Now I am sure that you know the title of this blog is not referring to real “sleeping dogs.” The phrase/idiom, ‘let sleeping dogs lie’ is what drives the point of not awaking things and/or situations of information that have been silent for some time. It is a phrase/idiom referring to situations and circumstances in your life that are supposed to be over and done with, and left in the past. It also refers to information that you might have, which no one else has been privy to, situations that you might have engaged in, which no one knows about, behaviors you might have exhibited, which are only known to you or a certain few. These “sleeping dogs” can also refer to information you might have about others in your life, such as your mate, your children, your friends, your boss, and other family members.
‘Sleeping dogs’ can also be in reference to things done to people, the ensuing situations and insurmountable odds they face, as well as the undo circumstances they face or have faced, that you and others know are wrong, but everyone has turned their heads, closed their eyes to, and turned a deaf ear on, all because they don’t want to deal with the impacts, affects, and effects that their behaviors have had on these people. Often, because of the shame and guilt associated with the mistreatment and maltreatment of some groups of people, rather than talk about the mistreatment and devise a plan of action to eradicate the treatment, everyone seems to go to sleep. Hence, the ‘sleeping dogs lie.’
The phrase can also apply to information you have about people who are no longer in your life, such as your ex-husband, ex-friend, ex-boss, etc. In other words, the term “sleeping dogs” refers to your secrets, other skeletons, hush topics, and other information or topics that you and others have kept in your closets that no one knows about or shouldn’t be discussed, due to unwanted consequences. As a matter of fact, any ex’s can also be considered ‘sleeping dogs.’ They no longer exist and the relationship is over; why would you want to awaken the dead relationship/situation, which you had with them in the past?
Anyone who has a ‘sleeping dog’ at his/her feet is in a position of power and control, except when the awakened sleeping dog can negatively impact them. Therefore, you must come to recognize that ‘sleeping dogs’ can either help you, hurt you, or hinder you. That person who abused and misused you, the friend who dumped you for no reason, the person who lied on you and betrayed you, the community you left that was not good to you or for you, the male/female that came on to you and you never told your mate or his/her mate about the come on, the place of worship that did not accept you, are all ‘sleeping dogs’ that you probably should not awaken. It’s time to move away from and move forward in respect to these people, circumstances, and situations from your past. What good would it be for you to divulge the information, resurrect the situation, or try to recreate a relationship by disclosing information or memories from the past, that have no merit or benefit to you or to others? Although you might be feeling melancholy, you cannot allow your emotions to dictate you awakening stuff that has lain dormant for many years.
My mother used to say, “if you didn’t tell it when you were glad, don’t tell it when you are mad.” There are those of you who have had abortions, you used to be on drugs, you possess a felony conviction, you have an adopted child somewhere, you have engaged in felonious behaviors, you had an affair, you owe someone quite a bit of money, you told a big lie, etc. These things are now dead in your life and in the lives of others, Therefore, you might want to ask yourself, ‘why do you want to give new meaning to old meaningless situations, with people who no longer matter, possibly bringing results that can do more harm than good?’
Ask yourself, why do you want to resurrect those past issues, past behaviors, and past actions? What are you hoping to gain by talking about these dead incidents and behaviors from your past or the past of others, in the present? Who will benefit from you resurrecting the information that has been dormant and dead for so long?
When you think about these dead secrets, you have to begin to look deep inside of you to better understand what your motives are for bringing up past issues that probably have no direct bearing on what is going on in your present life. If you have been able to live without bringing old information to the forefront all this time, how will it make a difference in your current life? What is your motive? If you are knee deep in guilt, you probably can benefit from meeting with a mental health professional to help you to purge your conscious of whatever took place in your past and the past of others, by engaging in a process of self-forgiveness, as well as forgiveness of others.
Your past is your past, which most certainly has served as stepping-stones to your presence in your present life, and will most certainly have impact on your future. If the things you or others did ‘back in the day’ were so egregious then, will they be any less egregious in the here-and-now? Further more, you must also come to grips with the emotional, psychological, spiritual, financial, career, and physical harm that can potentially arise out of you waking the ‘sleeping dog.’ And if the information and situations from your past have tended to hinder your growth, you must also come to grips with your stuckness and in many cases with your selfishness.
On the other hand, you must decide if you are planning to wake “sleeping dogs” in an attempt to ‘get back’ at someone with whom you have angst. Here’s where the sleeping dog might bite you. When you bring to the present dead information and dead situations that are from your past, with the wrong motives, the wrong intentions, to the wrong people, your motives and intentions just might backfire and hurt you in the end. The backfiring of your motives and intentions is the bite that you will experience as a result of you waking the ‘sleeping dog.’ If this is the case, you might want to not ‘wake the ‘sleeping dog’ and ‘let the sleeping dog lie.’
