This is me riding the Merry-GO-Round in Berkeley California, Mother's Day 2012.
Seems like a fun thing to do if you like the idea of going round and round and up and down, but really never going anywhere at all. As a young child we love the beauty of the merry-go-round, glittering and with gold, filling our heads with the fantasy of the tamed wild animals on a leash and the simple organelle music that unlocks some kind of magical moment in time that runs endlessly in our minds. It never occurred to me when I was young that it might be a metaphor of sorts for adult life, that it might even imprint this idea musing on the ups and downs and round and rounds of emotions and daily tribulations.
Of course as children we don't know because if we are happy kids, we just see the happiness that surrounds this event, we shouldn't see the monotonousness of it. We know go, we understand run, we understand ZOOM as Mazda puts it ( i love this!), it's stop and slow that we embrace later after we fall and crash and burn! Burn being a metaphor for the feeling we get from a number of experiences you can use your imagination and fill in the blank.
I was one of those adventure seekers, I was not afraid of any of the rides at the amusement parks, or even the county fair for that matter- which we KNOW we should be. I loved to ride with my hands over my head and scream on all the roller coasters, it was FUN! Skiing was another thrill that I loved, and going to the top of Heavenly Valley and taking Gun Barell expert, or K-2 at Squaw Valley, no problem! It was fun! again, it's great to be young to do that! I was an avid street skater, I could skate all over town all day long, and not worry about cars, or traffic or falling. - well I fell, plenty of times! I was even hit by a cop car, but nothing stopped me, I fell down, it hurt, I got back up again. Round and round I was happy to just get out and do it! I was full of life and energy I wore thick leather gloves, and sometimes knee pads, but not much gear really.
The fun was in the wind in my hair, the cool of the sweat on my brow, and the speed of the downhill free fall! I still think that would be fun! Some people have all the gear for life, and go around safely and there are those of us, who with out much, manage to fashion a pretty good life!
But as we grow up we stop asking to ride the merry-go-round, we stop speeding down hills, and we look for the safety of a park bench ( couch) and just watch as the world passes us by, on television usually.
Why is that? Why must we find the fear in the things that used to make us happy?
I looked online today to see what if any of my actual photos came up for me on "Google" and the sampling of actual images of me were sparse, and the multiplicity of images that I cant figure out how they link to me sadly far more than those that actually do link to me! Who are these people- and I am not even a personality, when did I get linked to these strangers, and not my real friends?
When I think about all times I have posted online,
or commented on blogs, posted on Facebook and twitter, and the fact that everything is collected online, it makes me sit and spin a little. Is this really what the internet is for?
To collect random comments or musings from your personal friends and or total strangers, without any differentiation between the two? It's as if we are all connected no matter what, and even the most remote image or comment can look like something important, when maybe its just an off the cuff remark.
How does the internet keep its value when it's just this cosmic vat of everything reduced to a line or two?
Round and round I look at the comments and the photos, it brings my thoughts up and down, and then it occurs to me, I need to get off this merry-go-round, and just write my blog and forget about it! right?
Can I do that, is it safe to just forget about what might be out there? Seems like we should all be fastening our seat-belts, and readying ourselves for the day when the internet is very different, and through someone else's eyes -- more safe?
We freely post and comment and write, will it remain as fun as it is now? Or will we all find ourselves apart of some used text sale sometime in the future? GOD help us if this doesn't find a way to put more parameters on what is truth and what isn't. Truth is the most beautiful valuable trait we as humans have, it is endearing and freeing and yet sometimes horribly painful.
Living a truthful life, without regrets is the ride of a lifetime, it will take you farther and teach you more than the up and down and round and round of mountainous and yet beautiful Merry-go-round.
Beauty is the key, and what we see as beauty can be the factor that brings us to a happier self, and a happier life. Accepting that we all have ups and downs is the first truth, and the round and round part, thats up to you! I personally would rather drive and go go go, but if your on the endless circular ride and like it- so be it.
Funny how as we grow up we see the dangers in our fun, so much more clearly than we did before, even though nothing has really changed, -except us.
:)
Take care and enjoy the ride!
Soul Caffeine (
