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She called me Fabio!
Jennifer and I participated in many promotional events for Magic 106, during our radio days in Santa Barbara, and one of my favorites was when the two clowns went to the circus as guest ringmasters, uh, ringmistresses. Hmm, ringpersons? Bah!
Yeah, some people hate the circus due to animal abuse, fear of clowns or a hundred other things, but the vibrancy and urgency of that circus energy is what I remember and I’d rather dwell on the good, today. Some days aren’t always like that.
Note: Below, I write what I feel, though it seems, on the surface, to have little to do with today’s podcast. If you believe I’m talking to you, then read it again.
Do you ever have the urge to just run away from it all? Join the circus, maybe? Traveling from town to town like a colorful vagabond entertaining the crowds, no matter how large or small, seems like a magical life. Wouldn’t it be fun to cut loose a little and get your show on the road?
Whether you’re a clown, trapeze artist, lion tamer or sideshow freak, there’s a fascinating world right around every corner, assuming you can even find a corner in the circular world of a three-ring Big Top. Tending to the elephants is as vital as taking the tickets. From rigger to artist to concessionaire, an army of talent is needed to dazzle the crowd.
The smell of popcorn and so-bad-it’s-got-to-be-good-for-you food slams into your senses like an upper lip full of greasepaint as the in-your-face barkers tout the most amazing sight ever seen, if you’ll just step behind the curtain while the ringmaster yells for you to come one, come all and come inside to witness the greatest show on earth!
Go inside with anticipation, enthusiasm and excitement. You’re it. The star attraction. You’re the greatest show on earth. Can you go inside and feel it? Do you sense it? Smell it? Can you taste it? Do you hear the roar of the crowd as the spotlight swings around, the band quiets down and all eyes turn toward you, transfixed by your moment to shine? Can you feel the heat of the light from their eyes upon your face?
Are you living life full out, grabbing for the gold ring so high in the sky and feeling your stomach fly up your throat and out of your mouth like a bat from a cave? Or do you keep your inner child hidden down deep where it’s dank and dark, and the light of your soul is dampened by the weight of the world on your shoulders?
Want to come out and play? Do you recognize that the only voice saying you can’t, you shouldn’t or you won’t make it . . . is your own?
How many adventures would you have had, by now, if you had only listened to that child-like voice you’ve rudely pushed aside all these years so you could pretend to be an adult? All of your responsibilities, debts and pains have you trapped, so it seems, but that is merely an illusion like the painted-on frown of a very sad clown.
What if how you see yourself is why you see yourself the way you do? Which came first, the frown or the tiny wrinkled lines around your mouth, your eyes and across your forehead? The stress, fears and worries are what furrowed your brow, my dear child. You adopted the stooped gait, the sagging shoulders and the cantankerous scowl. It’s an act. Throw off your cloak of despair and stand tall.
I’m not suggesting that you shirk your obligations and forsake your family, friends and children so you can selfishly run away from your “problems” and begin life anew where nobody knows your name, your sins, your mistakes and the oh so many imperfections you think you see in the mirror every morning. Au contraire.
In fact, whenever we physically run away from anything, we are almost always going to bring along for the ride the very thing we think we’ve ditched behind us. Dank, dark and damp places need sunlight and warmth to air them out, dry them up and make them livable. It requires a look within, not an onslaught of distractions from everything on the outside.
Verily I say to you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
- Matthew 18:3, Webster’s Bible Translation
So, c’mon, let’s play. Go inside and find yourself, first, then come out into the light of day. Stop hiding. Stop worrying about knowing all the rules, having enough talent or whether someone might laugh at you. Stop focusing upon all the stops. Start playing, again.
Take a deep breath. Remember what it was like to play as a little child when you didn’t have a care in the world. Hopefully, you had that type of a childhood. If not, then you can start having it right now. It is always your choice, no matter the circumstances and no matter how “old” you may be. Age is a state of mind.
Find your inner child, again, and take it by the hand. Lead it to the door and peek through the keyhole. You’ve held the key in your hand all along. You just don’t remember locking yourself inside. In fact, there is no door or lock. And the key is to simply see the truth.
It’s a big, beautiful world of infinite fun and happiness . . . if you choose to see it. It’s always there. You don’t have to search for it. It’s not a person, place or thing, but a choice. Choose happiness, first. Choose to smile. Choose to laugh. Notice that when you are happy, smiling and laughing that you tend to attract that. The opposite is equally true.
You’re a magnet for whatever you believe. Thought precedes form. You will draw unto you what you think and feel to be true. The experiment is to slow down the distractions in your world and study those thoughts arising in your mind that lead you astray. Notice how you create the turmoil by what you think, first, before it appears on your path.
I am waiting. I am standing outside, rain or shine. I am willing to knock, but are you willing to open up. Are you willing to step out of your story, your make-believe world of fear and shame? It’s only a game. Who’s winning?
The Kat
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