Baby Yer a Firework!

Baby Yer a Firework!

By Allen Merritt (©2017)

Last Saturday I was commuting back from Los Angeles and passing through Baker, California when all of a sudden it happened. Out of nowhere and off to my left I heard a loud bang and a boom. I jumped in my car seat maintaining control of the steering wheel. Then I saw it; a stream of light streaming up into the sky resulting in a small explosion of light. Fireworks!

I was not expecting a firework show, but I kept glancing back in the rear view mirror to watch some of it as I traveled passed it on my way home.

It brought to mind a memory of watching fireworks from 37,000 feet while flying on the Fourth of July. It was quite a sight to witness thousands of tiny lights filtering upwards, reaching toward the plane as I hovered over them. I enjoy firework shows.

Flash forward to present moment and it really is the Fourth of July, and like clockwork around 9:00 pm I can view a fireworks display from the back bathroom window for 10-15 minutes. This also happens every New Years Eve from the balcony; great views and a wonderful show without having to venture out into the fray. How convenient is that!  I love it.

As I am watching my private showing of bombs bursting in the air I was reminded of what they represent from yesteryear and today. When Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner he spoke of these bombs bursting in the air. They referenced war and destruction and not just victory, but loss. I am sure we have all seen scenes on the news of bombs bursting in the air and it was not thought of as a good thing. I am specifically thinking of Baghdad right now, but there have been many.

People who experience these strikes first hand while being in the middle of it do not think of these “fireworks” as cute little annual light shows. And Katy Perry is not encouraging them in song.

I think it is important to remember the dangers of real bombs bursting overhead and what it means, as well as their impacts to human live.

Here are the positive sides to my thoughts on this topic.

Every year we scramble to watch these firework displays to find something good in everything. We giggle, we laugh and we sit in amazement as we view little bouncing bubbles of light shoot up into the sky against the backdrop of dark night. These little flashes of light twinkle and convey colors, shapes and sizes shooting up and out leaving smoke in their wake as they quickly fade and are replaced with another round.

I see this as taking something that represents various elements of conflict and turning it into something beautiful to observe. It’s like choreography in the sky. It’s art in motion. We find a way to see something good, to write songs and create poetry.  Isn’t that what positivity is all about? Isn’t it helpful to take our troubles and work our way through them and create something new?  These fireworks demonstrate how humans create and recreate themselves and their experiences over and over again.

In keeping with these thoughts this Independence Day, I share my thoughts to encourage us all to remember history and to not repeat it, as well as create and recreate ourselves anew in each moment to make the most of our lives; and to do so in a good way. Life gets you down, turn it into art; make lemonade out of those lemons, as they say.

And as the great philosopher Katy Perry sings:

'Cause baby you're a firework
Come on show 'em what your worth
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby you're a firework
Come on let your colors burst
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
You're gonna leave 'em fallin' down down down

You don't have to feel like a waste of space
You're original, cannot be replaced

If you only knew what the future holds
After a hurricane comes a rainbow¹ 

Sound good?

Enjoy the week living on a positive note.

Cheers!

 http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/katyperry/firework.html¹ (Viewed 7/04/2017)