What makes us human? We know that a few other species share
with us some of our most valued experiences, such as our ability to perceive
and respond to the emotional states of others. Today’s technologies remind us
of our remarkable ability to deduce even some of the most subtle relationships
in our environment, yet much of what we experience is still mysterious to us.
We love to construct grand theories of how things work.
Questions, from “What's the meaning of life?” to “Does she love me?” occupy our
thoughts whenever we lift our heads from the daily grind of survival. It’s often when something changes that we notice the ground
that we’ve been walking on. Our personal narratives--the stories we tell
ourselves about ourselves--become disjointed without our being aware of it
until an event, or another person, comes along to remind us that we could have
done things differently.
Judy Collins, a popular singer from a half-century ago,
touched on these questions with two songs about how our perceptions of our
personal realities change with time and circumstances.
Both
Sides Now
I've
looked at clouds (love, life) from both sides now
From
win and lose and still somehow
It's
life's illusions I recall
I
really don't know life at all
Send
in the Clowns
Isn't
it bliss?
Don't
you approve?
One
who keeps tearing around,
One
who can't move.
Where
are the clowns?
Send
in the clowns.
“Send in the clowns” refers to the old theatrical device
that was used when the script failed—when, as it so often happens in life, we
are left to figure out something different. I invite you to check out the full lyrics of both songs,
which even after all these years can stimulate a lot of personal rumination.
Better yet, listen to them sung. I’m sure they are available on YouTube.
In different ways, the two stories in this book have to do with that mystery. The book is available from Amazon.com, in either paperback or e-book format.
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Donald+Skiff