Put it ALL Together

Might have been as I drove to the club this morning in the darkness and cold, but it just as easily could have been last night in a dream. It was one of those fragments lit up like a flashing neon sign. All it said was 'put it all together'. And just as quick it was gone. Fleetingly fast.

So I tried to expand it to examine what came before or after. Put exactly what all together? As hard as I tried nothing was shining a brighter light on the shadow of the subject. Until I got to the club.

As a adjusted my bike, set the EQ and volume on the stereo, and addressed the group for the first time - this being both Ash Wednesday, Valentine's Day and our weekly Wednesday Super Eight session - it hit me. Not the usual ton of bricks, but a well aimed rock none-the-less. Duh.

Put it in play. All of it. Awareness, presence, focus, attitude, gratitude, joy, paradox, humor and change. Bring all  the morality, ethical integrity and humanity you have in your hand - or up your sleeve - to the equation, that splendid extravaganza known as the now, whatever that happens to be. Put it all together, mix one part understanding and wisdom, one part celebration of the corpus delecti and one part universal spirit of harmony and light. Because, and now I sing the chorus, SOMETIMES THE CARDS AIN'T WORTH A DIME IF YA DON'T LAY 'EM DOWN.

You can, one can, know everything there is to know about transmission repair, but unless you, one, breaks the Snap-On 9/16 open-end wrench out of the tool kit, you, one, cannot do the job. You, one, might have three aces in your hand, but if you, one, fails to significantly raise the bet, your fortune will remain insignificant (assuming no one else has four Kings). LAY 'EM DOWN.

There is flow in the mix as well. One's ability to stay in the groove, to enjoy the ride, to see all this chaos as a dance. To be kind. To assist others. To encourage laughter. To be a shining beacon of guiding light in the bleakness of despair. To feed the hungry. To help the old woman across the street. To hold the hand of someone struggling to keep their head above the turbulent waters of our stressful times. For we are all in this together.

To put it all together.

As I assembled all this, the music began to play.

Truckin - like the doodah man
once told me you got to play your hand
sometime - the cards ain't worth a dime
if you don't lay em down