Musical Chairs

The game children play. Running around a circle of chairs, creating chaos with their screams and giggles. Look at us now! The joys of life with such simple dreams. What to be? What to do? Who will win? Who will lose? The music plays and stops while chairs slowly begin to disappear. Oh, my goodness, look out my dear! From afar, this looks to be something adults without children would want to stay as far away from. For the fun of ringing eardrums for the remainder of the day from noisy kids is something most would pass on. If you don't love the child or know them, why be apart of the madness and anticipation of kids knocking each other off of wooden or plastic chairs?

Musical Chairs could also be a metaphor for what's happening at the moment in our society, particularly in our government. If you swing to the right or voted for the guy currently in office, I'd stop reading now and click to a different page. This isn't for you. 

At the beginning of last month, I wrote a blog post about why I was avoiding the cable news. Though I do watch it from time to time. It's baffling to see reporters report on the news when it's clear they cannot believe all of this swirling chaos is happening at once. The music plays as one staff member joins the game only to be kicked out by the next round because of conflicts or disagreements or anything else the public will know and won't know. 

As I'm writing this, the news of a recently hired person to the guy in office put in his resignation is less than three hours old. The hired person or "employee" got the job eleven days ago. That's right, eleven days ago. He hadn't even begun work at the White House. The wound is still wide opened as kids fall, running over each other to chairs none of them actually want.

The guy running the game isn't good at commanding everyone to do their job. He'll put chairs in, take some out, play the music too long which causes three kids to fall down from absolute exhaustion. And the onlookers, the people who aren't even at the party, wonder why this guy is in charge. No one wants to work for him! The people outside the bubble of this party can see that. And yet, most at the party watching the guy control the music as the kids go around in circles until everything they see it's dizzy are the parents who know what's going on and are perfectly fine with this. Though there are a few there who are beginning to see what this guy could possibly be doing. The few who see the situation for what it really is can see that the kids just want cake and to quit the game.

The kids have proven their loyalty to be as competitive as they can be and do the work to win the game. But it doesn't matter to the one manipulating how the game goes, he's too focused on what's insignificant and what doesn't matter. The guy in charge is a kid himself and is creating hell for everyone else.

The onlookers walk away, stumbled by the craze and delusion in most of the parent's eyes. Conversations consist of thankfulness of living a kid free life and what would happen if the possibility of that being their future fill the onlookers' interactions for the next few hours. What kind of parent is willing to put up with so much in so little time? The laughing and screaming and changing of directions? Why is one doing this? The guy who is running everything has an obsession with everyone knowing he's the one in control. As the game carries on, he stumbles over the people just to remind them that he's the one running things. And how he won everything fairly. The people who support him praise his ways. The people who like him say with a simple laugh, okay. The ones who don't understand why he's there question his behavior. 

Why does this matter?

Go back to doing your job!

What's the point of this motionless distraction?

What the parent party goers don't see is his friends stealing the cake and gifts while the kids slowly skip in circles. It's all a scam for getting what he wants. There will be news of this the following day. The parents won't care because the kids are tired and that's all that matters. They may not even believe the news because how could reporters know if they weren't there. The guy was nice! He was great! He gave us an extra day to do what we want to do! The onlookers will shake their heads in disbelief, subconsciously knowing this could have been the outcome. And now it is. How sad. There was a reason why that music was playing on and on for hours on end and gave everyone headaches. The one who questioned his behavior wondered why none of the parents saw this happening. Who was being responsible? Are they all kids?   

The game is continuing. The kids who are still in are running around with stale cake in their hands, prizes from being the most competitive people alive. They survived and won the loyalty of the guy with the terrible music. What they don't know is that this is only the beginning. 

When they eventually quit the game, one by one, the reporters and onlookers will speculate and wonder what went on during the longest short period of time. Why so many games of musical chairs played in the White House? How can the guy in office want a clean slate when he hasn't anything accomplished besides complaining and yelling and tweeting between two to four in the morning? 

We're living in a very divided and heightened time in this country. As you can probably tell, I'm not pleased by all that is being reported at the moment and that's putting it mildly. Though the reporters and media are doing a damn good job at keeping up with the swirling chaos surrounding the White House and the guy in office. I would rather say something else but I won't because it's not worth it. There's no point to adding a flame to the already burning fire, it's big and chaotic enough. 

I am an onlooker, who sees things that aren't normal, that isn't all right. I am an onlooker, who listens and reads the news while wondering how exactly we got here. I am an onlooker, who fears with others about what this unstable portion of the government will do to us and our country. I am an onlooker, who overhears conversations with differing perspectives that simply cannot see the other side. I am an onlooker, who stands with other onlookers in solidarity. 
   

The Slow Down, A Friendly Reminder

We live in a society
filled with people always on the move.

To their next destination,
meeting,
or assignment. 

Life is a constant flow
of conscious ideas,
thoughts,
and theories.

Facts have to be proven
but even then they can
easily be labeled
as something other
than a fact,
an alternative one
that can be seen
differently by
many different people. 

We're always caught up
on the next thought,
idea,
task. 

It can be overwhelming at times.

I, for one, find the daily
routine of checking boxes
in my head exhausting. 

Some days are not too bad
but other days the list
is so long that it's
stressful to complete
every single thing. 

With everything happening
in today's society,
it's especially important
to remember to take
some time for yourself. 

Enamored With a Fascination of the Unknown

"Have you ever been fascinated by something you do not understand?"

Yes.

