Gram’s Wisdom 16: Titanic Lessons

The original of this post was written two years ago, but it’s as relevant today as it would have been 100 years ago. I have put the link to that post at the bottom for anyone interested. I know I am as like as not going to receive a ration of shit for this post. I don’t mind. I welcome the eye-rolls I receive when I mention Titanic (you Titaniacs out there know exactly what I'm talking about).

My Gram would have called the lessons of the passengers “life learned” lessons. Since then I have noticed that we best remember them when we learn them for ourselves. They can be so easily forgotten when we don’t and frequently to our grief.

Gram took me to see “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” when I was five. She had told me she was almost my age when Titanic sank and that even in rural Indiana it made the news. Now, Debbie Reynold's as Molly, in the movie, was only aboard Titanic and in that lifeboat for about 12 minutes screen-time. I doubt as we sat in that theater that Gram had any idea what a profound effect that movie would have on me. But I have been captive to all things Titanic ever since.

To my five-year-old mind, I thought now, there was a woman who lived her life large, didn’t worry what others thought of her and made a big splash. Yet, when it was most important, she influenced the women of her boat to do the necessary rowing for warmth and safety and kept their spirits high.

Titanic’s lessons were hard, hindsight learned and full of what-ifs. If you are interested in learning more about Titanic, there are books to read and documentaries and movies to view. I have included a couple of suggestions at the bottom for anyone interested.

As the 108th-anniversary approaches, these are what I observed from Titanic in no specific order

Be calm don’t panic

The musicians aboard the Titanic played to the end. That music helped to keep the passengers’ panic at bay. Panic has you running around no plan in mind and missing the last lifeboat. You make better decisions about where you are and how and where you want to go when you’re calm. More solutions to your problems seem to appear when you quietly and calmly look at them.

Life is a journey

There are beginnings and endings. Don’t rush them. Enjoy the little things. Making memories takes time. Revel in the experiences with people moving along the same path with you. This will be your family and those you choose to be with constantly. Enjoy the time you share with those whom you briefly meet along the way. Take time to appreciate the sights, sounds and smells as you go along. It’s better to see half as much and remember it than to see twice as much and remember nothing.

A life of service, going beyond                                   

The stokers and engineering crew of Titanic remained faithfully at their posts keeping the electricity so vital to the pumps, the elevators, the lights, and the all-important telegraph working. Their selflessness allowed more passengers to safely depart the ship than would have otherwise been possible.

To go beyond is lending that hand or doing that thing when it’s most needed by others. Not when it’s easiest or most convenient for you.

Pay attention to the signs

This one is difficult. Things can and do happen like a bolt out of the blue sometimes and you are unprepared for them. Often some signs are overlooked or ignored. Sometimes you want to bury your head in the sand and pretend nothing bad will happen to you. When you begin to see signs it’s time to plan for the worst and hope for the best.

Strength and perseverance

You don’t always get what you want. Sometimes you just get what you get, and you must make the best of it. People who can do this are strong because it's never easy to make the best of a bad situation. And, the strongest of these people never give up, they persevere no matter the obstacles they face. They see challenges and find ways to go around them or over them because they will not be deterred.

It never pays to believe all the hype

That is just as true today. The Unforeseen happens, things break, people are fallible.

My final thought

All the people on Titanic that night passengers and crew alike were brave and did the best they could with what they had. Each one had no assurance that they would survive. Many assumed such but there were no guarantees. I feel this sums up the biggest lesson we learn from Titanic.

I do have one book recommendation for you if you have no idea where to start reading about Titanic. You can't go wrong with Walter Lord's "A Night To Remember." It's a straight-forward survivor account of what happened on the night of April 14, 1912, when ship meets iceberg. The movie of the same name based on the book is also one of the best there is. My favorite documentary is A & E’s 1994 Titanic The Complete Story.

Here is the link to that 2-year-old post:

Lessons I Learned From The Titanic

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