Wake Up!!
September 11, 2009 // By: Bob Hamp // 2 Comments
Eight years ago today we all woke up. Remember? If you don’t remember, it may be evidence of how common it is to become numb. When I say “woke up” I am referring to heightened consciousness not the opposite of “asleep”. I am referring to focus, and clarity. Something happened to our clarity as a nation.
Things that had divided us a day before suddenly meant nothing. Arguments and conflicts that had us all pointing fingers at one another faded into the background instead of consuming the foreground. Our own congress, one of the most divided organizations, filled with self-promotion and manipulation (c’mon, let’s just say it…) stood united on the front steps and sang “God bless America”. Suddenly priorities re-aligned.
We woke up.
It lasted about three months.
Three months. That is how long it took for us all to slide back into distraction and numbness. The details of life gave us all excuses to put fear in front of unity and self back in front of our collective identity. The clarity and heightened consciousness began to give way to fog and confusion. We found reasons to fight one another and allowed the background to become the foreground again.
People often think of consciousness as a “yes” or “no” proposition. I think it is more of a continuum. Consciousness can be heightened.
If we begin to slide, we allow, in the name of tolerance, alleged academics to sympathize with evil men and accuse innocent, grieving families of being responsible for their own slaughter. In our numbness we might again allow conspiracy theorists to twist history into an excuse to criticize political opponents. (Yawn…sorry, I am gettting drowsy…) it takes effort to think clearly, it’s easier to let someone else think for me and stir up emotion and anger.
When I play tennis with my son, and he is about to serve, I focus every bit of my consciousness on what is in front of me. He has a very fast serve. I need to be ready to respond. The expectation is clear. The objective is clear. The opponent is easily identified and I must be focused. My body is focused. My mind is focused. I am alert, waiting. I shut out everything else, and focus.
This is what happened to us eight years ago. Things became clear. As a nation we focused. We drew together. We clearly identified what mattered and what didn’t.
I hope we can do it again.
Never Forget, Never
…Let us be Awake
2 Comments
Some people think (I sometimes do) that giving make me dumb, when in reality is I’m being numb. It’s the pride of not looking good, like to good to be true because we think is our money, resources, time, we even think that is our life. We’re expecting a reward (even a thank u). It’s difficult just give to give and not to get. It reminds me of Jonah’s anger. We instead should be passionate, not run away…..run toward!!!!!!! Run!
Hey Mr Bob Hamp…you just scream to my ear. Thank U!!!!!
Excellent post! So true..I was just speaking about how short lived our unity and patriotism lasted with some colleagues at work yesterday. We tend to do this in ,any areas of our lives including family, God, etc. Oh how us humans need Freedom