I recently posted about impact mindfulness using a “we’re all in this boat together” metaphor. I still like the metaphor, but I was thinking yesterday on my habitual Monday meditation walk (which yesterday fell on a Tuesday) that a more relevant metaphor would be a sinking ship…like the Titanic.
The boat or ship metaphor is most closely connected to the principle of “The Big US” that proposes exactly that…that we’re all in this boat together. The boat of course represents the Planet…the crew and passengers (without any distinction among them, which becomes even more pertinent with the ship in distress, as we shall see in a moment) represent People…and the ocean upon which they are afloat…the Universe.
Now isn’t it true that the silly things that divide us…like nationality, economic status, religion, looks, talent, fame, fortune, etc., tend to matter much less, or evaporate altogether, in distressful situations? When the proverbial shit hits the fan, all that stuff seems to decrease in importance, doesn’t it? The thing that unites us takes over…our instinct for human survival.
For instance, the Titanic was a steaming cauldron of division. You had the captain and crew, then the most wealthy, then just the wealthy, then the servants of the wealthy, and then the rest who had to huddle in the lowest levels so as not to be seen nor smelt by those above them (of course you also had the poor souls sequestered down in the bowels, shoveling coal at the direction of those above). That is, until the Universe decided to throw a tiny iceberg in their path. Then all of a sudden all that seemingly ordered division turned chaotic. In the flash of a moment what mattered more was survival than societal class difference.
Well right now our planet is in distress. And so far, unlike the Titanic, there are zero lifeboats to divvy up among those in the upper levels. If the planet goes down, we all go down with it.
So, what the “Big US” proposes is that it is high time to look past what divides us and embrace what unites us…our humanity. Before it is too late.
So, what the “Big US” proposes is that it is high time to look past what divides us and embrace what unites us…our humanity. Before it is too late.
Before the iceberg incident, the Titanic was an invincible ship…at least in the minds of some. She was unsinkable, remember? I believe there are a few suffering from that same illusion when it comes to our planetary ship. That the smartest among us have it all under control. But even though the Universe seems willing to allow the illusion of such control for a time…just like the ocean in the case of the Titanic…when it is good and ready that control can be suddenly revoked. For you see, we are actually not in control at all…it is (the Universe, that is). We can all humble ourselves to that fact, or remain puffed up with division until that small impediment (be it an iceberg, or a tiny increase in the percentage of carbon in the atmosphere) does us in.
Bottom line, the practice of impact mindfulness requires that we disregard division and focus our impacts for the good of People and Planet in general…that is, the Big US.