The Circuitous Path
April 27th, 2010
No comments
Who’s heard of Rube Goldberg? Anyone? He was an American cartoonist, and Pulitzer Prize winner, quite famous in his day. Perhaps you may be more familiar with the Rube Goldberg machine, which Goldberg depicted in many of his cartoons. In a nutshell, the Rube Goldberg machine was a complex device designed to complete a very simple task. If you’re still feeling a bit in the dark, watch this lovely video from Chicago band OK Go. It demonstrates a pretty immense and incredible Rube Goldberg machine that I’m sure you’ll enjoy.
The irony in Rube Goldberg machines is that the end result would be easier to attain via a direct and simple action. Just shoot the guys from OK Go in the face with paint; done. Why all the fuss? Yet the details themselves are where the fun lies! Likewise, each individual part is fundamentally important to the end result. If you remove one step of the machine, it doesn’t function. So perhaps at a deeper level the Rube Goldberg machine begs one to consider both the enjoyment in the journey and the significance that each step takes towards the final destination.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot in the facilitation I do for community events and group conversations here in Mexico. Whether we’re talking about neighborhood recycling programs or the survival of local craft work in Oaxaca, the conversations and subsequent actions often take circuitous paths. Sure, I would love sometimes for things to be simple: we need a municipal recycling program and BAM we have one. But life very seldom works out that way. At least my life doesn’t. :) I often need a reminder that some actions I put into motion today, may not come to fruition for some time–but when they do, the whole together is this beautiful machine, with a complex path and story.
There are lots of little stories on the horizon in all of our lives this month, I am sure. There are big moments we all share like Mother’s Day, Earth Day, Spring. But maybe we can also take May to celebrate the tiny moments that build up to the whole, too. Let us at HarmonyWishes help you do that! We’ve got a trove of wonderful images and quotes, that inspire no matter what the context. Go take a look at our galleries today and celebrate your (or someone else’s) leg of the journey.
Saludos,
Megan
