Awakening : One Big Fat Cosmic Joke

The Paradox of Awakening & Spirituality

The reason many struggle to grasp the essence of awakening or enlightenment is that language falls short of capturing who we truly are beyond form and identity. Words are limited to the realm of the mind, but awakening transcends the mind — it’s about being. Awakening is that unexpected, sudden realization that beyond the “you” you think you are lies a deeper “You” (with a capital Y), which turns out to be your real self.

This is hard to explain because, unless you’ve experienced this deeper Self, it’s like trying to describe a color no one else has ever seen. You know it’s real, but words can’t quite bridge the gap.

That’s why great spiritual teachers emphasize not to take their words literally. The human mind, limited in perspective, often misinterprets teachings that come from this deeper perspective of the True Self.

Irony of Awakening

The best way I can describe the True Self is this: imagine frantically searching for your phone, panicked that it’s lost, only to realize it’s been in your hand the whole time. That “Oh, of course! How could have I missed it” moment is a “joke’s on you” kinda feeling. You’ve been desperately searching for something that was already with you.

But here’s the catch: if you didn’t know what a phone was in the first place, how would you even know what to look for? Similarly, awakening is a realization of something you’ve always had but didn’t recognize.

Another irony is that trying to explain awakening can create a personal, ego-driven desire in others to chase it. Yet, awakenings don’t happen because you “try.” They happen spontaneously, often by accident, and even during meditation, it’s not something you can control or predict. It’s not a linear achievement like graduating after a set amount of effort. Awakening often strikes when you least expect it.

This unexpected nature is crucial. If you go to the grocery store hoping to “unexpectedly” meet the love of your life in the cereal aisle, you’re secretly, you’re still wishing, which is expectation in denial.

The Paradox of Trying

And yet… you should try. Traditions like Hinduism and Taoism dedicate themselves to enlightenment. But the “trying” here means letting go — releasing the grip of the mind and its need to control or analyze. If you’re striving too hard, your mind is still in charge, looking for something it doesn’t even understand yet.

Awakening, when it happens, is humbling. It’s so simple and obvious that it feels almost silly. The cosmic joke? The thing you’ve been searching for is You.

When awakening happens, it feels like you’ve finally found yourself after a long game of hide-and-seek. The seeker (your ego or false self) has been chasing the hider (your True Self), only to realize the hider was with you all along. This moment of recognition is like remembering something you forgot — profound, yet oddly familiar.

A Full-Circle Journey

This idea is beautifully illustrated in Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist (spoiler alert). Santiago leaves home, embarking on a grand adventure to find treasure near the pyramids. But in the end, he discovers the treasure was at his home all along.

Awakening is like that: a full-circle realization. The treasure you seek is already within you. It’s a simple truth wrapped in layers of paradox, surprise, and — yes — a cosmic joke.

Zenobia Hong