Artwork by Annalisa Barelli
Our perception of the earth equals our consciousness. It is not the same for all of us. We see what we see; think what we think; and believe what we believe…and constantly seek verification from the outside world. That is flat consciousness.
We are not meant to flatline—we are meant to notice things—to be different—to be exhilarated and dismayed—to change (grow) from one day to the next. If you are at the same place every day, is there any path you are moving on? That might be a good definition for discontent: always moving, going nowhere.
So our own world has become flat. Are we honest enough to admit it? Are we willing to do something about it? What do we do? Obviously, we need our perception to change (there’s that word again). Most of the time we look in the wrong direction: a job, a career, a marriage, a house, different friends, a new image, a new phone. Discontent is internal. I am not saying that your circumstances do not affect your state of being. There is suffering in this world that can never be equated with one’s point of view. But whatever your state, where is the cure? The source of the fire is within. We have to be changed from the inside out (a recurring theme of mine). That internal transformation can wreak all kinds of alterations in your daily lifestyle. The job, the house, the marriage, the phone—anything can be on the block when you submit to changing from within. There is nothing wrong with that (some are weightier decisions than others). The question becomes: how do you want to be changed rather than how do you want your life to change? That is the path of character.
Humor me and pretend that you agree with me so far. Can you feel your consciousness unflattening? Change is good (the Bible calls it transformation). If we change the way we look at the world, our world will change (it will become rounder). That is called openness.
I have noticed this as I deal with growing older: old people love consistency. That is the curse of old age, and it is our greatest temptress. There’s a definite logic to it: we don’t want things to change because we know (deep down) they can only get worse. That is called living in fear.
We are wrong. It is only going to get better. Yeah, I know, there’s this thing called Death. I’ve witnessed enough of them to know this is seldom a smooth passageway. But you have to notice how ill-prepared we are as we approach it. Some of the time our loved ones don’t even tell us it is knocking at the door. We live in denial with their encouragement. But should they keep silent? Is that something we want to hear? I try to imagine what it is like laying there those last few moments—but I can’t do it. Every person has his/her own private moment of consciousness before passing—I suspect it is never the same.
Remember what my mentor Bob Dylan said: Death is not the end. I am not pushing a faith here, even though I have one. The creature returns to the creator—I don’t think of that as faith…it’s just obvious. How much say did you have in getting here? How much will you have in leaving?
Flat consciousnesses lead to comatose deaths. The earth is round—so should we be!
–To see more of Annalisa’s fantastic artwork, go to annalisabarelli.com
Leave a Reply