Relative Something

How about an Andy Rooney ‘have you ever noticed’ moment? Have you ever noticed… that what really matters to you can vary wildly, depending on the setting? For the most part, if we don’t think about something, it doesn’t bother us. It aligns well with the, “out of sight, out of mind” concept.

I could mention a few examples, but then that would get you worked up about something that you were just fine with a moment ago, because you weren’t thinking about it. Maybe if I describe something related, it will serve just as well.

Yesterday morning, in the pre-dawn dullness, I awoke with a need to pee, only to discover that the electricity had gone out. This is a sure recipe for oversleeping in my world. So, I searched out my cell phone to check the time and, lo and behold, it was almost time to get up anyway. I crawled back under the blankets, but I knew not to let myself fall back into a deep sleep. Then the power came on. That gave me a chance to reset the clock and, with the alarm as safety, I could sack out for another 20 minutes.

Except the power went off right away again. As I lay there knowing I shouldn’t sleep, I considered my options, most of which had become non-options due to their requirements for electric power. At a moment like this, you become aware of how much our current lifestyle is dependent upon electricity. I wondered how widespread the outage might be. Would there be power at my workplace? What if the whole city, or the whole state, were without power. What a major news story that would be!

However, what if it was just my block? How much of a non-event is that? Well, it is completely a non-event to those of you who don’t even know it happened. I bet it didn’t bother you one bit.

Imagine if our lives were an all new episode. Would we wait around for the preview scenes after a word from our sponsor? Something tells me there wouldn’t be as many complications as are typically found in a 1-hour television drama. I think one of the reasons I am such a fan of post-apocalyptic stories is that they depict future societies that no longer have the television frame of reference.

Sometimes I wonder what life was truly like for people in the past who lived in a rural environment without radio or television entertainment. At the same time, I am inclined to want to compare them to the way people of today would adapt if they were put in the same situation of no radio or television. A post-apocalyptic scenario, void of electricity, creates just that opportunity for me.

I was captivated by Cormac McCarthy’s novel, “The Road” and for the most part, enjoyed the interpretation of a post-apocalyptic USA as depicted in the movie, “The Book of Eli,” but I always come away from such stories wondering about the likelihood that the way the author or film director depict the vision is anywhere near what might actually occur. I have difficulty dissecting which parts seem genuinely possible from the parts that seem overly dramatized Hollywood manipulations. Then it kind of becomes a snake eating its tail. Time to think about something else…

Like packing to go out of town for a weekend? No, I won’t think about that yet. I’ve still got a few hours before it is time to leave. Here’s to all the things I didn’t get accomplished before it came time to go. Trust me, it makes for really dreary drama. On the other hand, it is an all new episode!

What if world population actually does continue to grow? What if we don’t figure out how to feed them all? What if a virus does overwhelm our world health organization’s best attempts to fend off a pandemic? What if we have enough food, but not enough medicine? What if greedy people and their schemes to get filthy rich at the expense of others, screw up global economies such that there is complete financial collapse? What if that doesn’t happen and world economies thrive and racial equity is achieved for all and then an asteroid destroys the earth? What if the shots missed Kennedy in Texas? What if Abraham Lincoln hadn’t been assassinated? What if Christians never killed anyone? What if every person on earth held the same spiritual beliefs? What if the Catholic religion focused solely on worshiping God, yet without any rules? What if none of the world religions had any dietary restrictions? What if every person was actually a double agent spy? What if, when the time comes, we forget to die? What if, regardless your religious beliefs, when your body dies, your soul lives on and communes with spiritual masters during the time between returning to another life in a human body? What if some of the souls that return are enabled to bring past experience and show up as child prodigies? What if we learn that our man-made religious organizations are dysfunctional and more often than not get in the way of ultimate spirituality? What if humans of Protestant faith and humans of Catholic faith never harmed each other? What if they practiced actually loving each other? What if no one ever mocked the type of music other people enjoy? What if rock bands never, ever, ever agreed to play Superbowl halftime shows? What if athletes never suffered injury playing their sport? What if no one ever took other people’s stuff? What if no one ever had more than they needed? What if no one ever had less than they needed? What if fresh water was the most valuable thing in the world? What if society completely breaks down after an apocalypse and all you have left is diamond jewelry? What if thought exercises turn out to be useless wastes of time?