When Canoeing with two or more Occupants
Lean too far Left
Lean too far Right
The Canoe will list and possibly flip - capsize
Emptying all of the Canoe’s Occupants out
To take an un-comfortably un-planned dip
Into the Drink
Giving One and All Time to Think
While dog paddling, sputtering, gesticulating, cursing bad luck
And one another
The Occupants will point the Blaming Finger
At the weather, the choppy Waters,
Some unseen, fear inducing, mysterious Water Monster,
The Captain (Who was that, anyway ?)
And Perhaps even the anonymous Collective Crew
For their soggy Plight and Fright
Hopefully, EveryOne Knows how to Self-Sustainably Swim
But even if they don’t,
The discombobulated Crew of the Canoe
Will probably find themselves clinging for dear Life to possessions,
Life Preservers, seat pads and paddles that fortuitously happen to Float
The Canoe’s previous Occupants will eventually
Begin to capitulate to the Situation
And while bobbing like corks,
Gradually drift away from their fear based huffing-and-puffing
And Blaming Finger pointing and falsely anointing
And begin to Discuss and Theorize the Necessary Actions
To upright the overturned Canoe,
Re-enter the Safety and Function of the Canoe,
And with Utilitarian Practicality paddle One and All to Shore
Ta-Dah !
Once back into the Canoe
All of the disgruntled, upset, thoroughly wet, and resentful Occupants
Must then continue to find accommodating ways
To Communicate, have a Meeting of the Minds and Work Together
In order to return to the Safety and Familiarity of Dry Land
Or, if the Occupying Crew so Chooses,
To Consider continuing to Journey Forth,
Exploring, Discovering and Wondering in Awe
At the meandering and ever changeable Waterways of Oceanic Life
And the undulating World of Ideas and Deeds
No more whacking one another in the back of the head with paddles
Or snarling, gnashing of teeth, baiting, sabotaging or back biting
No ! No ! Canoe Crew !
Whichever and Whatever the case may Be
While paddling Cooperatively and Steadfastly
Toward their Chosen Destination (and/or Destiny)
The front, middle and back Occupying Crew Members
Must Industiously stroke, stroke, stroke the Water
With Energetic Synchronicity and Rhythmical Musicality
From Left-to-Right, Left-to-Right……
Why ?
If the Occupying Crew Only strokes continuously to the Left
The Canoe, and its Crew, will only go around-and-around in Circles
If the Occupying Crew Only strokes continuously to the Right
The Canoe, and its Crew, will, once again,
Only go around-and-around-and around
In Circles within the capricious Waters of Life
Going Nowhere in particular
Energetically stagnating, circuitously twisting off, and Drowning
The multitudinous Variabilities of Many, if not All, Choices
And Ripple Effects
Making the Occupants Dizzy, Dis-Oriented, Dis-torted
And Myopically Short-sighted
While busily stroking
At whatever Speed the sweating Occupants Decide to exert
Or not to exert
Round-and-round the Merry (or not so Merry) Canoe-go-Round
Pop ! Go the Common Sensically Reasonable !
Pop ! Go the Far-sighted Inventions, Imaginings and Envisionings !
No ! No ! Canoe Crew !
With Balanced and Harmonious Efforts
Stroke left-to-right, left-to-right……
The Communication, Hypothesizing, Analysis, Values and Work
Needed for the Occupants of the Canoe to eventually Return
To the Stability of Land
And the Comfort of their own Ideals of Home
Are all an integral part of the difficult Processes of
The Moderation-Compromise Imperative for Survival
One for All - and the Canoe
And All for One - and the Canoe
Funny, how the Energetic Physics of
Communities, Countries and Nations
Are so similar to Floating Canoes and their Crews