life: acoustic & amplified

poetry, quotes & thoughts about life

Archive for the category “Circus”

30 Mar 2016

magical moments 



Look, your longing swung from the trapeze.

The clown is you as well and the tame tiger

who begs for mercy calls someone to mind.

Even the tin-pot music

has its charm; it seems

you’re starting to make peace

with your times

(everyone else has,

why not me? —you say).

So why then does the circus tent

rise above an ancient graveyard?

🎪

Circus by Adam Zagajewski

Translated by Clare Cavanagh


  
I didn’t intend to eat my

Chocolatini until last…

It was my shooting star!

My most special-to-look-forward-to,

my magic bullet,

my favorite,

intention for the ending of the box.

Saved.

Cherished.

Savored.

Longed for.

But then,

I finished my book.

I finished reading

The Night Circus,

and my chocolatini is the closest thing

I could find to a chocolate mouse

to celebrate with!

What a cool book!

I have not read a novel for a long time,

have not found one that captured me in years…

until now.

No hesitation with my truffle choice today –

it was the best show of respect,

and gratitude to stories,

to writers,

to imagination,

I could give.

The circus arrives without warning…

the circus of dreams…

and we are swept away by the very taste of it…

🎪

AL


  


  

I just went to the circus for the first time last night

My super-secret-surprise

Was awesome!

I’ve always wanted to go!

I wonder what I would have felt as a child

I was so sensitive

I think I would have closed my eyes

And cried

I almost felt like that at age 45

I’m glad you held my hand

 

It was

The ultimate show of over consumption

A spectacular spectacle

A mix-match of the brilliant and the bizarre

Awesome and cheesy all wrapped to go

From beginning to end

Never taking a breath

Pounding and pounding

The ringmaster

Ablaze with rhinestones

The acrobats and the clowns

The elephants and the tigers

Horses

(Doing tricks

They didn’t seem to really enjoy)

As they steal the show!

Animals are amazing!
I love trapeze artists flying so high

The bearded lady and the wild man of Borneo

Made honorable mention

With a clown act

That was tongue in cheek

in our PC era of art
Men balancing women

And women balancing men

Each showing their skill

As they contort their bodies

into abnormal positions

sequined outfits

shining in the lights

Motorcycles in a steel ball

4, 5, 6, 7

until it is a blur

how can they do that?

Meetal Man (we renamed him Meatball man)

Holding up astounding weights

As people pile on top of people

On top of him

Trampolines, glitter

Pirates, stilts, dancing beautiful girls

Dancing lion suits

With two people rolling in harmony

under more people in lion suits

more and more

too much to see

too much to process

too much to comprehend

my eyes trying to go 2, 3, 4…different directions

as it plays on and on

with tired children crying

and spilling snowcones

and popcorn

as the parents

(Many a freak-show themselves)

try to ignore them

 

It is spectacular

Breathtaking

Overwhelming

Slightly disturbing at times

A Mix of over-blown showmanship

and

amazing talent

The beautiful and the weird

All mixed together

Delivered at breakneck speed

With so much energy it wears out the eyes

And my mind

Which definitely can’t comprehend it all
I loved it…

and I wanted to run away…
Yes, this is the legacy

of what PT Barnham had in mind

This is the circus!

Magic

Slight of hand, smoke and mirrors, lights and flash

making everything more

brilliant than it could possibly be

This is definitely, over the top, big-top

Self declared…

but it still could be true…

…the greatest show on earth!

🎪

AL

  

  

find art sources at http://www.pinterst.com

Posted in action, Adventure, attitude, awareness, Becoming Yourself, Circus, courage, create, Dancing, Dreams, find art at pinterest, fun, Impossible, Letting Go, Life, Love, music, mystery, Reality | Leave a comment
11 Feb 2016

no thanks, I’ve got a new partner

  
And then this boring meeting to become a circus,

this flabby body to become a work of art,

this life to become something else.
You can spend your life (oh, how we do)

inside a bubble of judgments and desires,

and never know even a simple stone.
No, stay here. 

Let the stone be a stone,

the traffic be traffic.
Even this broken life,

this troubled soul,

this difficult time.
Otherwise how can a joy be joy,

a wonder a wonder?

Life is this, not something else.
This is the mystery of the fast,

the hungry day that is a hungry day,

free from the dictates of desire.
Nothing needs to be what it isn’t.

There is glory enough in the stone.

And in you, already a child of God. 
You can’t command the transformation,

but only present yourself to God,

who can.
Just smile at Satan and say,

“No thanks. 

