Beginnings are important. Superstitions surrounding the launching of ships are just one example of this truth. Not long ago, sailing was akin to launching a team of astronauts. Seafarers went out into the unknown with the very narrowest of viewpoints considering they didn't have complete maps, modern radios, satellites, computer navigation, marine weather forecasts, or any scientific understanding of what existed under the waves. So here I go, launching this thing. Saying to my deepest self, "I hope it floats".
Sailors, divers, and fishermen are some of the most superstitious people around. Superstitions often develop when the stakes are high and the variables that ensure success are so complex that it would be impossible to control all of them. Superstitions are one of many ways humans have found to create a sense of control over unpredictable things like accidents.
We'll take a moment and define "accident" a la Wiki (since it's in the title of this blog and all):
"An accident is a specific, unpredictable, unusual and unintended external action which occurs in a particular time and place, with no apparent and deliberate cause but with marked effects. It implies a generally negative outcome which may have been avoided or prevented had circumstances leading up to the accident been recognized, and acted upon, prior to its occurrence."
The word mistake can also be added here. Accident and mistake both give us the same sentiment, that things are somehow not how they should be. A failure has occurred. Something out of control or out of sync happened and it left us feeling vulnerable.
After an accident, the tendency for most of us (including myself) is to take the perspective of only one or two view points. The tendency is to focus on the parts- the details, the drama, and to forget about the rest. This is the reason accidents often seem to be purely negative ie. expensive, inconvenient, embarrassing, unfair, irreparable, or ruinous. This narrow viewpoint is part of the judgment that is made based on personal perspective or empathetic consideration of someone else's situation.
This tendency for narrow view points is a big reason that yogis and people like the late artist and oil-painter Bob Ross have had jobs. Bob Ross was a lovable guy who had an instructional oil painting show which ran for 12 years on public television. I remember Bob both for his awesome 'fro and his most famous instruction, "We don't have mistakes here, just happy accidents". Bob had a habit of turning his so-called "happy accidents" into hills and trees.
The truth is that the ability to change to a wider view point actually helps maintain one's innate sense of joy even in the face of tragedy. Even large, horrible accidents like The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (also known as the BP oil spill, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the BP oil disaster, or the Macondo blowout) can be seen as serving a larger and perhaps even necessary purpose.
Please be patient here as I briefly list for you what I have found to be the triumphant things which resulted from the recent gulf oil disaster. I do this to illustrate my point that we can find a connection to the innate joy even in a tragic situation. "The spill" (read: greatest environmental calamity ever) alerted us to even larger dangers related to off shore drilling. We can now pass laws and policies to mitigate those dangers. The spill helped inspire the widespread desire to manage our energy consumption differently. This is a shift that will affect generations to come. Stories from the spill reveal the inarguable and otherwise hidden vitality, generosity, and honorable strength of the human spirit that exists within us all. The spill poignantly reminds us of the complex quivering natural beauty that is our Gulf Coast which then fuels our urge to improve measures to protect the life that once flourished.
Let's be clear, regardless of the width of your viewpoint it's still appropriate to slow down and be sorrowful when tragedy strikes. As one of my teachers says, "If someone you love dies, you should be sad. It would be inappropriate to be smiling and happy in face of such a difficult time." It is, in my opinion, the very highest level of spirituality that gives the freedom to fully feel sorrow while maintaining sorrow's connection to joy. That's that's the stuff of laughter through tears which is maybe the most complex emotion a human being can have.
There's another word for this joy, a very misunderstood word, a four letter word. Love. I'll get to love on another day. I use joy here because it's has a less complex history than love and, although it lacks the same depth, it conveys the same general truth I'm trying to describe. After all, it's the word Bob Ross used in the title of his highly successful painting show, "The Joy of Painting".
Yup, Bob got it right. He literally saw the bigger picture. Painting with Bob wasn't about making something which looked exactly the way he planned. Bob taught that the real art of painting was in the spirit of discovery. It was in having accidents and accepting them for what they were, pushes in a new direction. The manner of this creative flow is what Bob and his many viewers found to be...joyful.
I've sailed a long way around toward explaining the idea behind the title of this blog which, by the way, was an accident. I've asked myself the painfully obvious and somewhat egoic questions that plague writers: Does the world really need another...[insert creative work of written expression blog, article, book, etc.]? Seriously, isn't this is a set up for me to make mistakes and possibly regret something later on? Should I really open up in this way? What do I know anyway? Well, you're reading this long thing so you know how that internal struggle went.
Do we really need rainbows, sunlight with puffy clouds, smiles, hugs, flowers, Mother's Days, rock bands, convertible cars, and favorite song playlists ? I'm not saying my writing will compete with that list of contemplations. I'm saying that inspirational and artistic reminders help us keep a connection to the innate joy in our own hearts, and they are a necessary part of living.
I find it interesting that the very things which are designed to elicit joy (see above rainbows, flowers, etc.) end up becoming so overused or clichéd in this somewhat chronically disconnected society that people actually distrust them a bit. I know what that feels like and to that I say, try shifting the view to a broader perspective, look for the good, and contemplate your accidents. Accidents can be viewed as the rocks ocean waves flow onto and crash against, they disrupt the joyful pattern of flow that we would otherwise be unable to imagine or appreciate.
Well, I apparently launched a cruise ship of a first blog. I feel as though I should offer you a flower necklace or something as you disembark but that would be taking the metaphor too far. While these words and thoughts are my own, the philosophy which inspired them was shared with me through a long line of very wise and joyful people.
If you've already encountered this philosophy then it's likely you found it enjoyable as always to be reminded. If you are like me, and this is your first encounter with this particular philosophical approach then it probably struck a cord and a few thoughts arose to challenge it. There's a comment box below for the thoughts that arise. Write what you want, I promise to look for the good. I consider challenges to be very good.
