The circus...

Floating under the pleated skirts of a giant tent, a minuscule speck can see it all.

It gets carried away by a light breeze, into the trapeze artists' changing rooms. I have always been fond of trapeze artists...dangling head down, holding on for dear life to ropes, strings; hoping this will not be the day when their skulls crack, this will not be the day they fall into the abyss they've stood on the brink of for so long.
There's something about trapeze artists that I can't put my finger on. I know most people enjoy some kind of rush in life, some new adventure. But trapeze artists endure a daily dose of peril, an hourly unintentional suicide attempt. It must be hard to live by such rules...such emotional strain.

Oh look, there it goes...the speck! It has caught another breeze and it's heading towards the clowns' dining area. God do I hate clowns...not people dressed as clowns...the whole concept.

(I'm also a potential heart attack scared of them)

But without getting into my many fobias, let me tell you what I think is wrong with clowns. Clowns are, by definition, people who dress up, and play fools to make other people laugh.
The truth is, you will never see a clown wearing a smile behind the curtain, or laugh at himself tripping over gigantic shoes. But you will also never see them telling people about their problems...which they do have.

Clowns are sad people...always trying to make anyone happy...even at the cost of their own happiness. They hide behind smiling faces and ridiculous costumes, building walls between themselves and the rest of the world.
It must also be an emotional strain.

I pity them as much as fear them.

The speck floats out of the room into the circus ring, through lions' hoops, and sets on the ring leader's platform.

Quite a jolly fellow the ring leader...everybody loves him...of course, everybody outside the circus loves him. People are astonished by his charisma, outfit, and verbal skills.
His voice can be heard for miles, he bellows, he screams, he sings, presenting every act, thanking the audience, covering any mild accident or flaw with words. However, his beaming personality is not as bright as it is when wearing those sequined costumes...

No...no it isn't...(sigh)

The ring leader has got a problem...and a bad one really. Even though he possesses the ability to communicate with people, and being very cultured and smart, he does not possess tact, or consideration, or anything related to someone not being emotionally strained.

I guess he is not....or is he?

Well...the speck decided to continue its journey...maybe it will come back for more some day.

- or maybe it won't -