Stepping Off the Stage

Linda Heron Wind, Ph.D.

Shakespeare had it right for his time, "All the world's a stage and all the men and women merely players." That is an accurate description of old consciousness. New consciousness, on the other hand, might sound like this, "All the world's a stage and all the men and women are the playwrights." When we identify with the players, we are stuck on the stage with all the drama that unfolds minute to minute in the play of our lives. When we identify with the playwright, however, we observe that same drama and can choose how to respond according to how we wish the play to continue.

I am always amazed at how children can see through the play so well. When I want to know what is really going on in a family, for instance, I ask the children. They will point out all the drama that their parents are blind to. As we get older we seem to get more enmeshed in the play. We rarely step off the stage to take a look at what is really going on and whether we wish to continue the drama that is often repeating itself over and over in our lives. Then, at some point, we begin to wake up and become aware again of the play.

Well, it is time to get off the stage and take a good look at what the play is about and how you are playing the character that you have chosen this time. How would you like this play to go? What transformation would you write in for your character? After all, it is your play. Once you can accept that you are the playwright, the opportunity exists to create a play of exceptional quality.

I understand that many times recognizing yourself as the playwright can lead to analyzing why you created this or that in your play, and sometimes that can be useful as long as there is no blame attached. But if you can't look at the parts of the play that have already been played with curiosity and compassion, it is best to just keep going from here by changing the patterns that have held you captive for so long.

Once you have identified a pattern and begun to write a new script for yourself, expect that a big drama will have you back up on the stage before you even know what happened. At some point you will wake up in the drama and realize that you are on the stage again. Smile compassionately at yourself and step off the stage again. Holding the awareness of the new consciousness is not always easy. It is, however, what is up at this time. We are not living in Shakespeare's world anymore and we are not being allowed the luxury of simply being the player who reads the lines that are on someone else's script. Waking up means that we remember that we wrote the script and only we can change it.

The playwright chooses
After observing the play
How to play the scene

If you have comments on this article or ideas for future topics,
call Linda Heron Wind at (585) 924-5620 or send e-mail to LHWind@aol.com.

Page last modified on January 29, 2007 by RMC