Random Thought

There is a story I remember from the movie 'What the Bleep Do We Know?' about Native Americans not being able to see Christopher Columbus' ships when they were offshore. In the movie, a neuroscientist is explaining the story and explains that a local shaman went to the edge of the water every day because he could see ripples in the water that were made by the ships - but he couldn't see the ships himself. He struggled to understand this and day after day he looked out to try to see something - until finally, he was able to see the ships. Apparently no one else could see the ships until he was able to see them and explain them. In the movie, they explain that we only see what we believe to be possible. The Native Americans couldn't see something they had never before experienced, so their brains couldn't comprehend it - they simply couldn't see it.

Regardless if this story is true - and there is some debate about it - it is a story that I found fascinating and it has stuck with me in the back of my mind. The reason I bring this up now is because when I was in the midst of my 16 mile run on the trail along Lake Michigan yesterday and I looked over the gorgeous lake - enjoying the beauty of the morning, the subtle waves and the sun reflecting off of it - and suddenly, I thought "What if there was something actually out there that I couldn't see simply because my mind wasn't able to comprehend it?"

Which in turn got me thinking about life experiences and as odd as it sounds, I couldn't help but feel like there is something out there for all of us that we may not be able to see because we can't comprehend it or aren't ready to accept it. In life, change is inevitable - it's not a good thing or a bad thing - it just is. It is our perspective and our willingness to accept that change and keep moving that makes change into a beneficial thing.

I am certainly not the best one to be explaining this, but I think so many of us are so content with the way things are without being willing to look out and see the potential of something different. What would happen if, metaphorically, a ship was coming in the distance. Would we be able to recognize it?