Sunday, May 2, 2010

The Ships Captain

Today I thought I would write about choices. We make so many of them everyday. Some small and insignificant others are possibly life changing. I think all choices we make, big or small, have consequences of varying degrees. I believe strongly in causality which is a philosophical concept of cause and effect. We can take this and make it very basic. When my brain tells my foot to press on the brake in my car the car slows down. The effect was a slowing car, the cause was my foot on the brake. But what actually made my foot press on the brake is the key, it was my mind.

I love analogies and lately I've been thinking of this one: My body is a ship and my brain is the captain. The captain is in charge of the ship. The ship does nothing without orders from the captain and the ship always does what the captain says, even if it's not in the ships best interest.


Every time our hand moves from the plate to our mouths, every time we put our hand in the cookie jar, every time we turn down a piece of cake, every time we accept a piece of cake, every time we get off that treadmill/bike 5 minutes earlier, every time we stay on that bike/treadmill a little longer, every single last solitary movement and decision we make is a direct order from the Captain.

The point is control. When we understand that we are in control we can steer our ship to the destination of our choice. Yes there will be icebergs/obstacles, yes stormy weather may throw us off course but a good captain intent on bringing their ship safely to port will find a way. An out of control captain that throws caution to the wind, who forgoes the health and safety of their ship, doesn't plan his course out and doesn't deal with troubles head on will end up in a place they didn't want to be.

Once I realized that I wasn't helpless and that I had control things started to change. I decide what I will eat, I decide when and how I will exercise, I decide the course and bearing of this ship. If things aren't working I will chart a new course.

All fingers point to me. I am in control, I am the Captain.

CAPTAIN: "GET ON THAT BIKE RIGHT NOW!"
SHIP: " YES SIR CAPTAIN, RIGHT AWAY SIR!"

MM

4 comments:

  1. Good analogy. Sadly, I think my ship's crew often cries "Mutiny!" :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh Captain, my captain!

    Nice analogy. Get ready for a good month.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Woohoo! Self-empowerment is powerful. You really get this journey and how it works. Awesome! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great words MM. We are the captains.

    ReplyDelete