We're all on a sinking ship 🛳️

But not the one you may think.

For a while, I attended a Unitarian church that drew ideologies from various religions and spiritual practices. Stepping out of the ideology that my “God” was an external, patriarchal force and could exist both within and around me was liberating. The lead pastor was a fiery redhead and a phenomenal storyteller.

Her sermons could bring me to tears, inspire me to have that difficult conversation or set healthy boundaries that had previously seemed unattainable. But I’ll never forget the Sunday morning she simply stated, “We’re all on a sinking ship.”

How depressing. But true.

Whether you believe in reincarnation or some other iteration of a spiritual afterlife, we’ve got one chance to move through the world in our current forms of flesh and blood. Eventually, the ship will go down. And few know precisely when that moment will come. What are you doing with your time onboard?

The lens through which we see today—Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the irony of the inauguration of our 47th U.S. president—is colored by our lived experiences. In distance memory, the impact of one of our most significant civil rights leaders of all time, and in the foreground, a new wave of individuals and organizations fighting for equality. And then there’s the Machiavellian undoing of 249 years of democracy taking residence in the White House.

You don’t have to agree with me. I encourage you to comment as part of our growing 1 Minute Critic community. Words have meaning. Choose them with care.

Photo by Matthew Wexler

1MC takeaway: Feel your feelings. Then move on. What does the best version of you look like? Healthy boundaries? Less work? A social media break? Quality time with your loved ones or yourself? Reading a book? Cleaning out the closet? A self-care day with none of the above (my favorite)? Make the most of your one-way sailing.