Do you remember the stage in the distance at the end of the last video?

I’m there now, writing this on my iPhone. There is a concert, classical music, a mixture of Western and Eastern instruments are being played. I am laying down on the grass, surrounded by smiling faces playing frisbee and soccer, blowing bubbles and laughing in every language I’ve ever heard. Children chase each other between the trees, young lovers nestled against the trunk whisper secrets.

I close my eyes and I think this would be a fine moment to die. It is not hard to imagine that this is what heaven might be like. The music changes and I begin to visualize a portal opening from a line at the top of my temple running down my body. Out of it comes all of my dreams and hopes for myself, my fears and my weaknesses, my friends and my enemies, my assets and my liabilities. I let them float there for a while, just appreciating the components that make up my life. I begin to move them around.

The MC just announced that the next orchestra is from Taiwan and will be playing an African symphony.

I move the pieces around and around, look at them from different angles, try different combinations. I experiment with taking some pieces off of the board. I introduce new pieces. I keep it small. I keep it tight. No single purpose elements. No mercy for non- performing assets.

A random kid just ran up behind me and grabbed my shoulders. He had huge eyes and a toothless smile. I smiled back and he ran off, mission accomplished. I am not making this up.

The pieces can wait.