Microcosm is defined as a community, place or situation regarded as encapsulating in miniature the characteristics, qualities, or features of something much larger. A glaring example of a microcosm is what we’re currently seeing in the NFL.
It’s been said many times that sports is a microcosm for society. The NFL gives us a double-whammy in this department in that they are a corporation the likes of which I’m sure many elites in the corporate world are envious. We see things getting really real with accusations being levied by the former head coach of the Miami Dolphins, Brian Flores. First off, the fact that there is even the existence of the “Rooney Rule” (the Rooney Rule, named for the late owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, basically says that teams must interview a certain amount of minority candidates for their top positions within the organization) in the NFL suggests there’s a problem. Even if you aren’t a sports fan, stay tuned to this class action lawsuit as it plays out. It could have ramifications felt for generations in the corporate world and there ain’t no telling where else. I sure hope Coach Flores is the man he seems to be and is a catalyst for change. Healers come in many forms and he certainly put his career on the line.
All this is NOT to mention the fact that part of Coach Flores’ lawsuit alleges he was offered 100K per loss. Remember we thought we were being cute with the term, “tanking for Tua.” Apparently, there was truth to said tanking. If this is proven true, some powerful people are going to be exposed. Google what happened with David Sterling in the NBA. FOR SALE! I am aware the NFL has different powers than the NBA, but this situation seems unprecedented.
Is the Tennessee school board’s decision to ban “Maus,” by Art Spiegelman an example of microcosm? (I got my info here from weird history on Instagram. “Black Beauty was banned in South Africa simply because of its title.) Perhaps it’s more of an example of micro-mindedness. Either way, censorship, whatever guise you’d like to put it under, leads to ignorance, ignorance leads to fear, fear leads us into the fray of everything we’d like to avoid and makes us vulnerable to all sorts of controls that we eventually take for granted as one would a comfortable old pair of shoes. Certain realities remain in place simply because no one dares to dust them off to see what’s out of date, assuming the notion of dusting off even occurred to anyone in the first place. Homogeny can be a stagnant place.
Why are you on a soapbox, Sutty? Why can’t you just talk about pro golf getting crunk up with the Florida swing imminent, the Masters around the corner, and what your holistic spin is on the state of the game of golf? All in good time, but not today, my friends. This is what’s on my mind and I also wanted to use it to illustrate how censoring our own feelings is a microcosm for the whole of us.
I ask any of you who have an ounce of introspection to answer in your own hearts how censoring your feelings has ever worked out to your advantage. Perhaps you are in a situation currently where this realization is dawning upon your awareness as I type these words. Take heart, for you are not alone. Misery loves company is no longer good enough when the opposite can also be true.
Nature gives us countless examples of how the micro affects the macro, or the whole. Are we not made up of atoms we were unaware of until someone had the courage, curiosity, foresight, and skill to make our first microscope? Just because we can’t see a hummingbird’s wings doesn’t mean they aren’t there.
Just as the saying, “All politics are local,” is true, know that true change starts at the individual level. What are your underlying beliefs? How were you raised? Have you really evolved as far as you thought or merely relabeled? You know how we humans insist upon our labels. There are no right or wrong answers here, only honestly answering to yourself is required. If your growth is essentially a snazzier new label, don’t fret. The mere awareness and acknowledgement of what’s happening now is enough to relieve pressure you never wanted to admit was there. Let’s quote the recently departed Thich Nhat Hanh here: “The meditator breathes in and says, ‘Hello my fears, my anger, my despair. I will take good care of you’.” Remember love is inclusive.
While we’re at it, resist the urge to go into old paradigms of always having to do just one more thing before arriving at the promised land. This future will always be the carrot dangling in front of the mule. This future feels superstitious in nature while mortgaging the only thing any of us truly have—NOW.
But Sutty, isn’t this new attitude you’re proposing going to preclude self-improvement? Good question, but that question is fear-based. What do I mean by this? If I don’t do x, y, and z, then a, b, and c shall crack the whip—something bad will happen. Keeping up with the Joneses is internal—always has been. Golf teaches us good shots can have bad results just as bad shots can have good results. Life can teach us, if we’ll choose to listen, that we can do everything right and still get a horrible result.
I am proposing a different premise with which to begin any endeavor. Assume you’re never NOT out of alignment with God, Spirit, your Higher Self or however you want to put it. This means you’re trusting your true self to determine if running 5 miles at 4am is really for you or you’ve just mislabeled convoluted self-loathing as self-improvement. Just because it works for Jones down the street doesn’t mean it’s for you.
Namaste and know that hummingbirds have wings.
As an aside, I want to thank my writing partner, Katherine Brown, for writing “TTFN” for Wholly Holistics’ last column. In case you missed it, she wrote about her recent experience with her bestie’s passing and Hospice. It was an absolutely beautiful piece that was timely for me as my grandfather (Gran) was in the caring and capable hands of Hospice in the Upstate of South Carolina. Thank you, Hospice for all that you do that the rest of us don’t know we NEED until we need it. I hope and vow here that I am in the position to help this organization one day before I need them.
