Blog 615 – 04.27.2017
So Much More Beneath The Surface

This beautiful picture of an iceberg inspired me to think about how much more there is below the surface. We are so quick to make snap judgements about people, things, and situations  based on the little that we see on the surface. Even employers think they can evaluated the worthiness of a person to be an employee base on an a brief interview and a few questions. The old wisdom of “You cannot judge a book by its cover” has given way to if you cannot say it in a tweet, write it on a bumper sticker, or a trucker hat, well it is too complicated. I am here to tell you the truth is that if you really knew that brother or sister, thing or situation that you consider, “the least of these” or “unworthy of your time or attention” then you would realize that there are indeed worlds not dreamt of in your philosophy and that they and even you are way more magnificent that any surface evaluation could ever reveal without exception. No matter how little or insignificant we or they might appear on the surface there is more, so much more, to know and to love.

The unsinkable Titanic was sunk by an iceberg below the deck and that was not the first time nor the last time that supposedly wise people made critical decisions based on little or incomplete information. As I write this there are some four hundred world wide demonstrations planned in support of science. I heard someone say last night that science and politics have never gotten along very well. I would add that religion has resisted science as well. Being fair I would also have to admit that establish scientific theory often resists new informed opinions as well. It seems most all of us get pretty set in our thinking and are not always willing to follow new discoveries and to accept new explanations even when the facts point out plainly that we should.

There are a number of reasons for this reluctance to change our minds. That it might cost us something is very high on the list. Look how industry after industry has trouble admitting their products are harmful and taking them off the market. When profit at any price is the rule there is always a lot of collateral damage just as in war bombs or bullets intended to hit military targets often miss the mark. Often though our aim may be true the consequences of our actions do tremendous damage because we have not considered the underlying factors.

I read recently that the scientists who developed the first atomic bombs were not sure if setting it off might not cause a chain reaction that would destroy the whole world. How irresponsible that act was and it may yet be that their fear could one day be realized. There was a poem that I remember hearing as a boy that said, “I shot an arrow into the air. It fell to earth I know not where.” Some people, I am told, celebrate by shooting guns into the air giving little or no thought as to where and at what velocity those bullets will come back to earth. Unintended death and injury has happened and still the practice continues.

Living a truly conscious life means paying attention not only to the obvious but looking beneath the surface of things and trying to determine the bigger picture the greater truth. That my friends is hard to put in a tweet, on a bumper sticker, or on a trucker hat. There is way more beneath the surface than is visible above the water. What we see is just the tip of the iceberg.

Your friend and fellow traveler,
David White