I’m good.”
__________________ 

Steve Garnaas-Holmes

Unfolding Light

http://www.unfoldinglight.net

 

  

 

Posted in action, attitude, awareness, beauty, Becoming Yourself, Change, Choice, Circus, Dancing, find art at pinterest, grace, Gratitude, healing, Love, music | Leave a comment
18 Jul 2012

We are what we continually do – Aristotle

Habits Die Hard

I am your constant companion.
I am your greatest asset or heaviest burden.
I will push you up to success or down to disappointment.
I am at your command.
Half the things you do might just as well be turned over to me.
For I can do them quickly, correctly, and profitably.
I am easily managed; just be firm with me.
Those who are great, I have made great.
Those who are failures, I have made failures.
I am not a machine, though I work with the precision of a
machine and the intelligence of a person.
You can run me for profit, or you can run me for ruin.
Show me how you want it done. Educate me. Train me.
Lead me. Reward me.
And I will then…do it automatically.
I am your servant.
Who am I?
I am a habit.

by Mac Anderson & John J. Murphy / simpletruths.com

Stephen Covey, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Rest in peace.

Habit 1: Be Proactive

 Take initiative in life by realizing that your decisions (and how  they align with life’s principles) are the primary determining factor  for effectiveness in your life. Take responsibility for your choices and the consequences that follow.

Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind

 Self-discover and clarify your deeply important character values and  life goals. Envision the ideal characteristics for each of your various  roles and relationships in life.

Habit 3: Put First Things First

 Prioritize, plan, and execute your week’s tasks based on importance  rather than urgency. Evaluate whether your efforts exemplify your  desired character values, propel you toward goals, and enrich the roles  and relationships that were elaborated in Habit 2.

Habit 4: Think Win-Win

 Genuinely strive for mutually beneficial solutions or agreements in  your relationships. Value and respect people by understanding a “win”  for all is ultimately a better long-term resolution than if only one  person in the situation had gotten his way.

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood

 Use empathic listening to be genuinely influenced by a person, which  compels them to reciprocate the listening and take an open mind to being influenced by you. This creates an atmosphere of caring, respect, and  positive problem solving.

Habit 6: Synergize

 Combine the strengths of people through positive teamwork, so as to  achieve goals no one person could have done alone. Get the best  performance out of a group of people through encouraging meaningful  contribution, and modeling inspirational and supportive leadership.

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

Balance and renew your resources, energy, and health to create a  sustainable, long-term, effective lifestyle. It primarily emphasizes on  exercise for physical renewal, prayer (mediation, yoga, etc.) and good  reading for mental renewal. It also mentions service to the society for spiritual renewal.

7 Habits – repost from http://thedailylove.com/

Posted in attitude, awareness, Becoming Yourself, Circus, courage, create, determination, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, Freedom, Gratitude, Growth, Habits, Hope, inspiration, Letting Go, Life, Love, Passion, Patience, People, Poetry, Quotes, Reality, Relationships, soul and spirit, strength, success, thankfulness, Thoughts, time, Today, touch, Trust, truth, Vulnerability, Winning, words | Leave a comment
17 Jun 2012

patience is a virtue…

In this day of ‘instant’ everything, the practice, and importance, of patience is ignored…a lot. Ok, I can understand why – it’s HARD! haha Our natural inclination is to want-what-we-want and then go and get it, or do it. Yet patience and waiting are extremely important and valuable in life, and with learning to trust God.

Growing our faith depends on our ability to wait on listening, and waiting, for the voice of God. Not and easy task, but, oh so worth it!

I have learned a lot of patience over the years. God has blessed me with many lessons in waiting, and developing, my patience. I do not feel like I have gained ‘virtue’ status – ha – maybe I never will. It is a challenge for me each and every time. Yet I know the value, I trust God’s timing over my own impulse and I am willing to keep attempting to wait gracefully each time I am called to do so.

I no longer want to live my life my own way. I know God has much better plans for me than I can accomplish on my own – and so, once again I am at a moment of waiting. The pause. The void. The hope. The risk. The possible disappointment. The struggle to walk in peace. The letting go. The constant prayer communication to allow me to let whatever happens be right.

It’s a balancing, see saw, circus act for me – I go up – I go down – and I give thanks for the process as it is teaching me and growing my faith in this amazing God who has been so faithful to me and brought me right here, to where I should be, on this path of grace.

For a girl like me it is nothing less than amazing, incredible, awe-inspiring! and it fuels my passion to keep growing, letting go further and further as I am consumed by the unfathomable love that gives me all good things! I was just blessed to read the book Flirting With Faith by Joan Ball. It encouraged me so much at this particular moment. I highly recommend it.

