Tools of Consciousness

The other day I shared on Facebook a snippet from my morning writing: Consciousness is your gift. Open it. I’ve been sitting with that statement. Being sentient beings is an amazing gift. We can feel love and joy. We can be aware of and celebrate our own aliveness and place in the cosmos. But we have a choice as we move through our days; we can live consciously or unconsciously. We can try to bring that awareness to all we do, each interaction, each choice that might help or harm the Earth, each opportunity to reach out with kindness, each interaction with other creatures we share the Earth with. For me it’s like having tools of consciousness. We have a toolbox full of things like love, kindness, empathy, compassion, awareness, peace, joy, conscious choice, and more. We all have the same tools in our toolbox. It’s all about whether you open it up and use them. 

For me that is a daily practice. It can be so easy to go through the day on autopilot, without thinking about the choices we are making. Our practice of mindfulness helps us turn off the autopilot and take responsibility for how we show up in our days, which actually can bring a glorious sense of freedom! I get to choose how to react to any given situation, how I want to show up, who I want to be. Knowing that I have so many tools to help me in those choices, to help me live consciously, and to show up as who I want to be is a relief! Honestly, I want to come to the end of my days with a toolbox full of tools that are worn out from use!

Through opportunities like meditation groups or in any relationship we can share our tools with each other, and the cool thing about these tools is that you can share them and yet still have them in your own tool box! You don’t have to worry about loaning one to a neighbor and never getting it back because if you share kindness or love with someone, you receive it back in the simple act of offering it.  Sharing love or kindness or empathy increases it within your own heart, the best toolbox we could have.  

I hope you will take some time this week to sit in appreciation for the amazing gift of consciousness that is ours, and celebrate the beautiful tools that fill your heart!