As you may know if you’ve been following my posts, I’ve embarked on a personal journey to write at least one article, thought or post every day for a whole year. On the surface, that might not seem like a big challenge (I admit that I might have taken the thought a bit too lightly in the beginning); however, the reality is much different than I anticipated. Perhaps the enormity of the challenge for me personally lies in my desire to produce something worth reading every time I write. That is likely a self-imposed expectation because the reality of this endeavor is that relatively few will actually read the words I write. I could throw words on the screen giving the process very little thought; however, that is not the case. I find myself reading and listening and watching differently than I normally do. As a result, perhaps reading these posts might make a difference for someone, somewhere in some way.
The inspiration for today’s post comes from two sources – one from rock music and the other from the Navajo people. What a combination, right?
Back in 1979, Pink Floyd released a song entitled, “Comfortably Numb.” Great song! On the surface, one might think that the song is about drugs; however, that is not the case. According to Roger Waters, the writer of the song, it refers to a time in his childhood when he was ill with a fever and experienced delirium. Perhaps we can all relate to the feeling of being “comfortably numb” due to an illness or the subsequent treatment for an ailment. Sometimes the illness or treatment causes us to achieve a “comfortably numb” state in which we hopefully find healing. The “Comfortably Numb” to which I refer is not caused by an illness we catch or a treatment we take. No, the “Comfortably Numb” to which I refer is one created by personal choice.
You see, when life becomes too difficult, too challenging, too confusing, many of us choose to “Numb Out” to avoid the challenges associated with purposeful communication, mindful problem solving and collaborative efforts. Engaging becomes just too much work! The more we choose to avoid the challenges associated with living, the more numb we become. It is a choice! A Choice, I say! How do we Become Comfortably Numb? We do so when we Choose:
- To ignore facts and call them something else.
- To insist that our perspective (personal truth) has more merit than the perspectives of others.
- To shut down communication because of the discomfort associated with the process.
- To demand acquiescence from others because we are in charge.
- To demean others because they disagree with us.
- To cast doubt on the worth of another based solely on race, color, creed, national origin or sexual orientation.
- To make laws that cater to specific special interest groups to the exclusion of the the people in general.
- To assume that freedom and liberty will always be without engaging in the processes necessary to nurture and maintain them.
I could go on, but I won’t. Suffice to say that the more we choose to give in to the “Comfortably Numb” state of being, the less effective we are as human beings. How Does One Become Comfortably Numb? We choose to do so! How do we alter this state? It is difficult . . .
The second source of inspiration for this post comes from a Navajo proverb that says, “You can’t wake a person who is pretending to be asleep.” When One is Comfortably Numb, that one is pretending to be asleep. The Navajo believe that it is impossible to wake one who is pretending to be asleep. On the surface, this statement might appear a bit fatalistic. “No Hope,” it says! “No Way,” it asserts!
“You can’t wake someone who is pretending to be asleep!” Plain and simple . . . they say it can’t be done! So what are we to do? How are we to live; to love; to lead; to serve; to govern? This may seem a bit out of the box but here goes . . . We must stop working so hard to wake those who pretend to be asleep. We must cease working to convince those who choose to “Numb Out” for those efforts fall on deaf ears. We must stop working to reason with illogic. Those efforts drain us of our creativity, energy and good will!
We must instead, focus our efforts and energy on those who walk through life paying attention to the struggles of all. We must focus our energy on those who live to bring peace, justice and meaning to all.
We must stop doing the things that divide, separate and denigrate and begin doing other things – things that lift people up, move people forward, encourage people to grow. We must refuse to Numb Out and pretend sleep. We must live on purpose!
Peace!
Mark E. Hundley
