On the Gravitron.

I am a part of a spoiled generation. We are taught to yearn for that which we "deserve." If we don't get it, we blame anyone but ourselves. Instant gratification is a way of life. We watch characters, whom we seemingly admire, in high definition on low profile, flat screen televisions that we pretend own outright. In actuality, the items by which we identify ourselves' are owned by faceless lenders who bleed us until we are drained on a mortician's table. Even then, our children will inherit these mistakes and the interest in tow. Perhaps one day we will make and effort to identify our worth based on more than the watches on our wrists, the emblems on the chests of our button downs, or the cars that we drive. Who is really behind the wheel? Are we even grateful for the things we truly possess?

This world is a travelling carnival. Let all of us, who allow ourselves to be told how we should live, be on board the open air Gravitron. Centrifugal forces are holding our arms against the walls whilst the carnie, in charge of the good time, smokes his cigarette safely on the ground below, all the while, his finger caressing the curves of the big red STOP button. He wont have ever been told when to depress it and bring the ride to a halt. He is drunk with the only true sense of power that he will ever know.

The passengers lay upright, just inches from the freedom beyond the brightly painted grate behind the torn and worn cushions holding only the illusion of comfort. The hard earned quarters, nickels, and dimes of the riders land at the feet of passers by, grabbing the innocents' attention and, in turn, drawing them into the groaning screams of a tragically neglected machine. All the while, the cheeks of the passengers pressed back to their ears, forcing saliva out of the corners of their wide toothy sneers. Without going into the physics involved in virtual forces and a body's natural inclination to travel in a single direction, one cannot live within these constraints for very long. We will develop what is referred to as learned helplessness in these situations.

If and when we are let off of the Gravitron it takes time to find our feet. The repetitive spinning will be worked into our very being. I feel I am just getting back on solid ground.