By Jon Benson

“Wake up.”

Perhaps you hear it first thing in the morning from that adorable but impatient child who wants their breakfast.  Or, perhaps it’s the morning mantra of your spouse who serves the dual role of loving partner and part-time alarm clock.

But often, it is much more. I think you say it to yourself from time to time, just as I do.

“Come on, wake up! Get in the game!”

Today, you will get in the game.  This moment.  For today, I want you to wake up from reality.  From what we have crudely labeled “reality”, that is.  From, as an Oxford professor once called it, “The anesthetic of reality.”

Please do not misunderstand.  Reality is necessary. Demanded. A tool for us to use.  Reality simply is.

But we all need to wake up from it and see the grand scheme of things if this life is ever to hold more than mere breathing, paying bills, and passing on.  There’s much more to life than reality.

Here’s proof:

You see, when you stare in the mirror, the product of a one in a trillion chance.  The odds of you being here, in this century, in this moment, reading these words, are greater than the odds of me tossing a needle out of an airplane at 35000 feet and having it land on a specific blade of grass.

Let that sink in for a moment.

You are absolutely amazing…and equally improbable.  You are unique.  More rare than you can imagine.  More wondrous than you may know.

The mere fact you exist is overwhelmingly against the odds. The fact that you can read this is a billion times greater even still.  But that you can understand, comprehend, analyze, and do something about it? Take action? Access your life and take a break from reality?  My friend, that is too wondrous, too against the odds for words or numbers to adequately convey.

That is the number 1, followed by the count of the stars in the sky.

So what do we do once we wake up from reality? Do we quit our jobs and go pressing daisies in a field? Do we eat, drink and be merry? Do we ponder the classics of art, literature, and metaphysics?

Well, that is an option.

But I have a more clear-cut idea of what it means for us — those interested in becoming healthy and fit — to wake up from reality.  Reality, for us, can be defined as your schedule. Your routine. The workings of the inner clock of your life that cause things to work and move forward.  The trouble is, those inner workings are in need of some grease.    Perhaps even a few new parts.

When you wake up from reality and see the big picture, you are in essence greasing the gears of your life’s clock. You are ensuring you get every moment out of it.  And make no mistake: The clock is ticking down. It does not tick up.  And it moves faster than the speed of light, despite its second-by-second appearance.

Reality can blur time.

Before you know it, a week, a month, a year, a decade has passed.  Sure, you’ve paid the bills. You’ve gotten the kids off to school. You’ve done the good work. You’ve fought the good fight.

But…

But there is so much more you wanted out of this short breath of existence you enjoy, isn’t there?

“So much more.”

Those three words are often on the lips of the dying.  I’m asking you to speak them today,  out-loud, as a part of the elect. The unique. The living.

Over the coming weeks, I’m going to share some free audios with you that I think will help you wake up for a few minutes a day.  We will take a look at the big picture of your life’s desires. Perhaps reset your clock. Then, you will continue on your way.

Perhaps you will glean a new sense of purpose, motivation, direction… and this is your doing, not mine.  I am just going to be your coach.  And while I am coaching you, you are going to coach me. We will learn from each other’s awakening.  These free audios will be no more than 5 minutes long each.

But this — this “reality renewal project” if you will — is the stuff of dreams that     become “stuff”.  Your inner hopes and visions will become  real. Become tangible. Become tools for the masses to enjoy.  They will become your legacy.

I will leave you with this thought, from the incomparable Carl Sagan:

You are the stuff of stars.

Whether you believe in a creator or you do not, the atoms in your body and specific chemicals therein are remnants of long-dead stars that gave their lives for your existence to unfold.

It is rather poetic when you think of that way, isn’t it?

Imagine if a star had a conscious. It decides to explode … not to destroy, but to coalesce into you, your family, your world of friends.  Just imagine it.

Well, you ‘are’ star-stuff. Immortal energy, and perhaps even immortal spirit.  And equally wondrous to this — you can wake up from reality and realize it.

Once you do, the rest of your life here in this plane of existence will never be the same.

So, let’s wake up, daily, and start anew.

Build the body you want.

Regain or maintain the health you desire.

Leave a legacy that will one day be the quotes of authors and presidents.

This is your right as a fellow member of the one in a hundred trillion Star Stuff Club. It is an exclusive group.

Welcome.

The next time you are depressed or discouraged about your life, your body, your health, or your emotional state, remember these words.  Print it out. Keep it where you can read it often.

I will also ask you a favor: If this moved you into a better state, please forward it to others.  And, do it all in a spirit of gratitude for the moments you have to ponder, in total awe, the true reality of who you are.

The stuff of stars. Something far more than mere reality.