Treat your awareness like a dog. I remember a few years ago I went on holidays to the Caribbean, and while I was there, I stayed with a friend of mine. He works for the FBI and is in the Canine Unit, so he has a German Shepherd. A big, beautiful dog. This dog is so well trained, so obedient, that when my friend walks, this dog walks by his side. Whereas, when I walk around New York City and I see people walking their dogs on the sidewalks, they are always desperately trying to control where their dog is going. I quite often think to myself that the dog is taking the owner for a walk. You can hear them saying to their dog, “Come back here. Don’t run there. Don’t do this. Don’t do that.” And they are always pulling their dog back with a leash. However, my friend’s dog was obedient all the time. This Canine Unit dog was standing by my friend, walking by his side the entire time.
We need to train awareness the same way my friend has trained his Canine Unit dog. Train awareness to be obedient and not go running off and getting absorbed in everything and everyone around. Don’t let your awareness be like all those other dogs on the street, getting distracted by every smell, sight and sound. It is an exhausting way to live, and what a way to lose your incredibly precious energy that you have.
