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.

Comments

Most Popular of All Time

Beyond Facts-The Deep Dive

✨ In this episode, Beyond Facts: Reimagining School–in the Age of AI . . .   This week's podcast is a bit different; it's another example of how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can offer tools to creatively enhance your analytical presentation of information. We took this week's blog and copied it into Gemini with the question, “If a story is to work, it must, on some level, create an illusion of escape and also achieve a goal simultaneously. Does this apply to my blog post that follows?” What's created is not just an analysis of the writing, but an AI-generated discussion produced “On the Fly” - Enjoy! Did you know that the word "school" comes from the ancient Greek word scholÄ“ , which originally meant "leisure"? Not a rigid schedule or droning lectures filled with "facts," but free time for thinking and conversation. To the Greeks, learning happened best when life slowed down—when you had room to reflect, to ask questions, and to wrestle ...

A Heart Full of Thanks

Oh, the thanks I could think, and the thanks I could say! For the wonderful people who brightened my day. The first one is Lori, my wife, sweet and true, Who knows just the thing and knows just what to do. She whipped up a feast with a smile and a sigh, With corn on the cob and a steak cooked “On the Fly!” My neighbor, Steve, with a mischievous gleam, Said, “No fence work today! No work, it would seem! You’ll paint with some water, some colors so bright, And sign your new painting with all of your might!" I laughed and I said, “But I don’t know that skill! I’ll slap on some paint and see what sticks still!” Then there’s my friends on the Facebook machine, The best group of readers that ever was seen! They read all my blogs and they hear my podcasts, They send all their cheer that's built to last! And Billy and Linda. A Snoopy card in the mail. A wonderful surprise that was sure to prevail! From very good friends, a delightful new tale ! But the thanks didn't stop, no, not...

The Summer Surprise

In this special episode, The Summer Surprise . . .   Well, howdy there! It's me, Huck Finn, and lemme tell ya, somethin' special happened just the other day. We called it "The Summer Surprise.” Phew-wee! That ol' post box, it coughed up somethin' good! Wasn't no bills, nor them pesky ads, and thankfully, no regular ol' rocks neither. Nope, this here was a letter, folded up neat as a pin, looked a bit like one o' them school lockers, just sittin' there waitin' to be opened. It was from young Sierra, a mighty fine friend, and she'd gone and made some pure, honest-to-goodness artwork with her own two hands. My fingers they was all thumbs, just itching to see what kind of wild wonder she'd whipped up this time. I unfolded that paper, careful-like, you know, and bless my bare feet, there it was! A picture of a whole gymnasium and a mini-soccer field, all done up in colors that just popped. She'd used crayons and pencils, and you could tel...

A Pirate's Ponderings

In this episode, A Pirate's Ponderings: Turning 69 with a Classic . . . When was the last time you were so compelled by a quest that you had your bags packed and your boots on before the first rooster crowed? For me, this summer has been exactly that, a journey where the world outside faded away and the one inside my head roared to life. I felt like that young cabin boy in training, with the vast ocean of a great story stretching out before me. My hand was on the wheel, navigating every swell, riding the waves, and eager to see what lay just beyond the horizon. This wasn't a journey across lands, but a flight of imagination that has been an exciting ride. My adventure took off on the deck of the Hispaniola as I became lost on Treasure Island . My imagination soared, and I could almost taste the salt spray and feel the ship's timbers groan as we sailed toward our destiny. Below deck, in the narrow, shadowy depths, I could smell the hearty meals Long John Silver and Jim Haw...