Tonight I’ve been enjoying watching a programme on TV celebrating the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare. It’s fascinating to think of his legacy. His plays & poetry have been integrated into our language so deeply than many of our modern saying come from his works. There is still much debate about his life. Even discussions about who actually wrote some of the pieces that bear his name. History is like that. Unless there is something significant about our life or our achievements we are eventually forgotten – even by our descendants. I know many of us would have to work really hard to go back in our family tree much more than a couple of generations. So it is a wonder that his works have survived and gifted us such a rich addition to our language.
I also wonder what he would make of our world if he could move forward 400 years in time. I suspect he would recognise quite a lot. We are still engaged in the drama of life. Our emotions, desires and plots still entangle us in a web of deception. We are still wearing masks and therefore lying to ourselves & others about who we really are. Love still makes us foolish and we certainly struggle to be merciful. Many of us still demand our ‘pound of flesh’. Our basic human nature still drives us forward in search of connection, love and security. Perhaps he would wonder why we were still chasing shadows, power and enrichment. He was an acute observer of life in all it’s stages so perhaps he would also recognise that his words had inspired generations. The pictures he painted so long ago with his words still encourage us to look deeply into our human psyche in an effort to understand what feelings & thoughts drive us.
As I watched the actors in the show I also wondered about the Past Life workshop I ran today. One of the ways I describe past, present and future lives is to talk about all of us being a theatre company. We work together to deliver a play, whether a drama, comedy or tragedy, so that we can take turns at all the parts on and off stage. When we have finished that performance we discuss how it went, make changes or take on new roles and then do another performance. As people wrote down their past life info I watched the descriptive words flow out of their minds and on to the page. Words are a way of sharing an experience to others. They can say so much. Words can bring out the fine detail of what has been experienced just by which ones we choose to use. It’s like saying that I am having difficulties. That gives the suggestion that what I’m dealing with is hard to do. Yet if I say I am dealing with challenges the energy of that word sounds much more positive because challenges can be overcome.
That is also the wonder of the words that come from the Spirit World. I know that they choose what they say very carefully. They want the energy vibration of messages to be encouraging, positive and full of hope. We are still some way from being able to read each others energy vibration easily so words still have to be a major way of communicating with and between us. Like a carefully crafted script the information we are given is put together in such a way that we are gently nudged to consider choices that lead us to happier, more balanced lives. Of course we don’t have to hear and understand the words of the message. We can always choose to ignore the words. Or remove the positive energy by wondering why the message wasn’t about something else we wanted to hear about. Or even say the ‘actor’ who delivered the words made a mess of it.
When Spirit give me information I like to take time to wonder about what they have said, what they haven’t said (which can sometimes be even more important) and what options their words have given me. I know they want to coach me to ‘act’ better in this play than I have done before in other performances. I know they also appreciate a lovely quote by Sean O’Casey – “All the world’s a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed.” Understanding past lives, recognising the wonder of words and encouraging yourself to practice more can make a big difference to the rest of this performance and the many, many future performances we will no doubt share together. I hope next time round I can rember my part a lot sooner!
Day 159 of my blogging challenge.