Step right this way. Welcome to the Greatest Show on Earth. Everyone you’ve ever wanted to meet is under the Big Top. If you don’t see yourself right away, look again. You’ll catch yourself there. Make sure you see the sights, walk the midway, play the games, feel the calliope. Greet everyone you can. They’re there for you. The Whistling Man carrying the empty birdcage holds your soul. The Funhouse will show you what you’re made of.
Check the triangles on your tickets. Are you a right, an equilateral or an isosceles? Do you know where you fit in? You’re in the pull now. No one here’ll ask about your future or your past. Yours is the story you’ve come to know best because you tell it so often. Step away from it. Instead look for the Happy Clowns. Their flowers hold their own water. Their smiles know who frightens you. Watch them rearrange your face and give you another name.
The Fat Man asks you, “Can anything be as cruel as waking up to find your loved ones gone? To not be able to thank them for the joy they’ve awakened in you? Can you put your feelings into words? Or do they just blur on you? Do you hide from them? Where you going? Is anything there going to be any different, Mr. Jones?” He elbows you and says, “The Fat Lady is a British spy. Her little monkey shares her secrets; his cup taps out a code.”
You find a pink feather boa and wrap your neck with it The Snake Charmer hisses, “Integrity is the act of being complete. Being a person is knowing your role, and that usually involves keeping your mask on. Remember that languages rely on words to convey meaning, but the meanings shift each time we use our words. Don’t believe what you hear. Feel. That’ll help you to shed some skin whenever you outgrow what you’re so sure of.”
Despair stands on horses and smiles serenely. She’s aware Betrayal’s been her best teacher. He’s the one who’s opened her heart the most. He’s been hard on her, but she really loves him. Forgiveness holds a flaming hoop up ahead, waving for her to jump through. Despair looks and sees Fear juggling her trinity––her mother, her father and her disappointment––her jailer, her judge and her life’s petty thief. The lions roar, knowing their time is coming.
Swing out. There’s no net tonight. Swing high. If there’s no catch, there’s a sudden ending to the show. Are you ready? Swing out. Have you ever been ready for what comes next? Swing high. You were told it was important to bring two number two pencils and three blue booklets. You’ve never needed anything you wrote; no one’s ever asked you about it. Swing out. The spotlight’s found you. You can’t see where you’re going. Swing high. Let go.
The music swirls. The Ringmaster casts his hands wide, reaches within you and whispers, “There’s nothing to buy here that can change you, but what you’ve brought means so much to me.” The music gets bigger. Popcorn, corn dogs and cotton candy fly by, the Knife Thrower tossing them fast. The make, the mark. The Balloon Lady has the Strong Man help her get around the Fire-Breather. The Stilt Walker reaches over and steals a red balloon.
The fabulous and spectacular Flying Cannonball knows the Vanishing Act is a sleight of hand, but falls for it every time. The Tightrope Walker loves the Girl Spinning Plates but she’s going with the Sword Swallower. Dogs on tricycles. Acrobats on trampolines. The Magician smiles. He knows the Balancing Act and the Bumper Cars bring out big belly laughs, and he can make all the noise he needs to get his boxes where he needs them.
Everyone in your circus is unique and needs you to be there so they can play their part for you. Look closely at the Lion Tamer, each movement, each emotion, watch his words, not his hands, not his whip. Learn who you really might be. “Don’t judge,” he snaps, “or you’ll get lost in your faces again. Let your honesty wake you and set your heart free, even if you’re wondering where you, and everything you think defines you, could possibly fit in.”
Miss Tillie isn’t here. Elephants no longer do tricks, bow, then close the show. Their dignity set them free. “You! You’re safe to defeat what scares you”, yells the Fortune Teller quite matter-of-factly. “Take the time you need to work through your pain. Let what you find so abrasive polish you smooth, make you brighter. You’ve opened some of the locks you brought in with you. You’re free to lose the crazy, the constant ‘be normal’ that’s making you too vulnerable to rest, love or be loved. Now, git!” Digress. Egress. Step right this way.