As mentioned previously, it is important that you understand the ramifications of bringing to the present the trials and tribulations of the past. You must also come to understand the ramifications of your actions upon you, your children, your family members, friends, and others. Will the awakened dog disclose information that becomes a liability to you and others, or will the information serve as an asset to you and to others? The reality is, if there was ever a chance in hell that the information that has been dead and placed in the past about you or others could serve as an asset, you would have awakened the ‘sleeping dog’ a long time ago. As a matter of fact, the dog would have never been allowed to go to sleep, because the dead and past information would have been present information of conversation and disclosed in the past.
If you play with fire, you might get burned. The same goes for bringing up past people, past situations, and past circumstances that need to remain in the past. If they/it were/was not of importance to the success of your life in the past and you found reasons to keep the people, situations, and circumstances buried under the covers of the past, you might want to leave them/it buried.
However, there are times when you might have to awaken some ‘sleeping dogs,’ and you might just have to risk being bitten. The ‘sleeping dogs’ of racism, sexism, ageism, and other isms must be awakened! It is time for you to no longer participate in such antics. It is time for you to put people before politics, families before fame, and children before egos. What you know about those who promote isms must be disclosed in order for the perpetrators to be confronted and dealt with accordingly!
Still, there are other ‘sleeping dogs’ that you are obligated and charged with awaking. The minister at your place of worship who tried to take advantage of you and others sexually, emotionally, financially, and physically; the man/woman who sexually molested/abused you, your children, or other family members; the person(s) who stole your dreams, turning them into nightmares; the criminal who introduced children to drugs; the politicians who infiltrated poor communities with drugs; the so-called leader who has misappropriated taxpayer funds at the expense of children, etc. These ‘sleeping dogs’ need to be awakened and must be awakened. Standing up, speaking up, and speaking out about the atrocities that have been hidden for far too long will force a plan to rectify the problems, as well as an agenda, and it will hold those accountable who have wronged you and others. Your actions of standing up, speaking up, and speaking out (awaking sleeping dogs) will permeate a system of wrong with right, free the innocent, strengthen the weak, and give power to those who have felt powerless.
Talk about ‘sleeping dogs?’ The family member who molested/raped you and other children, but was never called out, needs to be called out! It’s time to wake the ‘sleeping dog!’ What about the mistreatment and maltreatment of African-Americans in the United States” who have been and continue to be disenfranchised socially, politically, economically, educationally, and in other disgraceful manners? What about the daily murders of African-American males at the hands of law enforcement who are sworn to protect and serve, and those who are murdered on a daily basis by other African-American males and nothing is being done about it? More about ‘sleeping dogs’ is evident when the opioid epidemic is greater than the drug epidemic infiltrated into African-American communities and the war that is waged in these communities on a daily basis with guns. This NOT a time to ‘let sleeping dies lie’; it’s time to wake the ‘sleeping dogs!’’
I cannot promise you that you won’t be bitten and have to fight to maintain who you are and what you have, because you awakened the aforementioned sleeping dogs, but one thing I can promise you is that the dogs won’t be able to sleep any more, because the secrets about their behaviors, situations, and circumstances are unveiled. You will have called them out! Either you stand for something or your will continuously fall for anything! Stand and awaken the right and appropriate ‘sleeping dogs!”
Starting today, I charge you with believing that you can and must awaken some ‘sleeping dogs,’ as long as their awakening is for the benefit, development, enhancement, and overall growth of you and those around you. For too long you and others have not taken a stand to uncover and disclose the truth that sets all of us free. You have no power or might, as long as you are lying down and not standing for what’s right. Take a stand and awaken some of the ‘sleeping dogs’ that have been asleep too long!
As you ponder ‘waking sleeping dogs,’ consider the following along your journey:
1. Ask yourself why do you want to wake the ‘sleeping dogs’ of the past.
2. Ask yourself will any positive changes occur as a result of you awakening ‘sleeping dogs.
3. Ask yourself what do you hope to gain/accomplish by waking the ‘sleeping dogs’ of your past.
4. Ask yourself will the people and circumstances change as a result of you ‘waking the sleeping dogs.’
5. Ask yourself if you, the people, circumstances, or situations will be enhanced, improved, and/or catapulted to higher levels with you awaking the ‘sleeping dogs.’
6. Give yourself permission to leave those people, information, circumstances, and situations in the past, no matter how much you would like to disclose them in the present, if they have no merit or benefit.
7. Work to forgive yourself and others for whatever people, information, circumstances, and situations that did not warrant uncovering openly in your past and in the past of others.
8. Do you have an agenda for moving forward after awaking the sleeping dog, by reengaging and disclosing information about lifeless people, dead circumstances, and dead situations?
9. If necessary, seek the help of a mental health professional to help you to decipher which ‘sleeping dogs’ should be allowed to sleep and which ones you need to awake.
Always remember, in the final scheme of things, you will find that people, some situations, some circumstances and some relationships are better off being left dead! However, there are many more that must be awakened! There is an old adage that states, “The devil you know is better than the devil you don’t know.’ WHAT! NODevil is worth your time and effort of getting to know. Once a devil, ALWAYS A DEVIL and many sleeping dogs are the devil!
©218; J. Morley Productions; P.O. Box 1745; Decatur, GA 30031; 770-808-6570; www.doctorjoyce.com; joyce@doctorjoyce.com
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