Waking up is unpleasant, you know

Posted on by Live & Learn

shawshank-redemption-rain

“Waking up is unpleasant, you know. You are nice and comfortable in bed. It is irritating to be woken up. That’s the reason the wise guru will not attempt to wake people up. I hope I’m going to be wise here and make no attempt whatsoever to wake you up if you are asleep. It is really none of my business, even though I say to you at times, “Wake up!” My business is to do my thing, to dance my dance. As the Arabs say, “The nature of rain is the same, but it makes thorns grow in the marshes and flowers in the gardens.”

– Anthony de Mello

Anthony “Tony” de Mello (4 September 1931, Bombay, British India – 2 June 1987, New York City) was a Jesuit priest and psychotherapist who became widely known for his books on spirituality. An internationally acclaimed spiritual guide, writer and public speaker, de Mello hosted many spiritual conferences. The few talks which he allowed to be filmed, such as “A Rediscovery of Life” and “A Way to God for Today,” have inspired many viewers and audiences since being released; and have been viewed by hundreds of thousands of TV watchers throughout the United States, Canada, and Central America; in colleges, universities, Newman centers, and communities. De Mello established a prayer center in India. He died suddenly of a heart attack in 1987, at age 56.  Source (Wiki)

Quote Source: Thank you Whiskey River.  Image Source: bplusmovieblog (Tim Robbins as Andy DeFresne in Shawshank Redemption)

31 thoughts on “Waking up is unpleasant, you know”

  1. I’ve always welcomed being awakened in the morning, though less so from an afternoon nap. A source of much irritation in the apartment where I grew up and in our household today – I wake up easily and happily, and just hope no one talks to me until I’ve had a little coffee. 🙂

  3. I, too, am a morning person and take a certain delight in being one of only a few stirring in the early morning hours. I think a lot of the aggravation from being awakened stems from the manner in which said change in state is accomplished. I’ll take a soft kiss on the cheek or a gentle shake over a bleating alarm clock any day… 🙂

  4. Ahhh, just read this after tucked deep under covers in a lingering twilight sleep. As my beloved rested my coffee on my nightstand, he asked ” Are you in there?” Yes, hard to wake up, indeed.

  7. I’m a morning person… that first cup of coffee, the morning paper and then I’m ready for the day.

  8. I’ve not heard of this teacher, but it’s obvious I need to find more of his words. Once again, David, you throw diamonds in my path.

          1. When I do meditation post my quotes are all from DeMello. Thank you for the link: I could use this when I ran out of quotes. Enjoy the book. It’s very enlightening.

  11. Love the Arab quote at the end. For some reason the sleeping part reminded me of our brother where it was dads business to wake him up. LoL.

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