Inspiration to not be a Zombie!
Oprah considers Dr. Tererai Trent from Zimbabwe her all-time favorite guest. Listening to a podcast, Tererai’s story starts with how she wrote down her goals for coming to America and achieving a PhD, and buried them in a can similar to the Zimbabwe custom of burying a baby’s umbilical cord. It took her twenty years but she persisted and is achieving more than her initial goals.
Two aspects of Tererai’s story immediately resonate with me. The first is the significance of the Umbilical Cord. In Zimbabwe it is buried as a symbol of never losing the memory and the significance of one’s birth place. In Japan, many believe the significance of the umbilical cord directly impacts the baby’s health. The hospital usually gives the mother a special box to preserve the cord. Sam’s mother saved Sam’s and he was told, “It can be used for a medicine if you need it.” We can be Umbilical Cords ourselves and do more than impacting just physical health.
The second significance of Tererai’s story is that her mother particularly encouraged her and said, “Your goals are only of value when tied to betterment of your community.”
Similar to the Umbilical Cord’s being a conduit of nutrition to a new life, stories and OMOIDE - Memories need us as “Umbilical Cords” of passing on psychological, philosophical and historical values to the next generations. Tereria is sharing her story and each one of us can do the same.
Everyone has a story.
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CHOOSING NOT TO BE A ZOMBIE
MORTALITY has never bothered me. This morning, I'm listening to one of my favorite podcasters, Lex Fridman.
Randomly, as she was leaving for an appointment, I asked Kelly, my daughter, "What is your greatest fear?" Her answer was, “To be buried with Zombies all around me.” That means she has to be buried alive and conscious? Also Zombies have to be created by her consciousness. Therefore, what Kelly can do is to take more responsibility for her thinking??
As I continue to listen to Lex interviewing John Vervaeke, Department of Psychology Faculty Director at U of Toronto, they keep mentioning "Zombies" in searching for wisdom. Vervaeke suggests “life/death” is like an orchestra playing a piece of music and when it ends; WAS IT BEAUTIFUL?
Looking up the definition of “Zombies”: a will-less and speechless human.
If being a Zombie is to become my greatest fear, what do I need to do and learn to overcome this fear??? For sure, to keep listening, learning and making choices for my thinking is where I'm going.
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