I’ve hesitated to write about the BP oil spill. There is so much bad news out there that I didn’t feel I could write about it until I had something constructive to say.
So, here is how I see it:
BP took a huge gamble. They drilled in deep waters without a net. And then, the unthinkable happened – disaster on a scale we cannot comprehend. BP wasn’t alone in this gamble – the US government aided and abetted them in their quest for profits…including allowing them to write off much of the cost of the rig to begin with, and of course, waiving inspections, compliance and all the rest.
They must pay.
But that dance has not yet even really begun.
How could the officials of BP think that there would be no problems associated with their experimental project? How could the government nod their heads and go along? How come we’re only hearing about this NOW?
Well, you might not like my answer, but here is my take: Every single person on earth is ‘playing the averages’ in their life. From the smallest to the largest decisions, we are all working from the same playbook as BP.
*Should I cross the street NOW? or after that car passes?
*Should I cash in a chunk of my retirement so stay afloat? and worry about the consequences later?
*Should I buy a house I can afford this month, knowing the shakiness of the overall economy?
*Should I recommend my company buy these credit default swaps and hopefully unload them before the inevitable crash?
*Should I day trade instead of going with an established brokerage?
*Should I gamble my rent payment on this hand? I’ve been winning all night…
Do you see the pattern? Some decisions have to be made. You can say that some are made on faith (as in buying a house or staying afloat) and some are made out of greed (in the case of credit default swaps and gambling the rent), but we make them every day and we can’t always see the outcomes clearly.
Here’s the deal – the way I see it, for some unknown reason, it was BP’s turn to get caught in the risk mill. It could have just as easily been any other company on the face of the earth, but BP pulled the rusty brass ring this time, and it’s their turn to have the light shone on their business practices (and by association, the government, too.)
It feels OH SOO GOOOD to place blame on those bad, bad people. “Look at what you’ve done to me, to my family, to my home, to my planet!” But remember, we’re all gambling on some level – we’re all believing that the lottery will come through for us and wipe away all those risky decisions we’re making today.
This time there’s no silver bullet. And so we are left with our personal responses to this mess.
What’s going to happen? That all depends on the quality of our personal response. No matter how this plays out in the end, we still have to live inside ourselves today – and I’m asking you – in relation to the oil spill, how hospitable is that interior space in your mind and heart? Is it a toxic stew of blame and hate? If it is, then the quality of your personal outcome will not be very bright.
I’m asking you to look – just look, don’t judge – at the fact that we’re all gamblers somewhere in our lives. Just look – don’t judge – at the fact that we knowingly make risky choices, betting that things will go our way and we won’t get caught in the risk mill this time. When you look at things this way, you are at the doorway of forgiveness.
You don’t want to forgive BP?
Who does?
But it all comes back to us – all the time, every day, no exceptions. There is so much more to unfold in this oil spill story that we cannot yet imagine. The quality of our personal response NOW will determine how our lives will unfold moving forward. So try to look inside your own heart. See what you’re creating there. Ask yourself if you’re happy with what you find, and perhaps begin to ever-so-slightly change your thoughts about blame, hate and the role of the innocent victim.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
This life experience is not about anything if it is not about change. It is an opportunity for a close look at how we are interacting with this physical space. It is an opportunity for growth and change in the lives of many people. The spill will have many positive outcomes when they are allowed to happen.
Kim, thanks for the video, the choices that mankind makes can boggle the mind. I’m a Rachel fan, so I appreciate your comment so much!
I appreciate your point of view and agree with you. Did you know this disaster happened 31 yrs ago in 1979, in the Gulf? Excellent video by a reporter named Rachel Maddow puts the 2 disasters together. Interesting and enlightening. Nothing new under the sun.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHmhxpQEGPo&feature=player_embedded
Deb -
I too think that we need to each look at the individual decisions that we are making in our lives. There is fault to go around to everyone – but healing will not commence until we stop looking for fault and start looking for a better way to live. WE need to bec ome more responsible people, we need to hold out local, national and international governing bodies accountable, and we need to reign in big business.
My biggest thanks go to you for repeating Dr. Emoto’s prayer – I picked up the “I’m Sorry, Please Forgive Me, I love You” from somewhere, but I didn’t know where. Now I can include the phrase in my writing and know who to attribut it to!
Blessings,
Bonnie
PS Dr. Emoto’s prayer also has all the components of a Ho’oponopono healing.
Maureen,
Thank you SO MUCH for that lovely comment.
For those that don’t know who Dr. Emoto is, he’s the scientist who experimented with water. He put water in bottles and sent angry thoughts to it. He put different water in different bottles and sent loving thoughts to it. Then he froze the water and examined the ice crystals under an electron microscope. His amazing finding was that the quality of the ice crystals was apparently influenced by the thoughts that were directed to them. His theory surrounds the idea that our bodies and most of the planet are made of water, so the quality of our thoughts makes a constant impact on our reality.
Just let that sink in for a moment.
Maureen, thank you again for taking the time to remind us!
Deb
agreed.. this event has reflected the collective conscious of all of us.
I am sharing a beautiful prayer I received
Dr. Masaru Emoto’s Healing Prayer for the Gulf
Right now, most of us have the predominantly angry emotion when we consider what is happening in the Gulf. And while certainly we are justified in that emotion, we may be of greater assistance to our planet and its life forms, if we sincerely, powerfully and humbly pray the prayer that Dr Emoto, himself, has proposed.
“I send the energy of love and gratitude to the water and all the living creatures in the Gulf of Mexico and its surroundings.
To the whales, dolphins, pelicans, fish, shellfish, plankton, coral, algae, and all living creatures . . . I am sorry.
Please forgive me.
Thank you.
I love you. ”
we should be sending this intention many times throughout the day.
& then Ghandi’s prayer of peace…
“I offer you peace.
I offer you love.
I offer you friendship.
I see your beauty.
I hear your need.
I feel your feelings.
My wisdom flows from the highest source.
I salute that source in you.
Let us work together for unity and love.”