Life As a Circus

So a while ago I went to a circus. Yeah, a circus. Yes, the still exist!

At first I thought that even though I was going to have some fun, the show would actually be more for kids… pretty obvious, right?

But what I actually got from it was far more than I expected.

Everything changed when I saw the top of the circus tent from far away. Somehow I started thinking on the last memory of a circus in my life, to be more specific one that I actually went to. So in less than a split of a second (it was that fast) I went back over 20 years in my life.

I was standing in front of the huge, faded and run-down circus tent. To get in you didn’t need money, you just needed a couple of empty glass bottles or a cat (the lions needed to be fed somehow).

So there I was, now a grown up sitting down waiting for the show to start. Little kids were yelling and running all over while their parents were “spending them dollars” buying cotton candy, LED plastic swords and buckets full of pop corn. Circus = $$

All of a sudden, all of the lights went off and everybody knew what that meant (No, it wasn’t that the power went off). Everybody got ready, the show started and I was hooked.

It was not only how good they were at what they did, but also how much it seemed they like doing it.

In this circus there weren’t any clowns, trained little dogs or any other kind of animal. There were only trapeze, gymnastics and acrobatics acts.

Pretty funny side shows, impressive stunt acts and, of course, the globe of death!

You know, the mesh sphere made out of metal were stunt riders ride motorcycles inside.

Then I thought, “Man, they must really like doing this”.

Because, unless you like performing in a circus, or are planning to do so, who would do that for a living? As a job? Very, very few.

If you just wanted a job then you would go to a store or an office and see what else has life for you. But people who perform in a circus, I think, have to like being there and enjoy what they are doing regardless of the applauses.

And when I thought all of that, I felt admiration, and it felt pretty good.

I admired the fact that they were a group of people that somehow and someway life brought them together and they did what they enjoyed to do. And they even got paid for it!

The applauses, in my opinion, were not loud enough. These were people who, sometimes, were risking their lives doing tricks and stunts just for your entertainment.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, you had to pay for it (me too)…ok; I’ll give you that. But remember,

"People pay money to see others believe in themselves"

Kim Gordon

So, at the end of my day at the circus, all of that made me think that life should be more like a circus.

In a circus, people are not afraid of standing in the center ring and try to do their best at whatever. Everybody is having a good time and supports the performer and the show. You don’t really go hoping to see an accident. Quite opposite in fact, you go there with the hope of having a good time and see no accidents.

At the end of everyday, the least of tries is still a try. That means somebody out there is at least trying. Some might try harder than others, but that’s up to each of us. Just have some respect for those who dare to try.

The important lesson is…

Try your best regardless of the applauses; do it because you enjoy the show.

And if perhaps you’re not doing anything, at least show some support. Because there’s a moment in everybody’s life when it will be our turn to be at the center ring of this circus we call life.