All I can do is fall on my face in gratitude and gladly give up….myself…my wants…my life…my all.

Yes, the waiting is the hardest part in some ways – yet also the most important and the most blessed as well. The valley is where you become intimate and learn to trust. Nothing can take its place and no one can take that from you. I know – I’ve been there! I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. It is my truth – in my times of patience I have seen the face, and heard the voice, of God.

The Waiting
by Tom Petty

Oh baby don’t it feel like heaven right now
Don’t it feel like something from a dream
Yeah I’ve never known nothing quite like this
Don’t it feel like tonight might never be again
We know better than to try and pretend
Baby no one coulda ever told me ’bout this
I said yeah yeah

The waiting is the hardest part
Every day you see one more card
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part

Well yeah I might have chased a couple women around
All it ever got me was down
Then there were those that made me feel good
But never as good as I’m feeling right now
Baby you’re the only one that’s ever known how
To make me wanna live like I wanna live now
I said yeah yeah

The waiting is the hardest part
Every day you get one more yard
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part

Oh don’t let it kill you baby, don’t let it get to you
Don’t let it kill you baby, don’t let it get to you
I’ll be your bleedin’ heart, I’ll be your cryin’ fool
Don’t let this go too far

Posted in attitude, Becoming Yourself, Beliefs, beloved, Blessing, Circus, commitment, confidence, courage, determination, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, Glory, Gospel, Gratitude, Growth, Habits, inspiration, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, music, Patience, Peace, People, power, Prayer, quiet, soul and spirit, strength, thankfulness, Thoughts, Today, Trust, truth | Leave a comment
19 Jan 2012
3 Comments

One step at a time…that’s all

20120119-084142.jpg

Posted in Adventure, art, beauty, Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Beliefs, Blessing, Career, Change, Choice, Circus, courage, create, Dancing, determination, do, Dreams, Encouragement, Freedom, fun, Gratitude, Grieving, Growth, Habits, Happiness, home, Hope, Imagine, Impossible, Joy, kindness, Leadership, Letting Go, Life, light, Love, Miracles, music, Party, Peace, People, power, Proof, Purpose, Reality, Reflection, Relationships, Respect, Seasons, Smile, strength, success, Sweet, Tears, Tenderness, Thoughts, time, Today, Trust, Vulnerability, Winning
18 Mar 2011
1 Comment

The Circus

I just went to the circus for the first time last night

Thank you, Chris!

My super secret surprise

Was awesome!

I’ve always wanted to go!

I wonder what I would have felt as a child

I was so sensitive

I think I would have closed my eyes

And cried

I almost felt like that at age 45

I’m glad you held my hand

 

It was

The ultimate show of over consumption

A spectacular spectacle

A mix-match of the brilliant and the bizarre

Awesome and cheesy all wrapped to go

From beginning to end

Never taking a breath

Pounding and pounding

The ringmaster

Ablaze with rhinestones

The acrobats and the clowns

The elephants and the tigers

Horses

Doing tricks

They didn’t seem to really enjoy

As they steal the show!

Animals are amazing!

I love trapeze artists flying so high

The bearded lady and the wild man of Borneo

Made honorable mention

With a clown act

That was tongue in cheek

in our PC era of art

Men balancing women

And women balancing men

Each showing their skill

As they contort their bodies

into abnormal positions

sequined outfits

shining in the lights

Motorcycles in a steel ball

4, 5, 6, 7

until it is a blur

how can they do that?

Meetal Man (we renamed him Meatball man)

Holding up astounding weights

As people pile on top of people

On top of him

Trampolines, glitter

Pirates, stilts, dancing beautiful girls

Dancing lion suits

With two people rolling in harmony

under more people in lion suits

more and more

too much to see

too much to process

too much to comprehend

my eyes trying to go 2, 3, 4…different directions

as it plays on and on

with tired children crying

and spilling snowcones

and popcorn

as the parents

Many a freak-show themselves

try to ignore them

 

It is spectacular

Breathtaking

Overwhelming

Slightly disturbing at times

A Mix of over-blown showmanship

and

amazing talent

The beautiful and the weird

All mixed together

Delivered at breakneck speed

With so much energy it wears out the eyes

And the mind

Which definitely can’t comprehend it all

I loved it…and wanted to run away

Yes, this is the legacy

of what PT Barnham had in mind

This is the circus

Magic

Slight of hand, smoke and mirrors, lights and flash

making everything more

brilliant than it could possibly be

This is definitely, over the top, big-top

Self declared…

but it still could be true…

…the greatest show on earth!

Posted in Circus, Life, Poetry

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