Skip to main content

Watching the Wheels - Prt. 2

In this episode - Watching the Wheels . . .

In last week’s episode, we revisited John Lennon’s Imagine. He’s been gone for over 43 years, but his impact still lives on through his music. Don’t believe me; think about this; Another hallmark of music is it seduces you into listening again and again, planting a catchy melody and words into your subconscious mind. And as you circumnavigate life, accumulated experiences provide new meaning to what, on the surface, appear to be just words.

However, through a fusion of these experiences, emotion, rhythm, and repetition, the simplicity of the language takes on new meaning. For example, let’s examine the tune Watching the Wheels - reading the lyrics, how do you relate to them?

“People say I’m crazy
Doing what I’m doing.”

What’s happening in your life right now? As an adult, you’ve established your independent daily routines, and your life has many different facets apart from anyone else. Of course, others have their contradictory opinions. 

“Well, they give me all kinds of warnings
To save me from ruin
When I say that I’m okay, well, they look at me kinda strange
“Surely, you’re not happy now; you no longer play the game.”

Have you changed jobs, retired, or maybe you recently realized that playing the game of getting ahead (whatever that means), a promotion, a luxury car, or more money is not what life's about? Then you're labeled.

"People say I’m lazy
Dreaming my life away
Well, they give me all kinds of advice
Designed to enlighten me."

Lazy, huh? I’ve discovered that the most prolific people who have their creative life in balance are far from lazy. They are the early risers who make lists and take the time to think about how they can best serve others through creative outlets discovered through persistent effort. They set goals. Some refer to this as work, while others call it living in the moment - flow.

“When I tell them that I’m doing fine watching shadows on the wall
“Don’t you miss the big-time boy; you’re no longer on the ball?”
I’m just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round
I really love to watch them roll."

Yes, my 30+ years of service with GIA was the BIG time in my life. I’m no longer riding that wheel, as Lennon says it;

“No longer riding on the merry-go-round
I just had to let it go
Ah, people asking questions
Lost in confusion
Well, I tell them there’s no problem
Only solutions
Well, they shake their heads, and they look at me as if I’ve lost my mind
I tell them there’s no hurry; I’m just sitting here doing time.”

Are you Doing Time? My listening friends, the pessimist, approaches their work just that way. A jail sentence. I challenge you to be creative; time is all we have. You can waste it or build something that makes your heart sing. Maybe it’s photography, music, poetry, tinkering, woodworking, writing, reading to children, or a podcast; the possibilities are infinite.

"I’m just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round
I really love to watch them roll
No longer riding on the merry-go-round

I just had to let it go
I just had to let it go
I just had to let it go."

Let the past go; today is a new day, prodding you to Be all you can Be—an opportunity to test your creative imagination. The world plays no favorites. It does not care about what you’re doing; wake up; most people are wrapped up in their insular world.

Discover the work that continues to move you emotionally and intellectually; in turn, you will serve others helping you.

I’m Patrick Ball; thanks for listening; see you in the next episode.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most Popular of All Time

That Fateful Four-Letter Word

In this episode, A Masterclass in Efficiency. For nearly four months, the western border of our property has stood as a living monument to determination, dubious planning, and forensic-level lumber acquisition. Since February, our neighbor Steve has been conducting what can only be described as a masterclass in deliberate calculation. This was never going to be one of those slick home-improvement shows where a cheerful pair of men installs a fence between commercial breaks, sipping lemonade. No. This was real life in retirement. We scaled the vertical wilderness of our hillside. We mixed concrete with the precision of medieval alchemists. We bled, we sweated, and we fought hand-to-hand with a buried tree stump that had the structural integrity of a Cold War bunker. By this week—May 16th, for those keeping score—the glorious end was finally within reach. The fence stood proudly, the line was straight, and victory practically hummed in the air. Only one major task remained: installing t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Truth for Sale

This episode is inspired  by Elton John & Bernie Taupin On Memorial Day, I took my first bike ride  since the accident , seeking proof that my legs, lungs, and nerves still remembered the road. The morning air carried that familiar Southern California mix of ocean haze, exhaust, eucalyptus, and sun-baked asphalt. My tires hummed across pavement I’ve ridden for years. Somewhere between the steady click of the chain and the rhythm of my breathing, Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s The Captain and the Kid found its way into my ears. There’s a strange kind of magic when the cadence of a ride syncs perfectly with a song you know by heart. Suddenly, the music and lyrics stop being background noise and become a lens. And through that lens, the road started talking. I've been cycling on this road some, Can't help feeling I've been showing my friends around. I've seen it grow from next to nothing, To a giant eatin’ up our town. Called up the tealeaves and the tarots, Asked the...
Post a Comment
Read more

When Nature Comes to You

Sometimes the best way to experience the world isn’t to go searching for it, but to sit still and let it come to you. Lately, the view from my reading chair has become a vibrant little stage. Our backyard feeder has drawn a steady parade of wildlife—bold flashes of blue from the Western Scrub Jays, brilliant bursts of color from the Hooded Orioles, and Purple Finches—transforming quiet afternoons into a chorus of motion and song. But the most captivating performance unfolds just inches beyond my window. For the past couple of weeks, a young hummingbird mother has been perched on her tiny, beautifully woven nest. Hummingbirds usually seem made of pure nervous energy, yet here she is: perfectly still, patient, and devoted. Watching her quiet vigil - day after day - has felt almost magical. Life seems to be blooming in every direction right now, renewing itself in real time. It’s a gentle reminder to slow down, look outside, and notice the quiet miracles surrounding us. John Muir once wro...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Eighth Wonder of the Suburban World

Mark your calendars, folks. Update the history books. Notify the Smithsonian. Move over, Pyramids of Egypt. Step aside, Hoover Dam.  Future civilizations will speak of this day in hushed, reverent tones. May 22, 2026, will forever be remembered as the moment humanity reached the pinnacle of suburban engineering excellence. Earlier today, my neighbor Steve and I drove the final screw into what can only be described as the most overbuilt property divider in North County. The Fence! And then there’s the gate. Good grief, the gate. Calling it just a gate is almost disrespectful. It looks like the entrance to a medieval fortress or to Hogwarts Castle. It swings open with the heft of a bank vault and closes with the wave of a magic wand. At this point, we’re considering applying for FAA clearance to install a helicopter pad on top of it. This glorious odyssey began in early February, the primitive era. From the start, we made a sacred pact: we would not become one of those people. You ...
Post a Comment
Read more