20 Dec Intercultural Clowning Around

I contacted a friend of mine who is a project officer at a Council here in Melbourne. I rang to say hi and was thinking about presenting my world trip to people to inspire goodwill and positivity about the world.

My friend said she had been thinking of me and thinking of my doing a presentation. As it is close to Christmas it is too short a notice to do anything at the Council, however she was aware that a colleague at Darebin Council was putting on a Intercultural celebration. She gave me her number.

I was in the area and rang her and then went to see this project officer. It was interesting her first words were give me your spin. I did hesitate slightly as what I say is not spin, I don’t care if she chooses to have me speak or not. I will tell her what I am about though. So I did with a big smile as I recounted my world trip. She was happy for me to have a 15 minute slot. So with that I gave her a hug and was off. I often hug people as I am not formal, I am pretty informal as we are all one. That means I see everyone as equal.

Anyway, I went along to the intercultural gathering and saw and old friend Willow. I always remembered her because of her name, sounds pretty natural. I should ask her if in fact she likes willows for the fun of it. My other friend’s last name is Pine and she is an environmentalist I do laugh at that. I am sure she is more interested in old growth forests rather than pines. Anyway, I wasn’t dressed as a full clown but I had a uniform I wore when travelling. It is a jester’s vest with the diamonds. Symbolically these mean balancing up the opposites. Nature itself works in this way, everything returns to equilibrium or homeostasis. The jacket has a silvery band running next to the buttons. This represents the milky way. I also have mirrors on my back which represents self reflection. I have a saying on the back of my jacket which says ‘we look forward to the time when the power of love will replace the love of power, then will our world know the blessings of peace. It is a beautiful quote.

So I replaced my cap for a jesters hat and thought i’d just pepper in juggling as I speak about my trip to Thailand, India, Kashmir, Egypt, Greece, UK, USA, Central America, South America, New Zealand and back to Australia. I clowned as I spoke to show them the feeling of clowning as peace. I explained that the world is a beautiful place and that all cultures have a universal connection to clowns. That the clown is the archetype of unconditional love and that we can practice peace with a sense of humour. In the times we are in currently, it is important to follow our dreams and speak our own truth. Ah the jesters are the truth tellers and I can see nothing more important than truth at this point in our evolution. There is an openness to change at this time as people are deeply concerned about the environment and they feel insecure about the changes they are experiencing. The clowning is a way to show people there is nothing to fear and that to be open to life is to allow life, that is not ignoring issues, it is accepting things as they are. I went to a talk in Bolivia by an environmental group and they talked about adaptability. The core principles in sustainability are adaptability, functionality and balance. So the key is to adapt and to make inner changes. Peacefulness is a decision to deal with issues that arise from within and to resolve conflict. The unhappiness we see in the world is a result of unresolved conflict and not feeling we are fullfilling our deepest needs, particularly of purpose and freedom. So we have to look into the truth of what drives consumption, what drives ambition, what drives our restlessness and look into our own mirrors for the truth of ourselves.

The clown is a character that loves everyone and does not judge. The clown simply shares her/his joy by playing and stepping out of the comfort zone to show people what freedom looks and feels like. The clown is not superior or inferior, the clown simply is in a state of being that reflects love and joy. The clown is the true nature of humans when they relax and let go.

Something to ponder there. Have fun and let the world see your true self, how beautiful that is, you can trust me, I am a peace clown. haha