“If everything’s a carnival, there’s no carnival left.” (Victor Hugo), from the Jack’s Winning Words blog. In Jack’s post he explains that Hugo was using the word carnival within the context of the times, which referred to the heavy and 
often decadent celebrations right before Lent – sort of like what takes place in New Orleans and Rio. I’m sure that Fat Tuesday is often followed by Hangover Wednesday in both places.
In the broader context I suppose that if life just one big party to you then there’s nothing special about going to a party. Vacations, for instance, wouldn’t seem so special if we all lived in the sunny, tropical places that we love to visit. Graduations are only special because of the work that it takes to get to that day. Special events and special days in our lives are special because they are out of the ordinary, everyday experiences.
We hear occasionally of someone’s life being a “whirlwind”, which may be another way to say a carnival; but, not necessarily in a good way. Usually we hear about someone’s whirlwind lifestyle after something has happened to cut their life short. It is then that we look back on what looked at the time to be such a wonderful life and take pity on the poor soul that was trapped in that whirlwind. How often have we learned after they were gone at relatively young ages how miserable some of the biggest stars of the sports and entertainment world really were? They looked so happy while accepting the accolades or prancing down the red carpets of their whirlwind lives.
So, be happy that your life’s not a carnival, because that makes finally getting to the carnival all the more fun.
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