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| A Miracle Unfolding (Photo: Chilean Govt.) |
However, most of us have had enough practice to at least
take it as it comes. That’s often worked out fine when “it”
consists of routine things like income taxes, snow pileups, and cabin fever.
Even when the ante is upped, most people figure out a way to keep making lemonade. Some even figure out a way to sell it…
However, when the ante is upped to the point of having to imminently figure out the least torturous solution to a seemingly inextricable situation, the devil may literally be in the details. That’s when advance practice with questions such as “What would you (or Jesus, Buddha, Muhammed, Gandhi) do if… ” might make the difference between life and an unresolved (at best) death.
Bob Simon of CBS reports that the 33 Chilean miners who were rescued after being trapped underground for 69 days had to deal with just that sort of a dire situation. After interviewing them for a soon-to-be-aired 60 Minutes segment, Simon noted that they were down to one can of tuna amongst them all. As they shared this tuna (by “eating just one teaspoon each every 48 hours”), they considered death by deliberate carbon-monoxide poisoning (turning on an engine) and cannibalism (eating the bodies of those who died first).
Although this may seem a far-removed situation to those who are safely contemplating it from their TV sofas, we are all just a misstep away from similar choices. Whether we work in mines or in twin towers, our fate can be sealed in an instant.
It may therefore behoove us all to begin “dress rehearsals” for such possibilities. This does not mean desensitizing our bodies and psyches by hanging out in tight hungry spaces. Desensitization alone cannot alter the soul.
What can reach down that deep is the kind of strength that consistent daily spiritual practices can best provide.
Resource
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/02/10/60minutes/main7337759.shtml
Copyright February 13, 2011 by Linda Van Slyke
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