The Greatest Show on Earth!

Not your mother's kind of circus!

When we were growing up, us five kids were frequent attendees of the annual circus when it came to town.  Because both our stepfather and dad liked to give us tickets, (and we never wanted to hurt feelings) we inevitably went twice.  By the time I became a parent, I was pretty much done with the circus and most of the time, let (encouraged?) Aunt Lori take my kids with hers.

Looking closely at the definition of circus, it appears I never have to enter "the big top" again to enjoy (suffer) the antics.  

Back in the 1830's-1860's (no, I wasn't alive then), Dan Rice's circus was first described by an Arkansas paper as the "greatest show on earth".  Most of us will remember Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus using the phrase as a slogan.


Did you know, the word circus derives from Latin circus, which is the romanization of the Greek   κίρκος (kirkos), itself a metathesis of the Homeric Greek κρίκος (krikos), meaning "circle" or "ring".  You can see I did some research on this topic.


Keep in mind, just like many things in our world, that is the old school definition.  Wikipedia describes a circus as a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats,trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, unicyclists  as well as other object manipulation and stunt-oriented artists. 

And every time I read that definition, I no longer think of "circus" in the traditional sense of the word.  

Let's talk about every day life.  How often are we surrounded by a band of "performers"...clowns if you will, even jokers.....(wasn't there a song about that?) that provide a  wide range of reaction on a daily basis.  ADMISSION IS FREE.  Just look around you.  We see some who are walking the "tightrope" and "juggling" so many balls in the air at one time, we wonder if they will finish the "show" without getting hurt.  And sometimes, just like in the old day circus, accidents happen. 

Maybe they (we)  didn't even know we were part of the show!  And the show must go on.

Turn on your TV and social media.  Both are manipulated by the "magicians" that present it to us, different views depending on what you want to hear.  Love those options.  It's just like having three rings going at one time in the old day circus.  

So much to hear, so much to see.  And where is our voice in this?  Do we all play "ringmasters" spouting off to a void that is safe...no popcorn can be thrown here, inciting condemnation over behaviors we are returning in kind?  Do we behave like "animals"?

The circus is in town.  Before taking your "seat" or entering the "ring", identify your exits so you can get out safely, not if but when you need to. 

Thanks goes to Katy for giving me the idea of this topic.  We were talking about things going on in today's world and she said "It's the Greatest Show on Earth".  And we laughed and laughed.  So we wouldn't cry and cry.

Until next time,

#sendintheclowns

#nowaitIamafraidofclowns

your pal,

Kari

  

I'm Here,,,Where are you?

Where are you?

I have no sense of direction.  Growing up in Topeka,  Kansas, I had the illusion of knowing which way I was going because of main streets that ran north and south.  Topeka Boulevard and Kansas Avenue basically ran from one side of town to the other, so as long as I knew where I was in relation to those streets, I knew what direction I was travelling.  Obviously, this was before the days of a compass being included as part of our car's dashboard and I was one of those geeks who bought a compass to keep on board.

Luckily,  my penchant for getting turned around (at best) or totally lost (worst case scenario) has not blocked my moral compass.  This is not to say that I haven't diverted from a righteous path (we are all sinners here) but I always recognized the road I was travelling was "not right for me".  Sometimes I traveled down that road longer than I should have but I always knew.

We are now living in a time when a moral compass tends to be optional versus necessary (IMHO).  Oh sure, on the surface EVERYONE says the right things, appears to do the right thing...but are they living the right thing?

A former boss of mine used to always take the opportunity to share with others his tolerance of all things, his generous instruction and guidance versus penalties and consequences, blah blah blah.  He  himself had been a benefactor of a boss who extended grace when errors were made and therefore recognized the importance of second chances. 

Remember the parable in the Bible (Matthew 18:21-35) of the unforgiving debtor?  This began when Peter asked Jesus how many times one should forgive and then went into the story of a king who brought his accounts up to date and found a servant who owed him millions of dollars.  Because he couldn't pay, the king ordered the man to be sold, along with his wife and children and everything he owned.  The man fell down before the king and begged him for patience.  The king felt pity for the man and forgave his debt.  Yet, with this forgiveness, this GRACE, the servant left the king and went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars.  He grabbed him by the throat and demanded payment.  He ignored the fellow servants pleas and had the man arrested and thrown into prison until the debt was paid.  When the king found out what had happened, he called the forgiven man back and after calling him an evil servant who after being extended grace, could not extend it on his own, sent him to prison to be tortured until his debt was paid.

Wow.  A whole new meaning to "pay it forward".  This former boss (as those of us who worked regularly with him soon realized) did not extend unconditionally, the same grace he enjoyed.   Regardless of intent, he effectively filtered his moral compass to make it acceptable.

We have all put filters on our own moral compass throughout life.  Maybe this made it easier for us to have what we wanted.  Maybe we used it as an excuse for some type of behavior that we knew was not exactly what it should be.  Regardless, some of us, (most of us?) subconsciously know what we are doing.  And we find our way back ....back to where we need to be.

A reset if you will.  If something isn't working, first you hit the reset button.   It takes you back to where you need to be.....dare I say, want to be.  It is as simple as that. 

Where are you?

Until next time,
#reset

your pal,
Kari