The Cirque Du Soleil Way

A perfectly lazy morning.
The african sun working its magic on my sleepy form, like an anaconda basking riverside after having a Bambi-Meal for one.
I couldnt decide between spending the hours until lunch doing my impersonation of a hibernating bear; writing as i've become so fond of doing; or doing a combination of both whilst watching Discovery Channel.
The Trifecta option won, and I ended up watching a segment on The Cirque Du Soleil, specifically on how this internationaly reknowned circus overcomes logistics and manages human resoures to put up in one single day, what must rank as the largest bigtop tent in the world.

I sat there fascinated and in awe, between mouthfuls of freshly cut oranges and delicious slices of watermelon of course.
Everything I had ever written about regarding whats wrong with people and their interactions with each other suddenly made sense to me.
My moment of zen had arrived on a plastic plate between servings of fruit, and packaged in a circus act. How apt really.

The Cirque Du Soleil bigtop tent covers an enormous area, requiring at least 150 men from all nationalities, all speaking in many foreign tongues, with one singular goal and purpose : to achieve and complete the task, to put the tent up, to set the stage for probably the greatest showcase for human achievement, to have it all done within 10 hours!

That right there is the answer.
It really doesnt matter where we come from.
It makes no difference what our language, colour or creed is.
Our individual beliefs are of no importance in our quest for the singular goal.
Working togehter, with a common understanding, and a mutual respect for each of our strengths and weakness's, we too can succesfully erect our bigtop.
Just like the circus travels the world bringing joy and laughter to everyone who opens themselves up to the experience, so too can the message of Peace, Love and Understanding.

I guess we just really need to want to make it work. We just really need to want to see it in our lifetimes. We just really need to want to make a difference, for ourselves, for our kids, for the generations that will follow.

We appreciate the trapezze artist for what he does and what he represents, not for where his from, nor what he believes in.
The same is true for the lion tamer, the snake-charmer and the ringmaster.

We're so focussed on wanting to exclude all thats different to us, all those who are not like us, so focussed on categorising and pigeon-holing, on labelling and defining, that we have forgotten to be accepting and understanding. We're so focussed on looking for differences in each other, we've totally forgotten all that binds us, all that we have in common, and all that makes us human.

The recent spate of Xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
Tribal and ethnic wars in Africa, religious wars in the Middle East, sectarian violence in Aghanistan.
Racial tensions in America and the rest of the world. The list goes on and on.

Theres something to be said for the Cirque Du Soleil way.
It crosses borders and boundaries, language and cultural barriers, all manner of religious and political views, and succeeds in bringing home one singular message: Peace, Love and Understanding.