Life in the WakeTo read the intro to this retrospective series of posts, go here.
Original post date: June 12, 2007
Who hasn't stood at the edge of a lake or river and thrown a large rock into the water. It lands with a kerplunk on the surface and kicks up a splash. It also causes a ripple that begins at the epicenter of the water's displacement and moves beyond in all directions.
Life is a lot like the rock and the water. Every action -- proactive or reactive -- that is wrought by humankind or Mother Nature causes a ripple effect. It affects not only what is in the immediate area but things that seem separated by vast distances or time.
This is the point that confounds humanity again and again. Because our frame of reference viz-a-viz the universe is so small, we continuously fail to recognize the complete arc of the ripple that emanates from our own epicenters. We fail to recognize the cause and effect of our every action.
In present society, there's a great debate over the existence and causes of a phenomena called Global Warming. Some people discount its existence entirely. Others accept its presence, but believe it is part of the natural cycle of atmospheric conditions and that humans have had little effect on its occurrence. Still others believe it is the direct result of human tendencies to think short-term instead of long-term.
Regardless of where one falls on this continuum -- I fall in the human activity-induced camp -- I would hope that we could all agree that something has caused our atmosphere and climate to change somewhat to some significant degree. It is the result of a ripple from where somewhere or some time.
The film It's a Wonderful Life deals with this same premise. George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart), facing a personal and professional crisis, wishes he had never been born and contemplates suicide. An angel provides him with a glimpse of what his sleepy little town would have been like without his life lived.
In dramatic and not so dramatic ways, the town of "Bedford Falls" doesn't look anything like he expects. Of course, since this IS a movie, it illustrates ONLY the positive aspects of his life and how -- had it not been lived -- many negatives now exist. In actuality, were any of us to get to view how our communities and loved ones dealt with a life sans us, there would be a great mixture of both positives and negatives!
In essence, each and every thought we think or breath we take influences the actions, behaviors and consciousness of the entire universe. We can't escape it! And this goes to the heart of why Taoists believe we aren't genuinely independent actors and that we are all part of one reality.
As we go, so goes the world.
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a favorite story:
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Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity
[excerpt from 15:00 minutes into presentation]
"I'm doing a new book at the moment called "Epiphany," which is based on a series of interviews with people about how they discovered their talent. I'm fascinated by how people got to be there. It's really prompted by a conversation I had with a wonderful woman who maybe most people have never heard of, she's called Gillian Lynne, have you heard of her? Some have. She's a choreographer and everybody knows her work. She did "Cats," and "Phantom of the Opera." She's wonderful. I used to be on the board of the Royal Ballet, in England, as you can see. Anyway, Gillian and I had lunch one day and I said, "Gillian, how'd you get to be a dancer?" And she said it was interesting, when she was at school, she was really hopeless. And the school, in the '30s, wrote to her parents and said, "We think Gillian has a learning disorder." She couldn't concentrate, she was fidgeting. I think now they'd say she had ADHD. Wouldn't you? But this was the 1930s, and ADHD hadn't been invented at this point. It wasn't an available condition. (Laughter) People weren't aware they could have that.
Anyway, she went to see this specialist. So, this oak-paneled room, and she was there with her mother, and she was led and sat on a chair at the end, and she sat on her hands for 20 minutes while this man talked to her mother about all the problems Gillian was having at school. And at the end of it -- because she was disturbing people, her homework was always late, and so on, little kid of eight -- in the end, the doctor went and sat next to Gillian and said, "Gillian, I've listened to all these things that your mother's told me, and I need to speak to her privately." He said, "Wait here, we'll be back, we won't be very long." and they went and left her. But as they went out the room, he turned on the radio that was sitting on his desk. And when they got out the room, he said to her mother, "Just stand and watch her." And the minute they left the room, she said, she was on her feet, moving to the music. And they watched for a few minutes and he turned to her mother and said, "Mrs. Lynne, Gillian isn't sick, she's a dancer. Take her to a dance school."
I said, "What happened?" She said, "She did. I can't tell you how wonderful it was. We walked in this room and it was full of people like me. People who couldn't sit still. People who had to move to think." Who had to move to think. They did ballet, they did tap, they did jazz, they did modern, they did contemporary. She was eventually auditioned for the Royal Ballet School, she became a soloist, she had a wonderful career at the Royal Ballet. She eventually graduated from the Royal Ballet School and founded her own company -- the Gillian Lynne Dance Company -- met Andrew Lloyd Weber. She's been responsible for some of the most successful musical theater productions in history, she's given pleasure to millions, and she's a multi-millionaire. Somebody else might have put her on medication and told her to calm down."
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imagine the ripples caused by that one counsellor who had insight! quite possibly he never knew the impact of what he'd done either.
--sgl
[continued from prior comment, since it seemed to be too long.]
ReplyDeletequite possibly, the specialist never knew the impact of what he did. however, by being away, he made a profound impact on one person. and think of the thousands if not millions of people that have enjoyed her creative talents, many of whom may not know her either. (how many people pay attention to the name of the choreographer on a production they enjoy?)
--sgl
Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity
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Anyway, she went to see this specialist. So, this oak-paneled room, and she was there with her mother, and she was led and sat on a chair at the end, and she sat on her hands for 20 minutes while this man talked to her mother about all the problems Gillian was having at school. And at the end of it -- because she was disturbing people, her homework was always late, and so on, little kid of eight -- in the end, the doctor went and sat next to Gillian and said, "Gillian, I've listened to all these things that your mother's told me, and I need to speak to her privately." He said, "Wait here, we'll be back, we won't be very long." and they went and left her. But as they went out the room, he turned on the radio that was sitting on his desk. And when they got out the room, he said to her mother, "Just stand and watch her." And the minute they left the room, she said, she was on her feet, moving to the music. And they watched for a few minutes and he turned to her mother and said, "Mrs. Lynne, Gillian isn't sick, she's a dancer. Take her to a dance school."
--sgl