The Role We Play
I first heard of the roles that
we play, through William Shakespeare in ‘As You Like It’. Bard’s famous lines, “All the world’s a stage, and
all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their
entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts……”, spoke eloquent about
the chronological seven stages of a man’s life. I remember being awed by this
perspective.
The next time I heard of
role-playing was when my husband gently cajoled me, ‘You have a role to play.
Play it well.” Unlike Shakespeare, he was speaking of the role I had to play as
an army wife. I was afraid. What if I goof up? What if people find out that I
am an imposter, cleverly covering my naivety? However, I accepted to play my
part with as much courage as I could summon.
Later, I learnt that we create
our own reality. We choose our own parents, families, place of birth and life
circumstances. In other words, we are the actor, director, script-writer, and
producer of our play; all rolled into one. This concept created a
paradigm-shift in my thought process; and brought in a great amount of
self-responsibility.
Gradually, I began to
experientially understand and respect all three perspectives that somehow
complemented each other.
This morning a new realization
dawned and I asked myself, “What if I were to write my own role in the now, how
would I pen it?”
I sat down with a paper and began
writing….. The answer brought in great insights.
What is the role that I am
playing right now? I am playing the role of an army general’s wife, who is also
a writer, a healer, a counselor and a trainer. She is very involved with her
work, and also leads a hectic social life. Her children have flown the nest,
and she is not too involved in their lives. She is very different from her
husband in some areas but very alike in some others. They have a great
chemistry, and yet are not completely honest (about their emotions) in their communications with each
other.
Now, if I were to write this role
as a playwright, what kind of a persona would I choose to portray through her?
She would have to be above average in intelligence, high in empathy, intuitive,
approachable, trustworthy, efficient, courageous, forthright, conscientious,
firm and yet adaptable, house-proud and hospitable, with good communication
skills, leadership qualities, social graces, and passion for her work.
How would I want her to look? Average
looks with confident demeanor, yet humble, with a distinctive style statement
which is attractive in its simplicity, pleasing, graceful, physically fit,
healthy, conscious of her food choices, and not given to excesses.
What is missing in the role that
I am assaying as of now? Some amount of courage, honesty, empathy,
adaptability, leadership qualities, social graces, fitness levels……These are
the areas I need to pay extra attention to.
I am doing a pretty good job with
my role………I am pleased with myself.
