Please Listen

A physical injury is my body's way of saying, "You are not listening to me."  I may be running too hard or too often, or not stretching enough, or not getting enough rest.  I am ignoring some signals, so my body gets injured to get my attention, sufficient enough so that I will stop what I am doing.  My will considers it a misfortune because now I cannot run the way my will wants.  But in running, the body rules.  It wants rest, it will get rest, sooner or later.  I am injured.  My body has my attention.  I rest.  I pay attention.  I want to run, but running would be a bad thing now.  Wait.

How does God get my attention?  Misery, unhappiness, frustration, embarrassment, and self-will not getting its way, are just some of the ways that God gets my attention.  There is always a price to ignoring the Divine.  No meditation, no praise, no thank you, and sure enough I will end up having to stop my self-propelled life.  Why don't I listen to my body and to God?  Why do I not pay attention?  Why do I have to have pain and misery before I am willing to change?  Addiction? Original sin?  The human condition?  Whatever, I am going to write a note and put it next to my nightstand.  It will say, "Are you listening?"  Hopefully, I will read it each day when I wake up.  The first waking up is from sleep.  The second is from stupidity.