Astronaut Crashes! I'm Not Surprised.
The internet and newspapers in the last couple days have the love triangle of astronauts Lisa Nowak and William Oefelein and engineer Colleen Shipman front and center. The implication: We can't believe such a thing could happen. And, how in the world did it happen?
One of our cultural icons has been tipped and ripped.
But it does make sense why such a tragedy can happen (and love triangles are tragedies).
We can learn. If we choose we can empathize with all the victims in this triangle. And, we can twist our thinking a tad so we might see ourselves for who we really are - the good, the bad and a lot of in-between.
The article this morning read: "No one at the space agency saw any sign that Nowak was troubled..." Well, folks, everyone is troubled. I assume what they meant to say was "troubled THAT MUCH." Her behavior crossed a line and that was troubling not only for her, the other two in the triangle, but for NASA and those of us who believe this national icon serves as a model.
Let's take a closer look at Lisa, or more accurately whom she represents.
Lisa is a model of power: the power of intelligence, the power of "can-do," the power of physical toughness, the power of perfectionism, the power of narrow focus and determination to reach goals.
Here are some observations on this love triangle and the pursuit of this form of power.
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