How could I have looked him in the face?

art-face-awake-sleep

The millions are awake enough for physical labor; but only one in a million is awake enough for effective intellectual exertion, only one in a hundred millions to a poetic or divine life. To be awake is to be alive. I have never yet met a man who was quite awake. How could I have looked him in the face?

~ Henry David Thoreau, Where I Lived, and What I Lived For


Sources: Quote – Brainpickings. Art: Distant Passion

10 thoughts on “How could I have looked him in the face?”

  1. Our awakeness is indirectly proportional to the time we spend in our mind. That is, the more attention we give developing our “me”-story, more energy gets contracted around a false-center, and less awake we are to our true Being.

    Eckhart Tolle’s book “The Power of Now” is a great starting point to understand how to free up this contraction of our energy, and shift our perception from being the “thinker” to being “pure awareness”.

    This inner journey of Self discovery is truly an amazing exhilarating adventure that never ends!

    1. Thanks K. I read Tolle’s book. Perhaps too long ago and too early in life to fully appreciate and understand the message. I need to get back to it. Thanks for the reminder.

  2. Oh, to be aware and awake and vibrantly alive…my intention…you often lead me there. Thanks for sharing the beauty and wisdom you see in the world. And, for creating your own.

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