I once read about a guy who was blithely jogging along listening to his iPod when a similar scenario took place. But he didn't survive.
Now, this sounds like a fairy tale. But actually the phenomena of injuries from falling coconuts was investigated by Peter Barss, a hospital director in Papua New Guinea. His study - "Injuries Due to Falling Coconuts" - was published in the Journal of Trauma in 1989.
It's often said that you are more likely to be killed by a falling coconut than by a fatal bite from a shark. Although this has not been substantiated, it makes sense not to sit, rest, or walk directly under coconut trees. And you certainly wouldn't leave a baby under one or send your children to play beneath a coconut tree.
Mindfulness Is a Lifesaver
But - surprise - this isn't really about coconuts.
It's really a public service announcement to remind you that mindfulness can save lives and protect you from many ouchies not just from the rare possibility of a coconut concussion. (Which is obviously less rare where I live.)
You see, mindfulness is not just an esoteric art practiced by monks in the Himalayas. Or ganja smoking hippies in Hawai'i. Meditation isn't just something you do 20 minutes a day to make your bum bigger.
The main point of mindfulness mediation is learning to be awake all the time.
It's actually the most logical, intelligent, and natural way of being. Mindfulness is a lifesaver and it saves a lot of hassle too.
And coconuts are not just one ingredient in your favorite pina colada mix. They can actually be lethal. But don't worry. Coconuts aren't out to get you.
Nevertheless, the best protection is to be here now!
Has mindfulness saved you from any close calls? I would love to hear your tales.
Comments
A coconut icon! What a great idea! Thanks for the suggestion. Images can be powerful reminders, indeed. Since many of us get distracted online ~ at least I do ~ the desktop is a perfect location for a humorous reminder like that.
I enjoyed writing a piece with a different flavor. Thanks for noticing and appreciate it!
Sound advice. When we sleepwalk through life we miss all the "presents," in the present moment. We have to get "knocked on the head" in order to wake up~!
I came for the coconuts, stayed for the mindfulness lesson and leaving with this deep fear of being attacked.
For example, in the concert of life, are you tuned in to the musicians? To the conductor? You might be completely in the moment with awe-struck face of a little girl sitting near you. Most often, I guess it's the music, but even that mindfulness can end up taking you to a far away place.
So, when you're under a coconut palm, you probably shouldn't be too mindful of an ant on the sidewalk (or anything else from the coconuts on down) ;-)
Coconut bliss ice cream. Now I could get really mindful eating that!
That's a cute analogy. Hopefully, we can just open our eyes without getting knocked on the head too seriously.
Oh goodness! I hope I didn't really make you afraid of coconuts! Injuries from coconuts are really quite rare. I'm not afraid of coconuts, but a bit more attentive when I'm walking!
Maybe this will help. There are actually three elements to mindfulness or calm abiding meditation and applying it in life.
Mindfulness
Vigilance
Spaciously abiding
It's suggested that we place 25% of our attention on the object of our meditation, 25% on vigilance (watchful awareness) and 50% on spaciously abiding.
In other words, you are not mindful of the object of your meditation to the exclusion of being lightly aware of all the other sounds, smells, sights, etc. happening around you. For example, my attention is on writing this comment but I'm still cognizant that a car just drove by.
If you place all your attention on one object...the conductor, the music, etc. you are over-concentrat ing and missing some key elements of mindfulness.
This refers to mindfulness with an object. We can also simply be fully present with whatever arises in our environment or in our mind without the support of a specific object, but the same three principles apply.
Of course, the relative mind isn't really divided into three different aspects like this. But it's a framework for helping us to understand mind and establish calm abiding, mindfulness meditation. Which is the first stop on the path of meditation not the last one.
Hope that helps a bit.
I was actually thinking about this very same topic yesterday while I was preparing some food in the kitchen. Nothing happened, but I thought about how mindfulness in the kitchen is such a critical tool...so many injuries could be prevented. Although most are minor knife pokes, I have known people who needed to go to emergency due to the damage they did while chopping something or even washing dishes without being fully mindful of how much pressure they were applying on a glass, etc. This would be an interesting topic to explore too, and if you are ever interested in writing about it, I would love to read, but more so, that too can save so much pain and aggravation.
In the end I love coconuts, but I definitely was and will be mindful anytime I am near those trees. I would like to enjoy the coconuts properly ;-)
At one of the retreats back in the 80s at Vajrapani, I had been up on the ridge & was heading back to the gompa. Relatively mindful in that moment, walking along a path wearing flip-flops, passing through some tallish, dry grass, when without "thinking", I stopped suddenly, just as a 2 metre long red striped black snake crossed my path over my toes. Certainly made the day even clearer and brighter and the session in the gompa even richer!
Cheers,
Judith-Ann
Lots to think about...
...It's actually the most logical, intelligent, and natural way of being. Mindfulness is a lifesaver"
What a great way to demonstrate the practicality of mindfulness!
The kitchen is such a perfect example of the practicality of mindfulness, on the one hand. And, on the other, hand how simple tasks like preparing food can be a vehicle for settling our mind so we can see the bigger picture.
Thanks for your excellent examples.
The good old days! Now that's a real wake up call. You were already awake, but it sounds like it put the frosting on the cake. Sending you a big hug.
Good point! If more people really understood the benefits of mindfulness, the world would start looking a little different. Thanks for your perspective.
Hint : when coconuts are darker , like close to brown or gray, they are closer to the time of falling.
If they are green or yellow, they may fall, but it is more difficult.
But, to see the color........we need to be " there ".
best wishes,
Enrique
What a beautiful sense I get from your story of the wonders of being present. Intuition is worth its weight in gold! Kids are amazing. So inquisitive. Glad you scooped him before he got too far. Thanks for sharing your story with us.
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