Beautiful Chaos, Tim 2/29/12
Some folks that practice meditation speak about moments of clarity and often joy that occur between the ‘in breath’ and the ‘out breath:’ a certain quality of inner stillness that resonates in the mind and body. There was no stillness today as we had two shows this morning for a couple of schools of ferociously enthusiastic kids.
Our first show went over well, it felt slow paced but we think that may have been because it was at 8:00am and we were still waking up.
The second show though, began before we could load off of the jeep. We arrived at La Cima to the chants of the whole school saying “Payaso!, Payaso! Payaso!”
We all meet at the basketball court to begin the show. The kids were hyperactive and trying their best to sit still while we passed clubs and got the show underway.
“Descansar!” Shouts Barnaby, as he tries to tell us the 4-person juggling is not good enough. “Take a break!” Then he and Wilmer sit to do the ‘newspaper routine’ but it is hardly under way before a girl in the audience can hold herself back no longer. She rushes the stage and steals the newspaper from both clowns. We all pause, the girl laughs and the crowd celebrates her little triumph.
She kindly returns the paper to the clowns, who again try to complete the routine. Yet again, another interruption: This time about 6 kids converge on the clowns trying to take the newspaper. The students are egging them on as a mob of children engulfs Wilmer. 
We let the kids do their thing and they naturally let up after a minute or two and go back to their seats and as they are about to settle again, letting the chaos subside, one boy needs just one more moment. He runs and takes off Wilmer’s hat then turns and presents himself to the crowd.
Then magic.
A hush falls over the whole group. Us clowns are tired from the chaos and the children are mesmerized by their classmate who has boldly taken a hat, dubbing himself clown for the day. His smile is radiant and for the first time since we arrived there is a palpable silence; it is awe, it is truly funny.
If there really is a space between the ‘in breath’ and the ‘out breath’ in which everything is right, clear and as it should be…that was it. That brief moment on the basketball court at la Cima.
The show continued, the kids cheered with us and chanted “Eso no!” when we left the space, encouraging us to come back and play more. It was like many of our shows, but that brief moment of joy and radiance is like none I’ve ever experienced before.
