Last year my three children gave us (my wife and I) a present for our birthday (28-04 & 22-04). We went to the Rock Opera Tommy. Tommy was one of the revelations when I was young (I was born in 1951).
Tommy is about a young child that is a witness to a murder. His mother and her new friend kill his father. Tommy jumps into a huge dissociation and he becomes “blind, death and dumb”. His parents try out many ways to cure him but the “normal” approach does not work. In the end he is cured by what we now would call a shaman or a magician. Hearing and experiencing Tommy again was spectacular.
This year things have changed dramatically. My children gave me again a theater-experience but instead of being with eight people. We were with only two (my daughter and I).
What happened? My wife left me (minus 1). My oldest sun forgot he also booked a holiday in Rome with his wife (minus 2). My middle sun and his wife have become very religious and they don’t want to go to a theater anymore because they know they are cursing (minus 2). Last but not least my daughter’s boyfriend is also gone.
When we arrived in Amsterdam the sun started shining. The theater was in the centre (de Nes, close the Dam) and we sat and looked at what was happening. We enjoyed life extensively.
When we came at the theater (de Engelenbak, Place of Angels). The theater was sold-out. Many people were waiting in line. I gave away the tickets that were not needed and made two people very happy.
When we were standing waiting to get in I stood next to an old friend I did not meet for 30 years. He owned a café in Leiden (I am born in Leiden) where young artists could try-out their performance. Suddenly I realized the Unknown wanted to tell me something. The Engelenbak is also a try-out-theater. The amount of events that were “by accident” was too much now.
And yes the whole sequence of acts in the theater was highly meaningful to me.
It all started with a group that was imitating Blood, Sweat and Tears (my most favorite group in history!) singing Spinning Wheel. Spinning Wheel is about the Jumping out of the Cycle.
I saw young people doing a fascinating act with the diabolo (“the devil on two sticks”). They showed a very complicated trick called the vertax (also called Excalibur). The Diabolo is the symbol of the vortex, the Spinning Wheel.
The most fascinating signs of the Unknown were about Love. Many songs showed the wide variety of love between a man and a woman. The songs made me cry and laugh at the same time.
What did I learn that night?
I did learn that laughing, crying, singing, dancing, music, theater are the most beautiful things that the Unknown has given to the world. If everybody would understand this message the world would be a much better place.
And nobody was cursing so my second sun and his wife can come along the next time.
