“How Aware is Awareness in Flesh, to Worry About AI?”

One morning, a street dog trotted across a park it had long claimed as its kingdom. The grass carried familiar scents – wet earth, food crumbs, passing humans. But this morning, something unusual caught its eye: a shining figure standing still near a bench.

It looked like a dog – four legs, a tail that wagged and eyes that blinked occasionally. Curious the dog approached, circled it and sniffed. No heartbeat. No scent of hunger and warmth. No whisper of breath through the nose. He sat down, head slightly tilted, studying the imitation. For a moment, the real dog wondered whether this creature had come to share his world or to claim it. Then as if realizing something certain, he blinked once, stretched, and moved away - without a bark or snarl.

If he could speak, his thoughts might have sounded like this: “It moves like me, but does not feel movement. It looks but does not see the wind chase the leaves. It stands but does not belong to the earth beneath its paws. I am not afraid of what cannot dream, hunger or love. For what lives by command can never know faithfulness – or why it exists.” 

A child walking with her grandfather asked “Why didn’t the dog bark at the metal pup?” The old man smiled. “Because the dog knows the difference between what is alive and what only acts alive.” The real dog, wagging his tail as if to agree – disappeared down the lane.

The dog walked away certain of what was real and what only appeared to be. Its awareness was instinctive – whole, unfragmented and unafraid. But humans, gifted with a fair greater consciousness, often lose touch with that simple clarity.

We see yet fail to notice, listen yet do not hear, act yet remain unaware, of our own intent. In the noise of thought and the glare of distraction, awareness grows thin. Blindness begins not in the eyes but in attention itself.

Awareness is the quiet art of knowing – of being present to what is. From the simplest organism that turns towards light to the human being who questions the meaning of life. Awareness appears in countless degrees, yet in humans, this gift often becomes buried beneath, hurry and the flood of information.

Today many suffer from a peculiar fading of attention – a condition known as inattentional blindness. It is not the loss of sight but of noticing. Eyes remain open, but the mind looks elsewhere. Distractions multiply, curiosity weakens and the natural rhythm of learning slows into indifference.

The easiest person to deceive is one’s own self. Poor minds feel the world is a problem, yet most problems arise from our unawareness. The wise say no problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it. The dog’s calm recognition of the metal pup came from clarity: the human, lacking it, feels threatened by the same imitation. Fear grows where awareness fades.

Spiritually speaking each one has been infused awareness. All one needs to do is ask the “Great Giver” to grant His Grace - to be imbued with the love of devotional worship. 

“Everything, everywhere there is so much good given. Bliss, joyful celebrations, wondrous plays and entertainment—whatever pleases Him comes to pass. Everything we receive is a gift from Him—the thirty-six delicious foods to eat, cozy beds, cooling breezes, peaceful joy and the experience of pleasure. All we need to pray is a state of mind, by which we do not forget Him, His awareness is living with humility and gratitude.