RockTape It

Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.
– Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

If only I’d been enlightened before everything cracked. How could something four times as tough as concrete just fall apart with the turn of a screw? In theory, one cubic inch of human bone can bear the weight of five pickup trucks or 19,000 lbs (8,626kg). Perhaps if I’d withstood the perils of a treacherous mountain at altitude (and made it back down) or scaled sheer rock face (without a misstep) I’d understand the odd fate of the odds. Which I do, but I don’t. Now forced into slow motion from swelling and trauma – I fall for the fix. Eight octopus arms lay without stretch to lift up my skin – crisscross and splay from ankle to toes. No, I’m not hallucinating. Acupuncturists and chiropractors in Japan discovered the decompressive effect of this kinesiology phenomenon in the 70s. So I rock the tape. And dream. Propelled by tailwinds of song, I’ll run wild and free. Waves will thunder my toes, my tendons will stretch and Vangelis’ “Chariots of Fire” will sync with the sea. But first – the maze-solving mollusk must pull out the goo.

The urge to purge the material I come up with is, I guess, an ongoing process.
– Kathryn Bigelow

By now you think you’ve stepped square into The Twilight Zone or a Kathryn Bigelow film and you anticipate a psychological thriller filled with the macabre, or at least twists and knots coiled without end. Did you know octopuses live in another twilight zone (mesopelagic – Greek for middle) that extends a depth of 200 to 1000 meters below the ocean surface so sunlight barely penetrates? Not only are octopuses intelligent, they have keen eyesight, can alter their body shape, change the color of their skin, regenerate limbs – and problem solve! Here’s where the black tape comes in.

Stretched between reality and fantasy, you can apply RockTape to your skin to reduce edema and inflammation you may acquire on your journey. And because this is a blog about writing (and human consciousness) you can also consider RockTape for your novel, memoir or poem in progress, to suck out the swelling. After you thin the cascade of adjectives and adverbs, pluck out frisky phrasing, push through the pain and consider rearranging, a work of art will emerge. Like an octopus tattoo! On the early drafts you throw down words like stepping-stones to nowhere and wonder where you’re going. Then the urge to purge takes hold. You pitch out every rock that weighs it down – sift pebbles that make you slip and fall. And soon you find your way. Don’t panic if you toss a precious sentence or pitch a tangent or a tantrum you can’t resist. Shapeshift. Let new limbs glow and undulate, with space to sway. The treasure dwells deep beneath the surface – in the twilight of the ink.

Less is more.
– Mies van der Rohe

Confounded? You can slap a length or two of RockTape on your forehead if your head begins to spin. Thick strips alter signals to the brain to alleviate pain. That’s some juju! Makes me want to RockTape everything in sight. Imagine toxic people in your life or tricky situations? Bloated stories and trashy novels? Just leach out all the edema. Take heartache and longing – and just tape it! Disappointment or betrayal – wrap eight arms around it. And re-apply.

Back in the Twilight Zone – could RockTape reverse my foot fiasco, dissolve the heavy metal? Rejuvenate, revitalize? Used by athletes to heal injuries and enhance performance, can it facilitate the body wizardry of an octopus? Suck out all the toxins lurking in our lives? I bet the man who took a knee to take a stand, rocks RockTape. Last week in Amsterdam, Amnesty International named (former San Francisco 49ers quarterback) Colin Kaepernick its Ambassador of Conscience for 2018, celebrating his “spirit of activism and exceptional courage,” for “his refusal to ignore or accept racial discrimination.” Previous recipients include human rights activists Nelson Mandela and Malala Yousafzai. May we not let up. May we always take a stand against injustice, especially in the current stormy climate.

Now floating in the Twilight Zone, suspended between forgiveness and resurrection – I gamble on the future. May octopus arms mingle to lift our spirits. May problem-solving juju restore balance and unleash our range of motion.

Imagine the possibilities. I say – RockTape it!

No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.
– Albert Einstein