The Switch is ON!

By: Sanderson Sims

When I was growing up in North Florida in the 1950s, it was a time of incredible balance. By that I mean a magical elixir of post war optimism, unbridled material creativity emerging, trippy car designs, air conditioning, tv, all manner of kitchen appliances. Just new fangled stuff popping up all over the place. The air was filled with the idea that you really could have anything you wanted: you just had to bear down, apply yourself and opportunity would emerge. 

Equally as important was the nearness of nature. In a heartbeat you could be lost in the woods, fishing with a cane pole, running along the beach- things we just took for granted. Nature smoothed out the challenges to our developing minds.

On rare occasions in the summer, just after a rain shower, everything would be painted in a sudden and extraordinary patina: the colors amidst the late afternoon sun became richer, hues more intense. It was just a mind-altering “wow!”

It was as if a switch had been turned on. I don’t know if my pals were seeing what I was seeing, or feeling it in the same way but I sure thought they were.  I assumed this same switch was turned on with everybody.

Fast forward fifteen years or so. This was now a time when I was having a major crisis in a start-up business. I was worried and anxious all the time about whether we would succeed. And then it happened: I relapsed with infectious hepatitis. I was grounded, and forced to rest all afternoon for several months. But, there was a huge shift in my awareness.  I noticed with amazement that I was simply unable to worry. It was as if a circuit breaker automatically tripped and another switch flipped on — this time a protective one.

My final switch for this essay, and the one that consciously changed my life, occurred one night while I was sitting in the hot tub under the stars, not too long after recovering from my hepatitis adventure. My companion, a professional counselor, asked an intriguing question, “ Have you ever thought you might be sharing your brain with another?” I let that sink in. And then, she said, “Or that the pair of you might be sharing your paired brain with six other pairs?”  And so on.

Again, I felt the switch flip on. Now it wasn’t like, “Oh, that’s interesting.” It was instead a profound shift in me, an abiding desire to explore this and the nature of reality. It was a curiosity about how things are or can or could be. I became curious about the greater why’s and how’s and the intersections of science and religion. I entered a metaphysical doorway, asking questions continuously, and looking for answers.

If this last switch has occurred for you, then I can only urge you to pursue it with enthusiasm, because it provides tools to cope with a world that is changing and challenging us at an ever accelerating pace. This world is one many of us never thought or imagined we would ever see.  

Building our consciousness and curiosity can help us navigate at times that seem impossible or do not make sense. In this same world, we can find surprise switches that, when turned on, can help us see beyond our limited perspectives.