Self-Awareness
”conscious knowledge of one’s own character, feelings, motives, and desires.”
Here’s what I know about self-awareness: it’s a life-long pursuit. There’s always something new we can learn about ourselves…kind of like Julia Robert’s character in the movie “The Runaway Bride”.
In any situation, issue, or problem, becoming aware is usually about 50% of the battle…that number is probably higher. Once we become consciously aware, we become better equipped to deal with said situation, issue, or problem.
For example, yesterday, just as I was returning home from my walk in our neighborhood, three mid-large sized dogs came running towards me and surrounded me. Two of them seemed playful, the other was growing and showing its teeth. Thankfully, my husband was able to chase them away. I was in panic mode, triggered by a dog attack I experienced 40 years ago.
We knew the dogs were from the house across the street. But with the mood of the dogs, it didn’t feel safe to go over there. We phoned them but all we were able to do was leave a message. In the meantime the dogs were running around the neighborhood endangering themselves (busy street) and putting other walkers at risk.
About 15 minutes later I see one of the women from that house gathering the dogs. I asked how the dogs got loose. She didn’t know. She didn’t even know the dogs were out. She was napping.
The sense I got from her was that she was going to figure out how the dogs got out and set up a better system so it can’t happen again.
As I write this I’m aware that I’m writing about someone else’s issue (which just so happened to affect me as well), although it works well as an appropriate metaphor for self-awareness. Until we wake up, until I wake up to the inner workings of my “character, feelings, motives, and desires”, my unresolved issues will be like those dogs…running around uncontrollably, playing and “terrorizing” the “neighborhood”, with no real direction, and causing potential harm to myself and/or others.
How about you? Is self-awareness a core value for you?
BTW…here’s what it looked like to begin with:
joyfully,
Maureen
The Mandala Lady
inspiring and encouraging creativity, curiosity, and play through the art of mandalas
About the 2024 Mandalas of the Day
Each day I will create and post a mandala inspired by one of 366 “value” words chosen randomly. The objective being to discover for myself which ones would best represent my core values…and by doing so, I hope it inspires you to determine your own.
Mandala of the Day 