Charting a Course...

In any adventure, there is a considerable amount of risk that one must asses at some point.

The risk of loosing everything is always the one that most folks focus on first. But I contend, that that is the least of it, as it is in this loosing that everything is gained. Let me explain:

To set this stage, we will need to go back to the prior of the prior. To before the beginning of the beginnings of this story. Pre-'Why' as I call it. A journey back toward the root.

You know by now, that I subscribe to the notion that "Row, row, row your boat" is a mantra of mine that is a vessel for which I can carry my life lessons. You know that this vessel goes with the flow, gently down this stream, and merrily, too! You know it will row, and you know it will tow. You know it is grateful for having been towed, as well!

You know that my Smash! is key to helping me, Mr.E, to demystify the mystery. And here I will try to tie it back to how that smashing is so darn smashing!

You also know I live a dream. I live this dream in a stream. Her name is 'GRACE' and she is a '72 27' Overlander Airstream.

You know the metaphor... and you know the serendipitous-ness of my adventures to some degree... so I will fill-in a missing piece. ( Missing Piece is a children's picture book by poet Shel Silverstein. It is salient here in a way as well, as it relates to my urge to find a partner... and it ties into The Precious Present by Spencer Johnson, too. But surely not so much to his Who Moved my Cheese, though there are parts that apply. And none of this is my point here. So,) 

Back some time, I had the pleasure of acquiring Illusions: Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah, by Richard Bach, back in my youth. And in that youthful reading, I was infected with a poison. And that poison has been in my blood-stream, coursing through my veins... and it nagged at me unknowingly, like that 'Why', like that 'trout' that I became...and only now, has it surfaced to in-form me and provide in-sight which in-spires me higher still.

You see, all of us are being trained to be part of a society. To be productive members of some idealized Main-Stream. To stay in-line, not cause waves and stay the course that has been predetermined for us by those The They's mentioned earlier.

In Illusions, I dis-covered completely unawares, that I was that silly little fellow that entertained the idea of letting go. And if you are unfamiliar with the story, I would highly suggest reading it.You need to get the picture of an upside-down world... like a river... in which all the inhabitants are clinging to the bottom for fear of letting go. For if they were to let go, they would surely get Smash!-ed on the rocks and possibly die!

And in the story, this silly little fellow took the chance, he actually let go, and he was Smash!-ed hard on the rocks! He was drug across the bottom, scraped and bruised! Bloodied, maimed and scared... But he eventually floated up into the current. Higher and higher... until, from the perspective of those clinging, he was a sight to behold. A 'messiah' they thought...

Now, he knew he was no such 'messiah' at all and he knew he had done nothing all that special, except to accept that letting go was what had made most sense to him. So he did it. He let go against everyone else's fears... warnings... pleadings... of what "He Should Do" by their estimation. He followed his own inner-voice. He just let go.

Now, I suppose, for the purposes of telling a story, Bach needed to paint a pretty picture. For if he was to paint an accurate picture of letting go, than no one would ever do such a thing. Ever! So he crafted his story in such a way that it glamorized it a bit. He even ended the story with a coma! The only book I know of that has ever done that! Sort of like saying, 'this story continues' or 'repeats'... It adds wonder to the mystery of it all.

Now I, Mr.E, the de-mystify-er... have come to realize that this story has played on in my mind at some subconscious level for a very long time. And it wasn't until now, today in-fact, that it has surfaced. And to me, that is a testament for the quality of writing that I aspire to. It is perhaps what I hope this entire blog-adventure will become. A story of a fellow that serves to inspire in its readers a faith that everything is right as rain.

And why I think this is so important and all consuming is, I have walked this path less traveled and along the way 'GRACE' was given to me in such a way that I feel I must share its story. It is bigger than me. It is salient to the times. It is zeitgeist! (And no, not that movie, but much, much more...) Because, you see, there are so many of us out there, each with our own voice. And times are getting harder than any of us ever thought possible. And as the challenges of life under this dynamic start to take shape, it is my hope that this story will be a guiding light on a dark and scary path we never intended to take. It is a gift. It is my vocation. My calling. (It is so creepy in fact,as that link in 'voice' above, is from my older days with Mark Smith, the God-Father of Slam-Poetry, and to which Smash! forwarded to me just yesterday and my knowing not only Mark, but Shayn as well...! And to Clifton's son Chris! Another poet to whom I turned on to Mark, that like Shayn, like I, like you... all have a voice! There is a whole book here, just on this serendipity. Creepy happenstance? NO! It is the stream streaming dreams into this Mr.E!)

And in this stream, this Mr.E Streaming... I hope you'll see the dream is more than just a dreaming. I hope you can see past the rhyming... past the toying with time thing... past the serendipitous... past the 'Why'... past the shit... and into the flow.

To the sea! To see! Do you see?! Come float with me... come float and see!

The Streaming is sure to continue... till next time, Cheers

P.S. And for anyone who doubts this, know, that River Metals is going to become my largest and most recent client! Re-Cycling in the scrap-stream of dreams to provide a flow to that illusive income-stream! May the Universe make it so.