Years ago, beverage manufacturers left the zip top, flip top, pull tab world behind and for awhile, returned to glass – a vision that didn’t turn out as crystal clear as they hoped. However, what it did bring were nasty little circles of teeth, which curiously remained attached, after the cap was screwed off. Once, while looking at those teeth during a business meeting, I burst out laughing, realizing I had finally located a true vicious circle! Okay, maybe it wasn’t the Holy Grail or a map to the Lost Dutchman, but in that boring meeting and every day since, I have found them to be hysterical.

Nevertheless, beverages still balance between can and bottle, and life will forever be trapped in the age-old chicken or the egg enlightenment or…the Vicious Circle. Yes, every day we mortals continue trying to get ahead, trying to better things, trying to make a difference and  inevitably, something comes up from behind before we finish, causing results we never saw coming. Some circles of life may have had pride with a bunch of lions that knew Walt Disney, but in reality…they are more the ring of butter that knew Little Black Sambo…politically correct or not!

Looking at a circle there is no beginning or end, which always made me ask: “Where does the vicious come from?” What we know of circles, is that once the churning starts it eventually sets in a rhythm and remains constant…so I wondered, could the answer really be that simple? If we remove the initial vicious tooth, would we actually reset the rhythm of life?

I think everyone at one time or another wants to hit their personal reset button – before, during and after things begin to circle the drain. When asked what they would like to remove, we hear hate, war, pain, depression rage and killing. It is ironic, however,  if you look at those words, because they are all based in just two ever circling thoughts: Selfishness and Ignorance…and if you’ve ever had those teeth buried into your soul, you already know the infection they cause!

How about when we wake each day with open eyes, we let the color from our heart and hopes circle around us, causing an unending cycle for the day. What if we put in place a continuous, recharging circle that gains speed within itself…it goes without saying, that there wouldn’t be a spot to insert negative energy, retaliation, fear or any other vicious thoughts. Return to that soda, and imagine a clear glass with small circular bubbles dancing through the beverage stream, each one making the moment more effervescent and enjoyable, each bubble a transparent circle in the moment, with no personal agenda, eventually finishing their purpose,  going flat and replaced by hundreds just like them.

Over the years I have always found the expression you are what you eat mildly disconcerting – especially while craving a pickled egg, double ice-cream sundae or a cheese sandwich. However, no more than being what we eat, we are what we say and do, and such actions inevitably circle back. My father liked to say very simply, ‘it’s a long road.’ I never needed it explained, the words said it all. So why not look at one of those vicious circles the next time you have a soda, and concentrate on how the teeth sharply turn inwards, and NOT outwards. A solid reminder that it is ourselves we actually destroy, when we choose to encircle ourselves with hate, anger, rage and indifference…not to mention those hurt in our process.

Circles are meant to be unbroken, and if they are done right, they come back around when we need them the most.