The whiplash of shock

After a long run in steaming humidity, the shock of the ocean swim took my breath. 

It was a welcome shock. Tingling and delicious.

Shock wakes us from our slumber, be that the slumber of non-attention, the slumber of hubris, the slumber of ignorance.

Drifting through life is not really living. Life requires attention. Curiosity, disturbance from same-same. When hubris infects, shock is a whiplash.

Ignorance and wilful blindness is a choice. 

Attention, engagement, constant learning and inquiry are the elixir of vitality.

Some people shock us with their vision, their art, their aliveness, their message. They call us to attend to, to be aware and awake. They inspire us to move, act, engage.

Other people shock us through their greed, capacity to exploit, and cruelty. They, too, might inspire us to move and act.

Then there is the shock of tragedy and disaster. Oftentimes times, it takes a massive collective shock for a massive collective reset. 

As our hubris escalates, expect the whiplash of shock. It will arrive. The timing and its form are unknown.

First published January 14th 2020

Photo Taken June 6th  2023