I have been passing the time by the pool reading Pacific by Simon Winchester which is an excellent easy read. It looks at the Pacific region through the prism of select historical events – everything from the invention of surfing to the looming clash between the US and China. Whilst reading the section on the history surfing one phrase caught my eye. Over the years there had been much debate as to both the origin of the Polynesian people and their habit if grabbing a large plank of wood and riding waves with it. As to the origin of the Polynesians those of us who are old enough will remember growing up and hearing stories of the efforts of Thor Heyerdahl and his Kon-Tiki expeditions that attempted to add weight to the hypothesis that Polynesians as descended from sea faring South Americans. Along with this it had long been claimed by Peruvian anchovy fisherman that they had invented surfing based upon the fact that the sit astride small boats constructed of reeds to check their nets.
Unfortunately for Heyerdahl DNA testing has shown that Polynesian was settled by Asia and that surfing is a uniquely Polynesian invention. In pointing out that surfing was not invented by Peruvian anchovy fisherman the fisherman had their last amulet of worth removed from them. This phrase has stuck with me as being immensely sad since it indicates that these people had nothing else to cling to from which to derive the currency of their identity. What makes this statement poignant is that I see it in people – I see it in people whose only currency is their physical appearance or their athletic ability. These things are granted to us courtesy of the flowering of youth and the sweetness of youth turns bitter for all us at some stage. None are immune from the relentless flight of times arrow in only one direction.
This got me thinking about the need for identity to be malleable and based upon a multifaceted approach to life. It also got me thinking as to whether my own approach to life and therefore identity was too one-dimensional .
Someone we both know once said to me that every day is the same – I think mostly referring to routine.
I didn’t get the opportunity respond at the time but I would beg to differ.
Every day gives you the opportunity to view life, things and yourself differently – I like experiences that open me to viewing the world in a new way and remind myself to try to have fresh eyes as much as possible.
Embrace aging – it has the opportunity to bring wisdom and freedom if you can remove yourself from your old image of yourself without too much difficulty.
We can all reinvent ourselves if we choose to – or stay the same – whatever floats your boat! Choice and awareness are precious gifts.
Maybe One Hundred Eyes has it right then when questioned:
Kublai: “Do you fear death?”
OHE: “I do not cling to life”.
There is only the Tao.
Love DNA testing. It was responsible for sending our family over to Scotland to visit extended family for the unveiling of our collective tests. Oops… after several years of correspondence it turned out that we weren’t related at all.
Wide eyed disbelief for all 26 of us. Our family tree had us linked through documentation.
It was so funny. It was a lunch I will never forget but oddly enough we still feel like family and nothing really changed except our family history folders. Talk about the need for malleable identity!
Times arrow does indeed fly in one direction but it’s the archers skill that governs it’s destiny focusing on the bullseye while choosing the strongest bow.
We certainly have no control over the passage of time and from that angle no control over the aging of our bodies. But we do have control over
What we eat
What we think
What we do.
With that in mind every new day is a chance to
fuel our bodies well
Learn new things and be thankful for where we are in life
Exercise, do new things and look for new adventures be they ever so small.
I’m not perfect at all this of course but it’s what I aim for. While we stay active (to our body’s limit) and actively engaged in life, the passing of time is largely irrelevant.
My 2 bobs worth.
Cheers