Tuesday 21 February 2017

Chamber of 32 Doors - Genesis

Lyrics:- 'But the Juggler holds another pack' - Banks, Collins, Gabriel, Hackett & Rutherford

Song Choice:- I've jumped back a track on 'The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway', the 1974 concept album from prog rockers Genesis. Recorded at their peak IMO, this track provides a fantastic visual picture and mental conundrum that signs off side two of the album with a musical note of perfect pathos, that actually leads into yesterday's track Lilywhite Lilith. Back in the day, you would have had to have jumped up and quickly placed the second LP on your turntable to maintain the mood - luckily for us it follows on nicely on the remastered digital age in a seamless segway of super studio quality sound which I'd only have dreamed of listening to my old 70's HiFi as a wide eyed teenager.

Anyway, it's the 32 doors notion that I'm interested in for today's blog and I imagine them to be set out like a larger version of Noel's dreadful 'Deal No Deal' game show. (Did you know btw it ran for 3,001 episodes and I see it luckily fell off the C4 schedule in October 2016 - How any TV show based on pure greed and luck lasted for so long I'll never know and hopefully it's now disappeared for good)...

I digress and back on Planet Coleman, I'm visualising those 32 doors. I see two versions - One is where you can see all 32 at once and the call to action is to blindly open them in a crazed advent calendar type way - hoping to find the utopia you are seeking. The other is what you might find on a ship or submarine or in the film 'Alien' where one door, leads to another, leaving an air tight non returnable seal behind you and hopefully the nightmare monsters.

In Gabriel's Lamb, the doors always lead his hero Rael back into the Chamber he's been endeavouring to escape, however in my version they lead to people, places and opportunities with experiences and passages of life that have hopefully been fulfilling, pleasurable and memorable as well as been tough life experiences to endure and overcome.

It sounds simple it would be if there were just 32 doors...

You see, the umpteen thousands that we open during our lifetime (and sometimes stupidly immediately close) lead to a complete spectrum of personal happiness, fulfilment and missed opportunities. Other's are closed on our behalf, through love or doubt, which is a shame.

Sadly some are never opened in case of failiure. Fear has a lot to answer for and playing it  safe only leads to regret and it's rare that the Juggler ever holds another pack - also there's nothing worse that being set on the right track and then losing the way through poor vision. Hindsight is one door that everyone would desire in their own 'Chamber' for sure.

It reminiscent of one artist M.C. Escher's of perpetual staircases illustrated...which only adds to my confusion and 'Chamber of So Many Doors' with nowhere to hide but a lot of dreams still to live out.

I wonder where and when yours would lead you back to? I can think of many I'd love to step through... it's a fascinating thought and on my second blog on confusion it makes me wonder which doors I'm going to open next - or will be opened for me.

Thing is, 'I've got to find my own way' and so have you... just enjoy your day watching the hundreds of people running around to all the doors...

Rory Coleman - 982 Marathons - 241 Ultras - 13 Marathon des Sables 
9 Guinness World Records - 8,448 Days' Alcohol Free.
1 Inspirational Running Memoir - Get your copy here.

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