Everyday Canvas

The 60’s, People Leaving, and Awareness

Prompt: "If you remember the 1960's, you weren't there." George Harrison What is your take on this quote?

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I guess he was talking about himself and his own stoned head. I do remember the sixties and I didn’t even know what a joint was. At the time, I was out of the country, studying and working.

On the plus side, the sixties brought rock and roll and a new form of free thought and action, and concerning those things, nobody can deny the fun and the positivity they brought into our culture. .

Prompt: “Some people are going to leave, but that’s not the end of your story. That’s the end of their part in your story.”
Indian author Faraaz Kazi
What are your thoughts on the subject?

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When people leave, without turning around to go to Heaven, we feel the loss and think we are now weaker than ever. Not only when people die but when they drop out of our lives, with or without a reason, it is difficult on us. Their not being around us pulls us down.

Sometimes, we may even feel stronger in their absence because some people, even if they might have added to our life experience, can pull us back and hinder our progress.

What I believe is we don’t deserve someone who keeps leaving and coming back. We deserve people who never leave, at least in a personal, spiritual sense. We deserve people who respect our individuality and are not afraid of the way we love and cherish them.

That is why when someone leaves, for any reason, we can be thankful for their involvement in our lives but look forward to our own life that has been given to us and us only, to value and make the best of our time on earth.

Prompt: What is “awareness” to you?

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When a tourist visits a place, he or she notices things that the locals have gotten used to and take for granted. It is, therefore, important to notice things that are familiar to us, such as how a tree in one’s yard branching out, the songs of local birds, or the street signs in our neighborhoods. This is because paying attention may be the only thing that pledges insight.

Then of course, noticing what’s around us adds to our survival and self-preservation as it protects us from harm.

There is a difference between looking and noticing. Noticing leads to awareness. In the same vein, when we get good at noticing, we might even be able to gain awareness into the unseen and a power higher than our tiny selves.