Wheels within Wheels or…
by Elouise
Why I have hope for my children and grandchildren.
I know. It sounds presumptuous. The world seems to be going to you-know-where in a handbasket. Whatever that means. I think that means going downhill fast. Possibly exploding into smithereens at the bottom.
I’m no Doubter. I fully accept the reality of climate change and, in particular, the reality of our abysmal human contribution thereto. Yet we seem honor-bound to look the other way, or helpless in the face of measurable warning signs.
Nor am I a Pollyanna, as we used to say way back when. I don’t wake up, see the sky falling and smile cheerfully, whistle a happy tune, or go about my business in denial. Everything isn’t chirpy, cheery or going to be all right.
I’m a pragmatic, realistic, down-to-earth woman who also happens to be intuitive, imaginative and energized by a challenge. I’m also a woman of faith, though I don’t expect God or a Higher Power to swoop down and rescue us at the last minute.
Life—past, present and future—is complex. Wheels within wheels spiral up, down, in, out, all around. In no way capable of being fathomed, controlled or predicted.
I’ve seen yesterday’s disasters lead to today’s unpredicted miracles. And vice versa. Not because they were good or evil in themselves, but because they contained within them the possibilities for both good and ill.
Wheels within wheels are already turning this way and that, moving in directions we may never experience in our lifetimes. The future is unknown. And yet…the unknown already contains the seeds of tomorrow’s brilliant solutions and horrifying disasters.
I live in a world my grandparents and my parents didn’t expect. We haven’t self-destructed. Nor are we heaven on earth. We’re still made up of wheels within wheels, finding ever-new ways to accomplish good and evil.
I can’t guarantee things will turn out well for those I most love. Nonetheless, I have faith in our Creator who offers multiple opportunities to exploit wheels within wheels for good, not for ill. I also support and applaud human creativity that turns complexity into brilliant, often simple solutions that turn out right.
© Elouise Renich Fraser, 27 June 2017
Response to WordPress Daily Prompt: Wheel
Telling the Truth 
…I’ve seen yesterday’s disasters lead to today’s unpredicted miracles. And vice versa. Not because they were good or evil in themselves, but because they contained within them the possibilities for both good and ill….
Amen to that, Elouise 🙂
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Great comment, Fran. You’re so on target. Thanks so much! 🙂
PS added some time later: I can’t (yet do) believe I didn’t recognize my own words. So now I’ll just say, “Lovely quote!” And leave it at that….:)
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“…I have faith in our Creator….” I wish I could say the same thing, but as an atheist, I don’t believe there is a “creator” to have faith in. Despite that and all that is going on around us, I do have faith in humanity and I am pretty sure that we will creatively figure out a way to get through all of these crazy spinning wheels. I hope I’m not being too much of a Pollyanna.
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Better to be an optimist than a pessimist. I’d rather have a reason to get up each day and see what I might do, than lie there waiting for the end to arrive. Thanks, Fandango!
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I share your views about being a realist. We cannot control what lies before us. It is for the powers that be, but we can live in the hope that the wheels will turn within our favour… with realistic expectations of course.
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Hi, Kev! Unfortunately, your comment landed in spam….Glad I caught it before I shut down for the evening! Thanks for your affirmative comment. Yes, we live in hope, with realistic expectations. Though even our expectations sometimes get upgraded! 🙂
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I picture wheels within wheels like all the little gears in a clock, all serve a purpose but when one gets out of whack, you never know what time it is….I stopped wearing a watch years ago, spending my time to try to make a difference in the world of souls around me….every little bit helps….like a domino effect, good will rise above the evil, perhaps not today or tomorrow, but I like to think someday😐💕☮🙏🏻
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Great analogy, Kim. “Every little bit helps.” Yes! Otherwise, why get up in the morning if it’s meaningless….:( Hope based on desire to contribute to a solution (whenever and wherever it shows its face) is always a good thing. Maybe that’s why volunteering is powerful. Not just for those with whom we’re partnering, but for us as individuals. Whatever reinforces or helps us understand ties that bind us together, the more prepared we’ll be, it seems, for whatever comes next.
Elouise 🙂
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“Going to hell in a handbasket”
In 1618, for example, English preacher Thomas Adams in his book “God’s Bounty on Proverbs” refers to “going to heaven in a wheelbarrow” — a popular euphemism for “going to hell.”
For centuries, the idea of sinners being wheeled into the underworld was a popular one. In fact, there’s a stained-glass window at the Fairford Church of St. Mary in Gloucestershire, England, that shows a woman being carried off in a wheelbarrow pushed by a blue devil. (See it at http://www.soniahalliday.com/category-view3.php?pri=1701-5-44.jpg.) If you search long enough, you can find the equally alliterative phrase “going to hell in a handcart.”
But the closest thing to “handbasket” in print first came in a diary entry by Samuel Sewall, who eventually regretted his role as a judge at the Salem witch trials in the 1690s. While describing a statesman mulling over a proposal, Sewall wrote in 1714 that the official eventually said he would rather “give his head in a handbasket” than approve it.
How that became “going to hell in a handbasket (or the less-popular handbag)” remains open to speculation. It apparently began popping up about the time of the Civil War. In 1867, a document printed by the U.S. House of Representatives, offered these comments from one-time Chicago Mayor — and Confederate sympathizer — Buckner Stith Morris:
😀 🐻
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Oh no! I think something got dropped after your very last line. I’m sitting on the edge of my chair…. Please advise! It seems there are more comments to follow?
As for the other material, I wouldn’t want to find myself in a wheelbarrow, handbasket, handcart, or anything remotely similar. It’s horrible enough to see this in art. Thanks for the link. Won’t say I’ll enjoy it, but I’ll take a look-see! 🙂
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