Awareness Quote by Theodore Roethke
““The Waking I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow. I feel my fate in what I cannot fear. I learn by going where I have to go. We think by feeling. What is there to know? I hear my being dance from ear to ear. I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow. Of those so close beside me, which are you? God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there, And learn by going where I have to go. Light takes the Tree; but who can tell us how? The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair; I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow. Great Nature has another thing to do To you and me, so take the lively air, And, lovely, learn by going where to go. This shaking keeps me steady. I should know. What falls away is always. And is near. I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow. I learn by going where I have to go.””
About This Quote
Source Poem: “The Waking” by Theodore Roethke, 1934
The poem reflects on the cyclical nature of consciousness, embracing uncertainty, and learning through experience and intuition.
In simple terms: Life is a cycle of waking and sleeping, learning by moving forward.
Key Takeaway
Embrace the present and learn through action.
Themes
consciousness
uncertainty
learning
nature
spirituality
Mood
reflective
contemplative
Type
poetic
philosophical
When to use this quote
- meditation
- creative work
- personal growth
- nature walks
- spiritual practice
Key Concepts
existentialism
mindfulness
process philosophy
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you experience the cycle of waking and sleeping in daily life?
- What does “learning by going where I have to go” mean to you?
A Different Perspective
The abstract language may be hard to apply concretely without personal reflection.
![“To wake up on a gloriously bright morning, in a tent pitched beneath spruce trees, and to look out lazily and sleepily for a moment from the open side of the tent, across the dead camp-fire of the night before, to the river, where the light of morning rests and perhaps some early-rising[240]…” quote by Josiah Edward Spurr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/00a/josiah-edward-spurr-169067_alaska_to-wake-up-on-a-gloriously-bright-mornin_1772902.jpg)
![“In the worldly life, due to maadakta (intoxication of the ego of ‘I am Chandubhai’), one has completely lost awareness of everything about one’s self. Everything in the worldly life is nothing but intoxication. The food is intoxicating, the senses are intoxicating. [Therefore] Go to the one, who…” quote by Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/2b3/dada-bhagwan-31_absolute_in-the-worldly-life-due-to-maadakta-into_3662.jpg)
