Playing on the stage of life

The world is like a grand stage where each one of us is participating in the play of life. The beauty of this play is that almost all the characters have forgotten that they are playing just a character on the stage. Having forgotten that they are just playing a character on the stage, they have motivations of three different types.

Some of the characters are "fence-sitters". They possess and cling to what they have. They want to eat well and enjoy parties, entertainment, and fun. Their life revolves around this. They do the job or business to get money to fulfill their desires to have more and more fun. They remain happy so long as the script of the play supports them having fun and get stressed and depressed as soon as the life script takes a different turn and they face challenges on the fronts they enjoy. Loss of money, relationships, positions, transfers, etc, all fill them with suffering.

Some of the characters are the "movers and shakers". They are not satisfied with their assigned role. Given a chance, they will rewrite the entire script of the play of life around them. A script in which they occupy the center stage and all other characters are just in supporting roles. They are too focused on their targets. They too pass through the phases of euphoria and dysphoria depending upon the outcomes of their efforts.

Few of the characters are "self-proclaimed directors". They feel that the director is not doing his job well. They want to direct the entire play. They want to set the stage differently. They want to set systems in place, set the rules and regulations, and want the other characters on the stage to act as per the systems and rules set by themselves. They are generally very driven by their objects. They want the fence-sitters to participate actively in that play as per the rules and systems. They also want the movers and shakers to follow the rules and systems. However, not surprisingly, they generally get disappointed with the behavior of different actors. Since the fence sitters and the movers and shakers are too focused on their motives. Further, so many other self-proclaimed directors want to direct the play differently.

A person moving along the path of spirituality has to realize that until and unless we realize our limited role on the stage, we will keep playing in the hands of Maya. The role of this stage itself is limited to enable us to play our role to the best of the abilities. We come to the stage to perform. There is no purpose of fence-sitting having come to the world. There is no purpose in being a mover and shaker. An actor gets fulfillment by performing the role assigned to the best of their abilities and not by selecting the best character to play. A bad actor will badly play the role of the hero while a good actor will play the role of a support actor well. As we play our characters well on the stage, we get the confidence and opportunity to come to the center stage naturally. There is no purpose in being a self-proclaimed director. That will only add to the frustration. It’s not possible to impose any system or rules and regulations on the masses until and unless their consciousness level rises to internalize harmony.

I feel that a person who has an awareness of being an actor does not get obsessed with the stage. He understands that the show will end soon and what will remain is the satisfaction of performing the role to the best of his ability. It matters least what role one played. It also does not matter whether we occupied the center stage or played a side character. Even if we get little opportunity to assist the director in some little scenes on the stage, we better avoid the illusion of being directors. A deep understanding and awareness of our role in this stage helps us a lot in living a contended, meaningful, and peaceful life.