Contemplating Your Navel

(I presented the following humorous bit of philosophy as a monologue/ skit live at No Shame Eugene, Friday, June 5, 2009)

I had an odd thought a while back while contemplating my navel. I know “contemplating one’s navel” is a cliché-- a synonym for wasting time on meaningless philosophical speculation. Have you ever done that? You know, just stick your finger in your navel, close your eyes, and just let your mind wander?

Well, I often wonder about strange things, particularly the origins of things, and I’m always searching for meaning of some sort—why are things as they are?
Now, let’s assume you are just as curious as I am. Lets do a thought experiment together.

(NOTE: I PROMPTED THE AUDIENCE TO PARTICIPATE WHILE JESSE MODELED WITH HIS SHIRT OFF, FINGER IN NAVEL, A SLEEPING MASK OVER HIS EYES)

Good. Now, with your eyes closed, listen to my words and just let your mind flow along.
So the question occurred to me, why is my navel as it is? You know, like a little round scar in the center of my body. And of course that opened up a wide universe of deeper thought. Why do navels exist at all? What is the origin of navels? Why do some creatures have them and others do not?

First, a little background: philosophically and by schooling I am an evolutionist. In the 150 years since Darwin, it has become apparent that all creatures descended from common ancestors.
But the more I look into the science of origins, the more convinced I am that someone, something, or some “essence” gave this universe a nudge at the beginning of time. But after that, everything evolved gradually. I accept that the universe is 13.7 billion years old, life began on this rocky planet about 3.5 billion years ago, and life big enough to see without a microscope goes back a little more than 500 million years.

So, as I contemplated my navel, I closed my eyes and furrowed my brow, because that is how deep thinking is done. I remembered that the scar I call my navel is the remains of where my umbilical cord attached to my mother’s placenta. Then I saw that my mother had earned her navel in the same manner – she was connected to Grandma, and in turn, Grandma had been connected to her mother. By logical extension, I realized my navel is physical evidence of a connectedness that goes all the way back—but back to what?

All humans have navels, but so do chimpanzees. That means I can easily trace my connection back to the split between hominids and chimps, maybe five to eight million years ago. But since all primates have navels, it goes back much farther. But how much? Then it struck me – the connection goes all the way back to the origin of mammals that have placentas.
When I opened my eyes, I realized I was touching a spot on my own body that was physical evidence of a connectedness that goes back 120 million years! Millions and millions of generations of my maternal ancestors, all linked in an unbroken chain, every-one of them successful. Not one of them died before giving birth, or I wouldn’t be here!
Now that was quite a mind-trip.

O.K. open your eyes, and think about the navel of the person next to you. All the navels in the room. All the navels in the world that now exist or have every existed. Each of us bears a scar that shows we are connected to each other, not just in a philosophical way, but in a very real way.

Now, for a very interesting experiment, I want each of you to close your eyes again, reach over and stick your finger in your neighbor’s belly button …… Maybe we should save that experiment for next month..