There’s A Difference Between “Beware” And “Be Aware” - Grasshopper

Beware is always a warning; be aware is always a revelation.

We don’t always pay attention to warnings but it’s hard to ignore a revelation. One can open an escape hatch when heeded; the other opens all doors.

 

Awareness is our birthright - It’s software that comes with our package. But like with many pieces of software, we don’t use all the features. Our awareness remains hidden and so do the revelations it provides.

 

Awareness is always running in the background even when we’re asleep. Take the mother who can sleep through anything. People ask her if she heard that violent thunderstorm that passed through last night and her response is: “What thunderstorm?”

 

Take the same mother and the same thunderstorm and have her child awaken and begin to cry. All of a sudden the mother who can sleep through anything awoke to tend to her child. That’s ever present awareness.

 

Beware can be overused, like crying “wolf.” Our thoughts can be comprised of a “bevy of bewares.” These are thoughts that scare us and prevent us from taking steps that are necessary to move forward.

 

The key is to become aware of beware. Awareness knows the difference between a genuine wolf and one in sheep’s clothing. If we keep chasing costumed creatures, we’ll remain running in circles and get nowhere.

 

Be aware of your thoughts.

 

I am forever grateful to my friend Denise who turned me on the best book I ever read: The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. Denise recently posted one of Tolle’s passages on her Facebook page. It read: “The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation, but the thoughts about it. Be aware of the thoughts you are thinking.”

 

Awareness is more present in our lives when we take the time to notice our thoughts. Thoughts take on a life of their own when they remain unnoticed and move us farther away from our awareness. These thoughts are full of all sorts of things to be wary of, but absent of awareness.

 

Becoming aware of our thinking puts our thinking on notice that someone is always watching - Awareness.

 

Awareness interrupts the cycle of false “bewares” and opens our eyes to what’s really there. We make more informed choices when we are aware and are less badgered by the scare of beware.

 

All the best,

John