Indulgence

The Dancing Sun

Shawn Colvin from Sunny Came Home (written by Shawn Colvin and John Leventhal)
"It's time for a few small repairs," she said
Sunny came home with a vengeance



Paolo Soler zipped during the Tropical Depression set at the Baragatan Festival in Palawan. That must've been two weeks ago. It was amazing. When lit, the two flames danced around Paolo's body like suns and all of a sudden, there was this blinding truth; in that moment, it was the sun that revolved around us humans. It was at the mercy of his control. The sight was truly beautiful to behold. The crowd gaped in awe, Tropical Depression kept a steady riff going, not beginning their set; they let Paolo play with the twin suns just a little, gave him the stage. Yes, our world revolved around the sun. But in truth, the sun revolves around us. It is with us that its beauty ends up inspiring. It's a co-existence, really. It provides us with sustenance; with the capacity to live and we provide it with a higher meaning. Time and time again, through mythology, poetry and songs, we've given the sun such a grand stature amongst most natural symbols. It has been worshipped, praised and admired.

I've been out of commission as of late. Last Friday, I could feel the pangs of aches and pains ravaging my body and a cough that is far more violent than my usual chronic case. I was coming down with the flu. I quickly finished all the work that was needed and then I was home and asleep before midnight or right at midnight. I was planning to go to the doctor last Saturday to get a flu shot but I could not leave the house. I was wracked with muscle aches and joint pain. My head was swimming in molasses and I was coughing and sneezing left and right. I stayed home. I slept the whole day. After 4 or 5 hours of deep sleep, I would change my clothes, wet with perspiration and then fall back unto the bed. I'd read more of the book I had begun Descent by Jeff Long. After a couple of chapters, I'd be back asleep. I woke up Sunday with my whole Saturday spent reading or sleeping.

On Sunday, I decided to do some walking. I was getting cabin fever and I did not want my body to remain inactive for too long a period of time. I did some push ups and leg raises and took a hot shower. I covered myself up completely and went to Shangri-La to pay my phone bill and to see the doctor at a clinic inside the mall. While waiting, I thought of zipping. I remembered how graceful the fire flew around the stage that night and how easy Paolo made it seem. It was truly a magnificent sight. I didn't want to lose any sense of my physicality. While I'm still limber enough and energetic enough, I should stop stalling. I should get myself a pair and begin. Shameless plug -- get your zips only from Planet Zips. They are the best and the original!

I bought myself 2 CDs, Nommo by Slovo and Marion Raven's debut solo album Here I Am. Where Marion Raven's album is pure pop/rock ear candy (I love it!), Slovo's album is pure bliss. Dave Randall's guitar melodies are hypnotic. I fell into a trance. I went home with the medicines that my doctor told me to buy (it was expensive) and I found myself listening to music, resting and reading. I finished the book and went back to sleep.

I woke up early today. In my head, I can only think of the dancing sun. I don't know why. Maybe because the book, Descent, primarily is set in the subterrainean tunnels beneath our world and for almost 150 pages of the book, the two main characters are walking in a labyrinth of darkness, with their only light, that of flashlights and the green plastic candles that they use for diving while underwater. I imagined what it would be like to live underground and to never see the sun again. I imagined fire zipping. I imagined the twin suns dancing around a human body.

We create our own light. We are not at the mercy of this world and of nature. It's what we've been evolving towards all these years. And it is not through technology but reasoning. It is through abstract thought; it is through creativity, imagination and wonder. Yes, that magickal word keeps coming back. The power is in our hands. As our world revolves around the sun, the sun revolves around us, if we are creative enough.

It must be a fever dream. My body recuperating from a battle with an unseen demon, my mind plays tricks on me; making me think of such strange things. Making me think of the sun as something so easily dominated or mimicked. But in my weakened state and in a constant state of slumber, I've made 2 new stories. I maybe foolish but I'm not yet empty.

I'm back at work, completely covered -- sweater, bonnet, long pants, socks; anything to keep the flu inside me. I will be very careful about cups and utensils. I will not let myself become a contagion. I've come from the darkness -- in a constant state of slumber for almost 2 days, resting, recuperating and battling sickness. But I've surfaced back into the real world with 2 new stories and germs of more playing in my head. I did not lose this time.

posted by wanggo @ 9:53 AM