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

Night Before Christmas

I n this episode, Night Before Christmas . . .  (In the spirit of Edgar Albert Guest) I’ve wrestled with the tangled lights the way I always do— With just enough patience left to see the project through. I climb the ladder carefully; the years have taught me how. To take my time with every step and keep a steady brow. We hang the faded ornaments I’ve known since I was small, the chipped, the cracked, the tilted ones—I love them best of all. Santa’s lost a bit of paint, the stars’ leaning right, but oh, it casts a holy glow across the room tonight. The kitchen hums with activity, with laughter, and with cheer, as voices drift like echoes from a long-forgotten year. The floor is strewn with paper scraps, the clock is ticking slow, As Christmas finds its own sweet pace and sets our house aglow. The hallway grows a little still; the lights are dimmed, and low, Small shoes are lined in messy pairs to wait for morning’s snow. The fire's warm, the room is full, the world is deep and wide,...
2 comments
Read more

Un-Work the Old-Fashioned Way

🎩   In this special episode. How to Un-Work the Old-Fashioned Way It’s 2026! Yes— this is the year! A different kind of start—you feel it right here? No lists! No demands! No fix-all-your-flaws! No “New You by Tuesday!” No rules! No laws! Those resolutions? Bah! Dusty and dry! We’ve tried fixing everything —so let’s ask why. Why rush and correct and improve and compare, When noticing quietly gets you right there ? So here’s a new project—no charts, no clocks, No boxes to check in your mental inbox. It’s bigger than busy and smaller than grand, It’s called Un-Working —now give me your hand! Un-Working’s not quitting or hiding away, It’s setting things down that shout “Hurry! Hey!” The hustle! The bustle! The faster-than-fast! The gotta-win-now or you’re stuck in the past! That’s the work of Un-Working— plop! —set it free! The titles! The labels! The “Look-At-Me!” The crown that kept sliding and pinching your head— You never looked comfy . . . let’s try this instead: Pick up a tel...
Post a Comment
Read more

How to Catch A Reindeer–Christmas 2025

🎧 In this episode, How to Catch A Reindeer Merry Christmas, everyone — and welcome to this year's special holiday edition of On the Fly! Since 2020, Lori and I have been happily creating a special Christmas gift for our nephews, nieces, and close friends: a children's story recorded in our voices, filled with delightful sound effects, music, and just the right touch of seasonal magic to make Santa smile. It's become one of our most cherished traditions — and honestly, it's way easier than trying to wrap a real reindeer! Over the years, we've shared some favorite classics: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, The Night Before Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Santa's Toy Shop. (We've created our own North Pole audiobook library.) This year, we're excited to introduce a new book:  How to Catch a Reindeer  by Alice Walstead. And let me tell you — this one is a ride. It's a high-flying, whimsical Christmas Eve chase starrin...
1 comment
Read more

Stamps and Snow

In this episode, Stamps and Snow . . .   You don’t usually walk into the local Post Office expecting a time warp . . . but here we are. All we wanted were stamps for this year's Christmas cards— yes, the old-fashioned paper ones that require licking, sticking, and hoping the Postal Service is feeling ambitious this week. But holiday errands have a talent for slowing you down, almost like the universe whispering, “Relax. You’re not getting out of this line any faster anyway.” So we waited. And while we waited, we talked (Are you surprised?). Because the Post Office is one of the few places where people still look up from their phones long enough to talk . . . Maybe it's because they're holding packages. It’s the modern town square: part civic duty, part free entertainment, part sociology experiment. The discussion began with holiday specials streaming on Netflix, Paramount+, and other services during this time of year. One gentleman who has lived in Vista since 1958 told us,...
3 comments
Read more