A Ringside View

Most of us subconsciously know that the world is a Circus

A circus where there is a Ring Master

A  performer

A Joker and

An Animal

Sometimes, we experience power of being

The "Ring Master"

Telling every performer what to do

Being marvelled at our orchestration of

“The Act”

And sometimes we like to be

The Performer and the Joker.

We get accolades for the risks he takes

We get claps for another performance well done.

For making everyone laugh at our inadequacies

And sometimes we don’t realize that we become the

Caged animal.

A victim of our own choices.

We are beaten and bruised by the Ringmaster

We listen to him but

We experience anger and rage

And hunger

And helplessness

Feeling emotionally raped

And Violated hoping someone will see our pain

But everyone is busy with their "Act".

Little do we realise that

Neither role is fit for us

The Ringmaster will get attacked by the angry Animal

And eventually get humiliated

The Joker will always be sad inside

The Performer will be doing the same thing,

Every day, day in and day out

Even the claps will be the same

Some memories get pushed in the past

And come gushing back to life

Reopening old wounds
Memories of another day..

What we think is buried and over

And life has moved on and we have become stronger and better

We realise the human mind is after all

Not made of stone

It will brim with pain and

It will experience tears

We seem to want the claps

The Validation

We want to make the world laugh

And want to be sad inside

We want to be the tamed animal

The good kid mom always wanted us to be

The Ringmaster who controls the Act.

We finally realise that we run with the world

And it’s almost like we are rotating with the world.

At the end of it, I have realised, its best to be a spectator

Of the world moving around us.

Never getting too involved.

Not getting hurt or angry

Not seeking validation

But simply watching

Dispassionately

At the charade

Let the world around you rotate

You be still..

And take a ring side view.

No matter how strong the temptation,

Remain a spectator always.

That my friend is the lesson of life.

Parag Shah

December 2011