Choreography of Escapism
Captured by Mitchell Royel (inspired by Moorpark, CA) and now watching "Alors on Danse" by Stromae (YouTube).
We find ourselves ensnared in choreographed movements of our shared existence. We study, we labor, we acquire currency, we spend, we accumulate debt—a predictable waltz of our modern subsistence. The rhythm of our lives accelerates as our financial obligations mount, until we find ourselves, as we might say in borrowed tongue, seated squarely in excrement.
The beats of our collective narratives follow similar cadences. We love, we procreate, we promise permanence, we separate. We mourn those close to us, understanding intuitively that our tribulations rarely arrive in isolation. Our global symphony plays concurrently—our economic crises, our famines, our stratified worlds of privilege and deprivation.
What recourse have we but to seek our temporary amnesia? We congregate in our dimly lit spaces, surrender to our synthetic basslines, and move our bodies in our primal unison. Our collective movement becomes our shared liturgy, our secular communion.
We convince ourselves our transcendence signals conclusion, that worse fates exist only in our mortality itself. Yet precisely when we believe we've escaped, our cycle regenerates. Is it our pulsating rhythms or our problems themselves that grip our viscera, seize our consciousness? We supplicate for our cessation, yet our corporeal forms—not celestial interventions—dictate our continuation.
We remove our auditory barriers, amplify our expressions, persist in our movements mechanical yet somehow vital. We vocalize in our primitive syllables, devoid of meaning yet pregnant with significance. Only after our catharsis do we truly participate in our social kinesis, the physical manifestation of our shared delusions.
And inevitably, our cycle perpetuates. There remains more—always more—our obligations, our expectations, our disappointments. Our music stops, but our life's discordant symphony continues unabated.
Seven Ancient Wisdoms for Our Modern Exodus
We Remember Our Sabbath: Amid our perpetual motion, we must institute our deliberate stillness. Our bodies and our souls require our fallow periods—our sacred time carved from our profane existence.
We Cast Our Bread Upon Waters: We release our acquisitions to our current of generosity; they return to us multiplied. Our economic anxiety diminishes when our abundance circulates rather than stagnates.
We Consider Our Lilies: We observe how our nature exists without our hyperproduction yet maintains our sublime beauty. We are worthy beyond our market value and our portfolio diversification.
We Seek First Our Kingdom: Before pursuing our temporal transcendence through our rhythmic escapism, we cultivate our interior sovereignty—our peace that remains when our external music ceases.
We Build Not Upon Our Sand: We establish our identity on our immutable principles rather than our ephemeral cultural phenomena. When our economic tempests arrive, such foundations endure.
We Let Our Brotherly Love Continue: Our antidote to alienation lies not in our anonymous collective movement but in our authentic communal fellowship—breaking our bread rather than merely sharing our space.
We Are Still and We Know: Our ultimate liberation emerges not from our kinetic distraction but from our contemplative presence. In our quietude, we encounter our truth that no manufactured rhythm can reveal.
-Ryder+Mitchell