Two Wheels (on Dry Land), The

The specific creative modalities that actuate a person’s Life Energy. Diamond coined this phrase following an incident when his car became stuck in the mud while out photographing. The tow-truck driver was easily able to pull the car out, remarking “It’s a good thing that you had two wheels on dry land.” Taken metaphorically, the person’s creative strengths are his “two wheels on dry land,” which Diamond also refers to as “the Power within him that alone can cure him.” A person’s “two wheels” almost always involves high creative arts and, although these will vary from person to person, they often include music, especially singing.

Timeline: Early 1980s on.

Commentary: The concept is closely related to Cantillation (2)*, and is an example of Diamond focusing on a sufferer’s positives rather than what is wrong with them. In this context, he notes that orthodox medicine, instead of concentrating on the two wheels on dry land, instead “concentrates on the two useless wheels submerged in the water.” (Facets of a Diamond, 109)

Explore:

• Writings: 
  • “Two Wheels on Dry Land,” Facets of a Diamond, 109-111
• Video: “The Two Wheels on Dry Land” (Youtube)