(In case you are worried about the title of my blog, I want to point out that yes, I know it's misspelled. It was an accident and it seems to have worked out OK.)
Sailors, divers, and fishermen are some of the most superstitious people around. Superstitions often develop when the stakes are high and the variables that ensure success are so complex that it would be impossible to control all of them. Superstitions are one of many ways humans have found to create a sense of control over unpredictable things like accidents.
We'll take a moment and define "accident" a la Wiki (since it's in the title of this blog and all):
"An accident is a specific, unpredictable, unusual and unintended external action which occurs in a particular time and place, with no apparent and deliberate cause but with marked effects. It implies a generally negative outcome which may have been avoided or prevented had circumstances leading up to the accident been recognized, and acted upon, prior to its occurrence."
The word mistake can also be added here. Accident and mistake both give us the same sentiment, that things are somehow not how they should be. A failure has occurred. Something out of control or out of sync happened and it left us feeling vulnerable.
After an accident, the tendency for most of us (including myself) is to take the perspective of only one or two view points. The tendency is to focus on the parts- the details, the drama, and to forget about the rest. This is the reason accidents often seem to be purely negative ie. expensive, inconvenient, embarrassing, unfair, irreparable, or ruinous. This narrow viewpoint is part of the judgment that is made based on personal perspective or empathetic consideration of someone else's situation.
This tendency for narrow view points is a big reason that yogis and people like the late artist and oil-painter Bob Ross have had jobs. Bob Ross was a lovable guy who had an instructional oil painting show which ran for 12 years on public television. I remember Bob both for his awesome 'fro and his most famous instruction, "We don't have mistakes here, just happy accidents". Bob had a habit of turning his so-called "happy accidents" into hills and trees.
The truth is that the ability to change to a wider view point actually helps maintain one's innate sense of joy even in the face of tragedy. Even large, horrible accidents like The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (also known as the BP oil spill, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the BP oil disaster, or the Macondo blowout) can be seen as serving a larger and perhaps even necessary purpose.
Please be patient here as I briefly list for you what I have found to be the triumphant things which resulted from the recent gulf oil disaster. I do this to illustrate my point that we can find a connection to the innate joy even in a tragic situation. "The spill" (read: greatest environmental calamity ever) alerted us to even larger dangers related to off shore drilling. We can now pass laws and policies to mitigate those dangers. The spill helped inspire the widespread desire to manage our energy consumption differently. This is a shift that will affect generations to come. Stories from the spill reveal the inarguable and otherwise hidden vitality, generosity, and honorable strength of the human spirit that exists within us all. The spill poignantly reminds us of the complex quivering natural beauty that is our Gulf Coast which then fuels our urge to improve measures to protect the life that once flourished.
Let's be clear, regardless of the width of your viewpoint it's still appropriate to slow down and be sorrowful when tragedy strikes. As one of my teachers says, "If someone you love dies, you should be sad. It would be inappropriate to be smiling and happy in face of such a difficult time." It is, in my opinion, the very highest level of spirituality that gives the freedom to fully feel sorrow while maintaining sorrow's connection to joy. That's that's the stuff of laughter through tears which is maybe the most complex emotion a human being can have.
There's another word for this joy, a very misunderstood word, a four letter word. Love. I'll get to love on another day. I use joy here because it's has a less complex history than love and, although it lacks the same depth, it conveys the same general truth I'm trying to describe. After all, it's the word Bob Ross used in the title of his highly successful painting show, "The Joy of Painting".
Yup, Bob got it right. He literally saw the bigger picture. Painting with Bob wasn't about making something which looked exactly the way he planned. Bob taught that the real art of painting was in the spirit of discovery. It was in having accidents and accepting them for what they were, pushes in a new direction. The manner of this creative flow is what Bob and his many viewers found to be...joyful.
I've sailed a long way around toward explaining the idea behind the title of this blog which, by the way, was an accident. I've asked myself the painfully obvious and somewhat egoic questions that plague writers: Does the world really need another...[insert creative work of written expression blog, article, book, etc.]? Seriously, isn't this is a set up for me to make mistakes and possibly regret something later on? Should I really open up in this way? What do I know anyway? Well, you're reading this long thing so you know how that internal struggle went.
Do we really need rainbows, sunlight with puffy clouds, smiles, hugs, flowers, Mother's Days, rock bands, convertible cars, and favorite song playlists ? I'm not saying my writing will compete with that list of contemplations. I'm saying that inspirational and artistic reminders help us keep a connection to the innate joy in our own hearts, and they are a necessary part of living.
I find it interesting that the very things which are designed to elicit joy (see above rainbows, flowers, etc.) end up becoming so overused or clichéd in this somewhat chronically disconnected society that people actually distrust them a bit. I know what that feels like and to that I say, try shifting the view to a broader perspective, look for the good, and contemplate your accidents. Accidents can be viewed as the rocks ocean waves flow onto and crash against, they disrupt the joyful pattern of flow that we would otherwise be unable to imagine or appreciate.
Well, I apparently launched a cruise ship of a first blog. I feel as though I should offer you a flower necklace or something as you disembark but that would be taking the metaphor too far. While these words and thoughts are my own, the philosophy which inspired them was shared with me through a long line of very wise and joyful people.
If you've already encountered this philosophy then it's likely you found it enjoyable as always to be reminded. If you are like me, and this is your first encounter with this particular philosophical approach then it probably struck a cord and a few thoughts arose to challenge it. There's a comment box below for the thoughts that arise. Write what you want, I promise to look for the good. I consider challenges to be very good.
(In case you are worried about the title of my blog, I want to point out that yes, I know it's misspelled. It was an accident and it seems to have worked out OK.)
