““Now was there ever any man seen to sleep in the cart, between Newgate and Tyburn? Between the prison, and the place of execution, does any man sleep? And we sleep all the way; from the womb to the grave we are never thoroughly awake.””
In a profound observation about humans, John Donne highlights our habit of sleeping (not being conscious or present) throughout life. He exposes our habit of waking to our mortality only when it is threatened, nearing its end, or mirrored through another's death.
So what is it to sleep through life? Naturally, it is the opposite of awakening to life. However, awareness is hard-won and rare because humans painstakingly rely on comfortable and predictable routines that keep us numb or, to put it another way, anesthetized to life.
That is not to say that being numb equals not thinking or feeling. On the contrary, humans habitually ruminate about whatever has captured their thoughts, feelings, or attention. But, unfortunately, rumination keeps us deliriously numb-stuck, and in this case, it means remaining asleep.
Indeed, in today's world, anxiety and depression seem rampant. And what is anxiety but ruminating or "over-thinking" about whatever fear, danger, difficulty, or problem is omnipresent? Likewise, what is depression but "over-feeling" or ruminating about what one is missing, lacking, longing, or wanting?
So, how can we awaken and become conscious if we chronically ruminate and obsess over what we don't know or don't have and how to get it?
And how can we awaken to life while endlessly running our thoughts, feelings, and actions in familiar, predictable patterns right up to the moment we risk losing the choice to do so?
Pause and Reflect:
How does sleeping from the womb to the grave apply to you?
Holly Margl is the author of Witnessing Grief; Inviting Trauma and Loss to Our Coaching Conversations, An Enneagram Perspective, coach, coach mentor, and trainer specializing in grief, trauma, and the Enneagram.
