly vivacious, vibrant verb filled with profound promise. But what does it really mean? The dictionary defines it as verb meaning to “rouse from sleep or cause to stop sleeping.”

After thinking about this definition, I started to explore the idea of what it means to be asleep in our own lives. Sure, as sentient beings we typically require 7-9 hours of sleep to allow our brain and our myriad complex body networks to recover from a full day’s activities. But what if, after those 7-9 hours of sleep, we do not truly wake up? Instead, what if we mostly bumble around the physical world in a hazy fog all day, mindlessly conforming to our entrenched habits of being? What if the decisions that we think we make fail to enliven and awaken us, but, instead, keep us stagnant, somnolent and sedentary?

"Without realizing it, it seemed that I was choosing to prioritize my phone over my own sanity and wellbeing."

While exploring this steppingstone, both on the website and in the Awaken 101 book, I started to think about the choices that I make each day. I was especially motivated to investigate the daily decisions I make around two things that I obsess over: My food and my cell phone.

I began by writing down all the ways that I interact with both my food and my phone during a typical day. In so doing, I realized how my cell phone has become a companion, a confidant, and, yes, a friend. Taking time to write down my findings, I discovered that every bite of food I took was accompanied by a quick scroll along with a touch and tap of my phone. Whether I was checking my email, catching up on Facebook notifications or perusing the latest finds on Amazon, I ate while hunched over the tiny screen that held all the contents of my digital world. Without realizing it, I was choosing to prioritize my phone over my own sanity and wellbeing. This discovery pushed me to prioritize the present moment by fully engaging in, and enjoying, the act of eating.  

So it was that in the days that followed, I made a conscious decision to eat my meals outside, on my porch, without the company of my phone. The first few phoneless meals were hard. I felt bare, anxious, and vulnerable, but after a while, I began to feel enlivened. For example, I noticed all the different flavors of my turkey club: The sharpness of the cheese, the crunch of the bread and the sweetness of the tomatoes.

This small experiment showed me that I have the power to choose how I experience my life. I knew I was on the right path because of how free I felt without the anxiety of being enslaved to an electronic device. Finally, I was living my own life again rather than being lived/controlled by my phone.

By consciously making my own choices I am placing power back into my own hands. Actively choosing my life path in this way feels empowering, emboldening and brave.

An Invitation to Join the Conversation

As your Guide, my hope is that our Community Space will become a friendly setting for the sharing of personal stories, feelings, and reflections relating to The Power of Choice theme of this steppingstone. As a way to engage, please open to possibility of sharing your responses to any of the following prompts that might call to you:

i-Are you choosing to live your life or is your life mostly living you? How do you know?

ii-What is a pattern that you re-enact everyday? How might you free yourself from this pattern? Hint: For ideas, read the section in this steppingstone on Exercising Choice in Your Life.

iii-In the Attuning to the Voice Within section of this steppingstone it says: “As human beings,     we each have—deep within us—a hidden reservoir of wisdom that manifests as our inner voice.”  Does this seem to be the case for you? Can you share a story about a time when you were guided by your inner voice?

iv-Take a few minutes to listen to Elizabeth Lesser’s Do no harm/Take no shit meditation at the end of this steppingstone and then consider sharing your thoughts and feeling regarding this meditation.

Use the comment box below to share your reflections!

When posting, focus on what you know to be true for you