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To Be Or Not To Be, Indeed 7/22/2008 12:31:34 AM
To be or not to be .... More than a consideration of physical existence. These six words pack more power than that. Are "you" going to exist? We spend so much of our lives in a masked ball, our world dictated by the face we decide to put on for this or that moment. After a while, when you look in the mirror, do you even recognize who that is staring back at you anymore? Did you ever know? Maybe you've never looked at yourself before, never seen underneath all the roles you've played all your life.
When we examine ourselves, we often do so in terms of roles. We have been daughter or son, sister or brother, girlfriend or boyfriend, wife or husband, teacher, writer, lawyer, best friend, etc. Who are you, they ask. Try and answer that question without referring to your various roles in life.
Getting to the core of WHO, not WHAT, you are is how to arrive at the answer to those six words. Who are you and who are you to be? Who do you want to be?
I spoke with a friend yesterday who reminded me of this:
Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
