Peter shared a story with me about returning home exhausted after a long bike ride that he did in preparation for his upcoming IRONMAN race. All he wanted to do after riding was to sit down and relax, but his wife Kathy asked him to look at their outdoor grill first. He initially shrugged her off and said he would look at it later. However, she persisted, so he reluctantly did what she asked. When he opened the grill cover, he realized that she had cleaned it. His comment to me was that he did not even realize it was dirty until she showed him what a clean grill looked like. It had never occurred to him that he should clean it.
According to the dictionary, to be aware means “having or showing realization, perception, or knowledge.” If we are not aware, we do not perceive, realize or have knowledge of something. Or, to use a cliche, the something is not on our radar screen.
How can we take purposeful and intentional action on something that needs to be done when we are not aware of it? Truthfully, I don’t think we can. Peter’s story is a simple example of not being aware of something (in this example, that the grill needed to be cleaned) until someone else pointed it out to him.
My martial arts teacher Dennis tells us students that we will not be able to be perceive what he showing us unless he points it out to us. He is correct. What happens for me is that I end up watching the wrong the thing. For example, I might be looking at what his hands are doing while the critical component for the technique is what his feet are doing to move his body to a different location. Until he tells me to watch his feet, I miss a key factor for success.
I wonder what else I am not aware of that might be helpful for me to know, perceive or realize? How can I be more aware?
We will explore different aspects awareness more in upcoming blog posts.
Enjoy!