“If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck…..AFLAC!..”
from Tyler Perry’s play ‘Madea Goes To Jail’
It is very important to pay attention to our lives and what is going on around us. No, we don’t have to watch every iota of the news or get all the gossip, but by being conscious. What is being conscious? According dictionary, conscious is ‘aware of what one is doing’. Simple enough but how many folks actually do that? How many folks truly question the decisions made in their lives? You’d be surprised!
Case in point, lets say you go out on several dates with someone you really like. All seems to be going well, then you notice certain behaviors your date displays that don’t work for you. Like being rude to the waitstaff when at dinner, cussing at the traffic or feeling entitled to cutting the line at a movie premiere. Your gut is screaming….JERK ALERT, yet you rationalize it all by saying people can have bad days at times. Does it have to happen ALL the time? You grin and bear it….until next time when he snaps at you for a dress you adore and he says its crap. You bought it at Nordstrom’s and they carry quality mind you. You feel like showing him the door, but you figure it’ll smooth over. Really?
Most folks reading this would be cussing out loud because they feel justified and they’re right. It is said that a person shows you who they are; it is up to us to pay attention. That jerk would have been showed the door, be asked to eliminate my phone number from his contact list AND to walk on the other side of the street when he sees me. I’m exaggerating a bit, but you get my point. Never make someone your priority, while they make you their option. A wonderful point to live by as you live consciously.
One more example before I close deals with gossip. Elders say that the dog who brings the bone will carry it. This means that one who gossips with you will gossip about you. You are at your work and the busy body of the company tells you something about a boss who is having an affair. You listen and want to join in. Do you? Most would because it sounds juicy; you on the other hand shut up. Why? You know she’s the busy body and tells everything she knows, so why add more fuel to the inferno? If you do, she’ll relay what you said to others while leaving out what she said. Since you are fully aware of this, you continue to hold your tongue then change the subject. She moves on to her next victim as you live consciously.
These are just small examples, yet it encompasses the total package of our lives; from what we eat, wear, listen to and believe in. It’s all choice really, so how will you live consciously?
