After the Titanic sank in the frigid waters of the North Atlantic, an inquiry was held as to the number of lifeboats, the number of people they held, and how they were deployed. In that era, the owners determined the number of lifeboats needed for each ocean liner. They built ships in a way that shouldn’t require enough lifeboats for the number of people on the ship, or so they thought. The result of such an assumption regarding modern ships’ safety led to a catastrophic loss of life. Today, our Titanic is a pandemic with a great number of assumptions being made around safety, and another catastrophic loss of life has been imprinted on the history of the humankind.
Everyone needs lifeboats. During transitions and upheavals, we must embrace the lifeboats at our disposal and create new ones for the future. Difficult changes will occur regardless of any pandemic, so it’s important to take an inventory of the number of lifeboats available. A lifeboat can be a loving, supporting family member, a nurturing friend, a kind neighbor, or a loving community. How many believe their dog is their lifeboat (tee hee)? It helps to know someone or something can save us when we are drowning. Sometimes the only one there will be ourselves, and then we will be called upon to save us. That possibility will hinge on our faith, resources, creativity, or something in the deeper regions of our soul.
It might be time to create a new lifeboat, because not all lifeboats are permanent. Take our parents, for example. Perhaps when they reach age seventy, the roles change and they need you to be their lifeboat. Let’s call upon a lifeboat that whispers as an angel:
With all the division in the world today, it can be frightening to think you’re drowning and there is no one to save you. Isolation will only add to the challenge, which illuminates the importance of connecting to the hearts of others. Surrounded by a large population, many still find themselves on a deserted island. Trust is a luxury that is sometimes missing from those who have suffered trauma or betrayal. Helping others can mean you will be someone’s lifeboat.
Now more than never it is important to fortify heart connections, even from a distance. Like on the Titanic, everyone needed to work together despite any differences. The common goal of survival united the passengers. Today there is plenty of opportunity to find common ground with defined goals that everyone can agree upon. But if you choose to swim alone, you must find ways to stay afloat until the lifeboat comes your way.
Take inventory of your life to determine your resources and supportive people to identify as your lifeboats. Create new lifeboats by joining a supportive group, touching base with a lost connection, or staying afloat as you find a suitable lifeboat. Buoy your faith to your soul and you will swim with renewed optimism and an open heart. There you will attract the people, situations, and conditions that will support you through the inevitable storms that cross your path.
The joyful heart surfs across the ocean of love as you ride the wave of your wishes and dreams. Hope floats until the lifeboats arrive, so nurture yourself with all forms of lifeboats.
Bring joy, ease suffering and create beauty, then dance like you mean it!
Blessings, Russell
“I think I was his lifeline too. We were both adrift in New York City. We were both surrounded by so many people, but ultimately we were terribly alone.
Until we found each other.”
Lauren Blakely
