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Along Life’s Way
Circles
and Cycles of Life
By Lois E. Wilson
John Mason Brown wrote, “The more I observed Washington, the more
frequently I visited it, the more people I interviewed there, the more
I understood how prophetic L’Enfant was when he laid it out as a city
that goes around in circles.”
Some of us are like hamsters on wheel runners. We are spinning our
wheels going around in circles but getting nowhere. Our sports
activities often feature race tracks and running events which require a
circle or oval. Children are amused by Ferris wheels and carousels. We
may decide to exercise with treadmills or other rotating equipment. The
Fred in this verse of mine had misgivings about the situation:
NO U-TURN
Out for a fitness walk
Fred never departed.
He gave grounds for his balk
Too absurd to believe:
“If I’ll end back where I started,
Then please tell me—why should I leave?"
The whole universe is laid out in circles and cycles. There are the
planets in their orbits. There are the cycles of time: seconds,
minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, seasons, and years. An ancient
anonymous quote states: “The nature of God is a circle of which the
center is everywhere and the circumference is nowhere.”
Most of us have personal circles of family, friends, work associates,
those who share our interests, etc. There are people who do not have
the fellowship and support found in such circles. They may be excluded
because of various reasons such as lack of skill in academic or
athletic activities. Perhaps they have disabilities or illnesses. They
may be of a different ethnicity, race or sexual preference. They become
easy targets of bullying which is a growing problem.
Darke County Edison State Fundamentals of Communication students have
been giving presentations to school students in the county. Their focus
is to increase awareness of bullying and its detrimental results.
The bully draws a circle to keep his target out. From the knowledge
gained, the target is empowered with the will to win. He draws a circle
which takes the bully in. This sharing of concerns and experiences
fosters an environment in which target and bully work together solving
problems both face each day. It can become a circle of empathy and
positive social growth—a circle with no circumference in which no
person is excluded for superficial reasons. It is truly a win-win
circle!
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