Seeing the Mental Carnival for What It Is

Step Right Up and Discover God’s Game

Sometimes we hear great metaphors that are too good to ignore.

At a recent 12-Step meeting, a lady shared, “I live in fear; I feel like I have a Haunted House in my head.”

The next fellow shared, “I like the Haunted House image. But in my head, my haunted house is just part of the carnival that is going on all the time.

“There is a Haunted House which is all about fear, a House of Mirrors where my self-image is completely distorted, a Roller Coaster and a whole series of fixed mid-way games like Whack a Mole and Ring Toss with barkers shouting at me to “step right up and take a chance.” I wander around my mental carnival in a perpetually excited state.

“This busy, noisy carnival in my mind is one reason my morning meditation is so important. If I have a good meditation, the carnival packs up and leaves. If the meditation is so-so, then at least I pull the plug on the lights and sound effects. And even if the meditation is bad, with my monkey brain swinging from branch to branch, I can at least see the carnival for what it is.”

He thought for a moment and continued, “It’s too bad I don’t have a Serenity House instead of a Haunted House and a House of Reality instead of a House of Mirrors. And I would love a carnival barker who said, ‘Step Right Up and see what God wants you to do today,’ and offered me a chance to play His game.

Then he laughed, “Though now that I think about it, I have all of these in my AA life. I have an AA carnival.

“This meeting is my Serenity House where I can find calm; my inventories are the Reality House where I see the truth about myself; when I am on the beam, the mid-way games are not rigged, and the barker is my sponsor, reminding me to ask God for knowledge of His will.”

Sometimes you hear some great metaphors.