maypole in october

ive been thinking and looking up on random things, or what may seem very random, but true (i have silly feeling that's all im going to do with life and hence not accomplish anything 'serious' and 'grown up', sigh). and one of them is maypole dance. well, dont worry, im not a pagan. they probably tell me that im not cool enough to be pagan or wiccan. sigh. oh the overeducated solitary monkey. true, i dont have dreads, dont have a strictly doctrinated consumer/diet guide or funky clothing but most importantly, i just never have this absolute devotion or conviction, even belief in anything. whenever something turns into religion and becomes self-martyr of a sort, i kinda.. start.. to walk.. backward.. fast and unsure. recipe for disaster. pāgānus(rustic, of country)(non militant civilian)(non-christian, as christians were hot about being this soldier of christ idea), paisent(peasant), πάγος (rocky hill), pag- (fixed, as of pact, stake, pole, etc).. words words words! i say believe what you will and be nice, and please stay sane, logical and flexible. shouldnt be too difficult.

this dude has a very interesting post on maypole as a mathematician and i cant help it but to slap it on. in my wanting-to-be-a-small-hofstadter, i couldnt help self (flail arm in helpless expression) but to start to draw similarities and parallel phenomenon.
http://divisbyzero.com/2009/05/04/the-maypole-braid-group/
the one real interesting thing he wrote here is when he start to discuss artin's theorem:

The braiding of the maypole ribbons is an interesting twist (har har) on this classic idea. Instead of the string being attached to two line segments, they are attached to two circles and we do not allow the strings to pass through the axis running through the centers of the two circles (the maypole itself!).

it is true isnt it. no strands will actually go through the pole and yes, they remain tangle-free, as long as none ever goes up! one direction in a sense, from the circle to another, braiding and mixing, however each strand will retain its own identity and only by retaining that identity, they create these wonderfully weaved poles, lovingly created with all individuals, responsible for one strand, but also responsible for the everyone around the maypole- listening and responding to the caller.
and now, a diagram:

as i meet many different people in my stream of life (let see if we could say a birth and death could be the two ends of the maypole, the circles in the perpendicular dimension and that i am travelling from the top of the pole to the bottom, the ground, as gravity travels down), i feel as if there are some very special ones, as if we all belong to the same pole somehow. and taller the pole is, the longer the ribbons are and further we may be located. but as the time progresses and things move in harmony (the music starts, may comes, dancers are ready and takes the first step.. towards weaving), in slow spin, one finds the next strand, and the strand next to it and so on.

as more intricate the calls go (who is calling? let's say the general stream of life. perhaps father time, or what about just the flow of time? i dont have the time to drag string theory into it, but it does assume that there are many more dimensions in this world, so perhaps the pole is consisting of all those extra dimensions that i as a monkey cannot always conceive or explain. doesnt hinder me from buying into it though), and as all obey a simple pact of being responsible and aware, reacting with grace and care, and not going against the flow of time/life/fate/whatever, the more intricate the call may become (why treat everyone like an idiot if there's an opportunity to try further? and life does try everyone on daily basis anyways, whether we like it or not), and only with the collective efforts of each individuals, beautiful strands by themselves, the maypole may be properly decorated. an all-in effort.

and it is interesting to note that every strand must have a solitary time during the dance, as it weaves through and rotates around the pole. that's correct. it cannot just simply become part of another ribbon. that doesnt work at all! (nevermind in simple maypole dance, it is just not a possibility unless you melt them or something. they call it attempted arson i think). each strand must put in its time in solitude to remain tanglefree and beautiful. if torn, darned, if dirty, cleaned. cared for. only if each strand could carry its own beauty, the maypole may become beautiful.

and as i am dancing my own slow maypole dance, i find my fellow strands. not very often, but surely, here and there. and it is a very poignant experience. hello. oh you must be also on this pole. nice to meet you. as we take the call, we may not see one another for a bit, or who knows how it'll be right now, or in a bit- under, over, straight, really depending on our caller here, but i am sure from this journey, i am going to be seeing you for a long time, till the completion. and then we shall see what it looks like. a proper weave of individuals. all beautiful and even more impressive as we weaved, being aware of connection, relation, care, being a true human. different yet beautiful because we are all different.

and in this short phrase called banff residencies, i have found spectacular number of fellow strands. newly found old friends if that makes any sense. and often i may lose the perspective, being mesmerized by each one's own beauty, however, as simple and erudite theorem, it really is very simple. keep skip hop jump duck soar with the pulse monkey. it's where you belong and these are your fellow strands on the maypole, a greater place.

and all of you thinking gigantic phallus this entire time, shame on you.

ooh and further injury, the pole will be always bigger than.. you. haha.