Queen Mary

I’ve been to every place imaginable in Los Angeles. That is not to boast, it’s because I’m curious and have a love of discovery, adventure and to experience my life with exposure to aesthetics and beauty as much as possible. But one place I haven’t been to is the Queen Mary (https://www.visitcalifornia.com/experience/queen-mary/) although I’ve had invitations it wasn’t until two weeks ago that I experienced it firsthand.

In my period costume, I thought of the Titanic. I wondered how many people were on board, that were crated off and perhaps stranded for a while. Others trapped on board, the sea around them stormy, and there were no lifeboats left, counting the minutes to their demise.

The countless people watching the ship and its passengers in distress. Perhaps some dove into the icy cold water. It would have been both a brave and active decision.

Perhaps they were some courageous enough in their clothes to aid their friends and fellow passengers and tie a rope around their waist, then, with a knife, wade into the water and begin swimming toward the ship.

Newton’s First Law:

Every object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change its state by the action of an external force.

The compulsion is not the tricky part. We make resolutions every year. The ancient Babylonians were the first to make them, four thousand years ago. The Romans promised their god Janus each year that they would do better than the one before. The Jews, the early Christians, those who centuries later went to mass that January 5th, and the 60% of us who, pledge to pay attention, to improve, to change.

We stand on our marks, set, but halfway through January, get busy, jaded, and cold feet. We see the lady in front of us struggle with her bags, but our groceries are heavy too. Watch strangers drowning but will we survive when the water is freezing. Our intentions waiver as we hesitate.

What if we change nothing, save no one? What if we fail, what if it hurts, what if we feel?

Newton’s Second Law:

Force is equal to the change in momentum per change in time.

Momentum is the force that keeps an object moving once it has been launched. But momentum demands an initial thrust, a decision. It cannot occur on its own.

Momentum must be built; mass times movement. First of all, it requires much mass. The first dive is the hardest, coldest; Change is a challenge to Newton’s First Law. The first fall hurts most, but if we get back up, do not stop, next comes velocity. With time we pick up speed. The faster we go, the faster we can go; that’s how a snowball becomes an avalanche.

Now imagine what would happen if one who cared and dared became two, three, four. They may not change the world but every one of them could save five drowning lives. What if to every resolution made we added a little mass? What if we built momentum and let our fear push us forward, not back?

We are guaranteed nothing if we remain on our marks and do not make the first move, we will never be ready or set, but if we take the plunge, we may just succeed.