The things I do not understand will occupy the free space
in my brain, spending hours whirling around, trying to
come up with a solution to why something is the way it is.
We're not supposed to know the ins and outs of
everything that fascinates us. Mystery is what
forces us to think outside the box of our own realities.
We may not know the unknown but it's called the
unknown for a reason. Stories are told to justify
beliefs, stories told so long ago that they are a
mystery. We know what history tells us, those
stories could have been people centuries ago trying
to justify what they believe too. I spend hours thinking
about what makes a story and what could happen after
a story is finished by the writer. Where do characters
live once they no longer preoccupy a writers mind?
I suspect they live in alternate universes where anyone
could go and see how they're doing. There are big and
little questions to be asked of this life. Why the hell
are we all here? What's the point? Is there a point?
What makes the universe go round? I think we're
not supposed to know for a reason. I think the point
of not being certain about anything is that there are
somethings in life you won't know until you're there.
I dream of walking the streets of New York and
what it might feel like to walk between skyscrapers
and different people from different walks of life.
I haven't been to New York since I was ten but
I remember liking the city, more than my sister
who complained about how many blocks we
had to walk to get where we needed to go.
Not me, I was fascinated by everyone and
everything surrounding us, living lives I
was too young to comprehend. I'm going
going back to New York this fall. Fourteen
years later. Anyone who knows me knows
how much I've been wanting to go to New York
for a couple of years now. I'm fascinated by the
city because I read a book that brought back
the fascination I had when I was ten. I didn't
understand why I was so enamored with
being in a city full of buildings and people
who were much taller than I was/am. I know
I didn't have the words to sum up how
that experience made me feel. And when I did,
I was too far away from the experience to
accurately express how I was feeling. Though
when I think about New York today, a little
piece of what I felt from fourteen years ago
lights up my soul. It's magic, in a strange
and beautiful way. I remember pulling into
Grand Central Terminal and asking my aunt
why there was only darkness beyond the
train. There was a certain smell in the
air I can still vaguely smell but there
are no words to describe it. Anticipation,
for what's to come, stepping into the unknown. 

Listen and Think Before You Speak

For the love of god, please listen and think before you speak. Know how the words you're overhearing are being used before you decide to chime in. Get the full context of the conversation that included the comment you heard which jumped into your mind to cause an explosion of words go straight to the mouth before being considered by the mind as anything other than what you heard it. Be mindful of people's emotions and feelings towards the subject, especially sensitive ones. Giving opinions without being asked can cause the receiver of the unlawful advice to become insecure about decisions because of what you said. You do not know the impact words have when you speak them carelessly. They are more powerful than you realize. Words are magic most take for granted. Letting your mouth run ahead of your mind is a recipe for disaster. Learn to train your mouth to wait while your mind processes the words you want to say. How will this impact the person you're giving these words to? Emotionally? Mentally? How do these words come into play? What is the subject? Do you know? Or did you just hear a phrase that automatically leads you to speak without thinking? Words fall out of your mouth like bombs, ready to destroy the mood of the person you're informing. Please don't do this. Don't use the magic of words for evil. Don't make comments you'll regret. An apologize doesn't fix the damage you caused. An apologize only lets the person know you know you've hurt them. The emotions are still prevalent, still tender and raw. You don't understand the damage you've done. Unlike memories, words don't fade away. They stick like glue to your brain. They stick around and play on repeat like a song stuck in their head for weeks. If they really sting, the person can repeat your quote, word for word. They've memorized a memory they would rather forget. It's an unwanted ghost that constantly reminds them of how one person in life views them. The person may even understand that you spoke false words, meaning what you mentioned does not personally apply to them. But what you said stays with them. After comprehending the words and analyzing why you could have possibly said what you said, it doesn't budge from their brain. The words may not hurt but they play with the mind and manipulate how they view themselves. A stranger saying something could mean nothing but you're close to them and have more influential power than you know. They may not show it and they may not acknowledge it, but it's there. The view of themselves has been forever changed by your little comment. Whether they embrace what you said or use it to prove you wrong, the words you spoke without thinking changed a minor but significant detail. It made them stronger after a moment of weakness. It motivated them to love themselves more. When the smoke disappeared, they've become a better version of themselves. The initial hit was painful because they knew what you said was wrong and they cursed your stupid mouth for saying stupid shit. They are the lucky ones, who can analyze words and put them into a context that lets them understand the meaning of a spoken phrase. Others will take those words and motivate them to hurt themselves because others can see what they can see: the worst parts of themselves. Every terrible thing they have ever thought about themselves must be true because you spoke a comment and they cannot see anything else once the smoke blows away. This is a lesson. Be careful with how you choose to use your words. They're the most powerful source of communication you have. What you say will either make you a source of wisdom and comfort or turn you into the boy who cried wolf when there there wasn't a wolf to be found. You'll have zero credibility and whatever you say will first be seen as a lie, until proven wrong. Learn these lessons. Take other people's reactions and emotions into consideration before words fall out of your mouth. Don't use them carelessly. Don't feel the need to comment on something that you heard in passing. Don't throw fire at emotions and watch them runaway filled with burning anger, frustration and sadness. Don't speak without thinking and listening first. 

Exiting Dreamland

Rain falls on a roof in the dark.

The lake is lost on the edge of a cliff in a dream I'm in.

The water is frozen to the core of the season.

Snowflakes fall, I cannot see

but I feel the breeze leading the soft flakes

to land on my practically numb face. 

This may make me ill, being out where

the sense of north and west have vanished with the light. 

The snow melts to rain as it drifts away from me. 

A ticking clock welcomes me back to reality.