THINKING OUT LOUD

We’re All Travelers on Giant Buses Riding in Circles

And we can’t get off, so let’s make the most of the shared experience

Photo by Juan Encalada on Unsplash

The old cliché that it’s not about the destination but the journey is true.

We travel in a 24-hour circle within a 7-day circle within a one-month circle within a 12-month circle, all within an 80ish-year circle. Then we get off the bus to continue the circle of life.

Or, we return to stardust to circle the universe.

Circles in circles in circles.

Each circle is interconnected with all the others; if one fails, so will the one next to it. On and on, ripples spreading outward from pebbles in ponds, some flowing together, others battling for dominance until only the tsunami can win.

Depending on the hour, day, week, month, or year, events have impacts at every concentric level or intersection. The bus driver might be high. We run out of gas. We’re T-boned by a high-speed train. We fall off a cliff. Somebody on board gives birth. Somebody on board has a heart attack and dies.

Medium circles

I spend at least an hour or two of every day reading. Newspapers like the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times and…