Beyond the carnival grounds...

By Vichara


There are thing that will obscure our vision in seeing what to do next. Sometime it feels like you are trying to find your way out of a massive “carnival grounds” and every which way another barker is trying to entice you with every step. Our determination to leave is distracted and things become blurry and chaotic. We need to remember that these distractions are representatives of the “attachments” that try to bind us to the delusional things that keep us from leaving the carnival grounds. Beyond the “carnival grounds” there is clearer sense of our existence and we can all get there.

carrefour • \kair-uh-FOOR\ • noun
1 : crossroads
2 : square, plaza

Example Sentence:
“The farmers as a rule preferred the open carrefour for their transactions, despite its inconvenient jostlings and the danger from crossing vehicles….” (Thomas Hardy, The Mayor of Casterbridge)

Did you know?
An interesting thing about "carrefour" is that even though the second half of the word contains the number "four," it is actually the first half of the word that derives from the Latin word for "four." "Carrefour" derives via Middle French from Late Latin "quadrifurcus," an adjective meaning "having four forks," formed by combining Latin "quadri-" ("four") and "furca" ("fork"). "Carrefour" has been a part of the English language since the 15th century. It once referred to an intersection of four roads at a single point, but later came to refer to any public square or plaza. "Carfax," a similar word that also derives from "quadrifurcus," can be found in some British place names, such as the primary intersection in the city of Oxford, England.

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