The Brass Ring

Did you notice that when children view the world they view it with hope, with wonder, excitement, they view it with all of the wonderful potential it holds, all waiting to unfold in front of them on any given day. They view it with the naivety of belief that life will always hold goodness, fairness, that it will always rise to the occasion and that life is limitless.

Life through the eyes of a child brings visions to my mind, one in particular has resonated with me greatly in recent weeks. Children live life on the edge of their seat, perhaps, you might say like a child perched precariously on a Merry Go Round, one foot dangling over the saddle, the other strung out on tip toes while trying with all their might to reach that brass ring, that elusive, wonderful, brass ring. This is what I envision when I remember what life as a child was like and how in particular I viewed the world back so many years ago. I remember vividly always reaching for The Brass Ring, and why not? As a child we lived for those moments, those dreams, we never doubted that everyone deserved a Brass Ring.

So fast forward a few decades as we've all aged and become adults on the Merry Go Round of life, where do we adults take a seat? I think it's one of three places for more than 95% of us:

-On a stationary horse but not on the outside ring. Just sitting there watching the world go by, perhaps not even aware that there are brass rings to be had, or worse, thinking we are no longer eligible for them.

-On a bench on the Merry Go Round, too limited by our circumstances or beliefs to even take a seat on the horse

-Watching from the sidelines... not even venturing on the ride at all.

I think that people can easily be looked at as fitting fairly well into most of the categories. Let's take them one by one.

The Onlooker
You know this person, you have at least one of them in your circle of family or friends, they are content to just watch others live life, for various reasons. Maybe some of them think riding the Merry Go Round is foolish, child's play. Or maybe they are afraid to get on for fear of either not getting a horse on the outer ring or getting a horse on the outer ring, both too arresting a thought to entertain. Fear can be a paralyzing power to this group and so, they look out onto the world from where they are perched on the sidelines.

The Bench Warmer
Ah, the Bench Warmer. Too afraid of too much to do anything but sit, they do though have slightly more willingness to live than The Onlooker, but they are barely more involved. It's a facade, a very thin facade indeed. With The Onlooker, you know where they stand, it's obvious, but the Bench Warmer? Alas, they want to give the illusion of playing the game of life, but prefer to do so under an illusion that affords no risk.

The so close and yet so far away
I think this one is the most devastating of all. This is a person who is willing as an adult to ride a child's ride, they mount the horse, they feel and hear the music as the organ plays it's tune and the ride swings into full speed. But yet, they hold back, they have more courage than any of the others and yet it's not enough, they are the closest of all to living life to the fullest, to going for The Brass Ring and yet with each circle around they don't stand, they don't reach, they don't hope, they watch... from the back of a horse meant for glory, like taking Secretariat out for a race and doing little more than having your picture taken, you and Secretariat are let down. My heart aches for this group, they have the most going for them, but in the end it's as if they are onlookers from the Inside, not the outside. I believe this group honestly feels with every fiber of their being that everyone else deserves the brass ring but them.

You may have noticed I left a little bit out of my equation... the last 5% left out of my equation?

They are The Dreamers, this is the group that never loses sight of remembering life as a child, they've woven the essence, beauty and wonder of being a child into the thrill, happiness and fulfillment that can be, of being an adult. They not only get on The Merry Go Round of Life, but they ride it, man, they ride it in style.

When the gate to the ride opens you can picture them in their mind racing to an outer horse, perhaps they've even scoped one or two out, that alluring, demure, tall, leggy one with a mane to die for and eyes that call you. They race for a spot on their horse, readily jumping up on the horse, waiting oh so anxiously for the ride to begin, practically willing it to start up, the sounds churning to life, the ride going into motion,... they take on the essence of what it was like to be a child and believe in The Brass Ring. They perch all the way over the horse to one side, balancing a leg across the saddle, their left hand hanging onto the pole and their right foot on tip toes as their right hand readies for the ring to come their way. With each trip past the rings, they don't recall the previous trip where they missed the ring or where the ring they pulled wasn't brass, No! Not.At.All, they strive again, each time, looking for, grasping for, Their Brass Ring.

And they will get on the ride time and time again, even if the last 5, 10, 20 rides proved too elusive for the brass ring. They get on again because they remember the hope of a child, combined with the dream of an adult who gets what life can be all about.

In my life I've circled around this image of The Merry Go Round of Life, from my fascination with the ride and more so The Brass Rings as a child, to collecting miniature music box Merry Go Round Horses on Brass Poles, to wanting sooooooo badly to pay an outrageous sum of money at a craft show I used to go to every year in Maryland where an artisan hand carved the most magnificent recreations, some 3-4 foot tall rocking horses in the merry go round style... I never did but I always said 'someday when I have a child'... as an adult now, I view the Merry Go Round of Life with both nostalgia and anticipation, there is always something wonderful waiting for each of us, just around the bend.

The picture... that's a brass ring that was given to me. I did not earn it on a ride, but I do believe the person who gave it to me believed I earned it for my views on life, that I sometimes forget in the midst of how difficult and sad life can be at times, and my need to remember the beliefs we all held as children, that hope, dreams and beyond your wildest expecations fulfillment is what life is all about.

Here's to all of us remembering that life can be about our very own Brass Ring if we so choose.