What Does It Mean to Be Awake - Essay Example

Being awake means more than just not sleeping, I think we all can agree to that. One might argue then that being awake does not depend on the person who is awake but depends on the person or thing originally said a person must pay attention to. Generally, we’re all awake for the Rolling Stones, or the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, but we’re not always so awake for that 6 am mathematics lecture or grandma’s stories about how great it was to live in Ireland. Awake can be a verb – one can awake, and it can be an adjective – he is awake.

However, these descriptions don’t always mean the person is awake from sleep. One can awake from past memories, or awaken from a dream. Here’s a quandary – can we be awake in a dream? I know I’ve had dreams where I’ve definitely been more attentive than during math class, dreams about flying or swimming a mile below the Atlantic Ocean, am I then more awake during these dreams than when am I zoning out during math lectures? In this regard being awake is a much more complicated process than people originally realize.

One not only has to be awake – meaning they are conscious – but they have to be conscious of being conscious in away. They have to be so entirely conscious that there is no way they could possibly be unconscious. But then one must ask, is it possible to be too awake? Can one be so awake that they are no longer awake and just, well, I’m not sure what they would be then, but definitely not awake.