Thursday, March 17, 2005

Bananas

Watch out for the 'status changes!' So, yes, this life we are participating in, is like one long, long-form improvisation. There are so many players, (6 billion?) and we all have our own back-stories character tics, motivations, agendas, etc. There is no 'master narrative,' just billions of little narratives that accumulate (This one was beaten as a child. That one was a bed-wetter. This one had a shetland pony.) One day; one side is up, the other side is down. There are billions of sides. A lot of energy is expended, either to keep everything 'as it is,' or to totally upset the apple cart. It depends on whether or not you're happy with your allotment of apples!

We are creatures of status, all comedy and tragedy comes from a change of status. Whether you view events as comedy or tragedy sometimes depends on one's status within the hierarchy. Are you the First Clown, the Second, the Third, the Six Billionth? Once you discover the outlines of the game, you can see the effect of one's status changes; watch everyone adjust to the changes! It can be quite instructive, funny, silly, horrible, sad.

There's the almost biblical view expressed in Dylan's "The Times they Are a Changing," - 'the first ones now, will later be last.' Of course, things just aren't that simple or clean. One's status can change moment to moment. Everything is fluid, ever-changing, you can't get a foothold, and look out there's a sneaky bananna peel just waiting for you right around the corner.