This is my roadmap for living wide awake. Every word is a thread in the tapestry I’ve built living this life.
It’s not mere nostalgia. It’s a call to moments when my soul wasn’t rushing, before noise drowned out God’s quiet voice. I had to ask myself, “When was that time?”
I remember …
- In 1990, God delivered me from addiction—a fresh freedom, a peace as those chains fell.
- Another moment came on the open road during the Freedom Ride. The horizon stretched, the Freedom Glide hummed below, and I felt God’s presence beside me, every moment, every mile.
- There were sacred hours caring for my mom Rose. Time slowed. I stopped chasing “more” and was meant to be simply present with her.
- Sometimes, after a powerful prayer or scripture came alive, I knew—beyond a shadow of doubt—God was speaking directly to me.
Each of these moments wasn’t just locked in the past—they were glimpses, foreshadowing how God wanted me to live.
- The question isn’t just, “When was that time?” It’s also, “How can I carry that time into today?”
Living wide awake is my way back into God’s presence—a daily return with my eyes open, my spirit steady, and my heart tuned to His voice. This is how I must live each day: grounded, aware, and always moving closer to Him.
Living wide awake means intentionally shaping each day with purpose and awareness.
1. Starting with the inside
- Choosing inner peace as my daily foundation.
- Quieting my noisy mind.
- Owning my thoughts, my actions, my focus, and my state of being.
2. Slowing down and being present
- Refusing to rush.
- Savoring the experience of being alive.
- Creating space for soul-nourishing “unproductive” hours.
- Letting life unfold instead of forcing outcomes.
- Sitting with the questions and sometimes the pain, without needing the answers.
3. Engaging my senses and spirit
- Immersing fully in the sights, sounds, and fragrances of nature.
- Living beyond words—knowing language can’t capture essence.
- Honoring this moment, because everything flows.
4. Awareness in daily life
- Acting with intention, not on autopilot.
- Feeding my body, mind, and spirit with care.
- Guarding my mind from negativity and fear.
- Remembering that much of society is a game we choose to play.
5. Relationships with others
- Seeing people as souls, not roles.
- Appreciating others without labels or judgment.
- Choosing earnestness and vulnerability in a culture of snark.
6. Holding the whole breath of life
- Embracing love, pain, joy, sorrow, beauty, and fear—the whole mess.
- Finding comfort in uncertainty.
- Watching my ego and letting it go.
7. Choosing meaning and simplicity
- Seeking meaning in living, not in status or possessions.
- Keeping life simple—buying only what I can pay for outright.
- Balancing simplicity with building something new.
This is what it means for me to live deliberately. To live wide awake. Not as a concept or a distant memory, but as a daily practice—today.
Every morning, I begin again with my list. And my prayer.
Lord, steady my heart in Your peace. Keep my eyes open, my spirit awake, and my steps deliberate. Let my life reflect Your story today.
With inner peace, choice becomes possible.
I decide which thoughts to entertain.
I decide how to interpret the events of my life.
I decide to focus on the positive or the negative.
I take responsibility for my internal state.
I spent decades on autopilot—rushing through life as though it were a flip book. It wasn’t until I was forced to slow down that I realized the damage I’d done to myself and to others by living that way.
Like Thoreau, when I come to the end of my life, I want my existence to have meant something. I want to know that I didn’t just skim the surface; I truly lived the life that was given to me. That I moved the story forward.
