Rule 29
“Destiny doesn’t mean that your life has been strictly predetermined. Therefore, to live everything to the fate and to not actively contribute to the music of the universe is a sign of sheer ignorance. The music of the universe is all pervading and it is composed on 40 different levels. Your destiny is the level where you play your tune. You might not change your instrument but how well to play is entirely in your hands.” - Rumi
"You are entitled to nothing."
- Frank Underwood, "House of Cards"
Finally started season 3 of "House of Cards", I wanted to wait till I could focus and really enjoy it. Oh, how I love the show. Every time Kevin Spacey breaks the fourth wall, I feel gleeful like a kid in a candy store. And Robin Wright... holy wow. It's the modern day Macbeth, and I adore it.
In a game-changing speech in the second episode, Frank Underwood looks straight at the camera and tells the American people, "You are entitled to nothing."
Think about that for a moment. You are entitled to nothing. Recently we've been seeing a lot of talk about not raising a generation of "entitled" brats. I'm sure you all know some entitled little sh*ts, as well, people who walk around expecting that they are due something simply because of who they are. Or simply because they are.
"It's my fate."
"It's my destiny."
It's all bull. You make your fate, you make your destiny. If there's anything you can learn from the Underwoods, it's that you have to seize the opportunities, nobody gets anything by waiting around because it's their "destiny". Obviously, you shouldn't resort to the means the Underwoods use to get what they want (uhhhh... they're ruthless sociopaths). But there is no way you will fulfil any destiny other than being a couch potato if you don't help yourself.
Until very - and I mean very - recently, I had the worst writer's block. My own words scared the living daylights out of me, and I can't explain why. I can only guess at the things that contributed to it. One of those is that theatre is practically a competitive sport, especially where I live. You will always be compared to others, even if they are doing the polar opposite of what you're interested in. The revival was squashed before it was fully breathing, unfortunately.
Then, there was availability. In any industry, there is always going to be someone younger and with more free time than you to do the job. Some people can resume their normal pace after having kids and I am in such awe of them... I am clearly not one of them for a number of reasons (serious trust issues with caretakers, the need to be there regularly at bedtime, etc.). For a while, that meant I did absolutely nothing creatively, and that's exactly what I needed to do at the time. Sadly, stifling my creativity had other effects I didn't realize till I got through that haze. Once I made up my mind that I have to do something, and after trying to keep pace with single people at work, I realized that not only could I not keep up, I didn't want to. Still, I am not entitled to anything. So, if I want to do something with my life, I decided I have to do it on my own terms, in my own way, and I am still figuring out exactly what that is. Every single day, I try to take one step closer.
Are you playing the right instrument? If we must, let us change our instruments, stick to our instruments, or make up new instruments! That's not what matters, the important thing is to each play our own tune the best we can. Are you jamming right now? I hope you are, and if you've had a hard time with it, take it from someone who was on mute for a while... you'll get there, but it's in your hands to start playing again.
Until very - and I mean very - recently, I had the worst writer's block. My own words scared the living daylights out of me, and I can't explain why. I can only guess at the things that contributed to it. One of those is that theatre is practically a competitive sport, especially where I live. You will always be compared to others, even if they are doing the polar opposite of what you're interested in. The revival was squashed before it was fully breathing, unfortunately.
Then, there was availability. In any industry, there is always going to be someone younger and with more free time than you to do the job. Some people can resume their normal pace after having kids and I am in such awe of them... I am clearly not one of them for a number of reasons (serious trust issues with caretakers, the need to be there regularly at bedtime, etc.). For a while, that meant I did absolutely nothing creatively, and that's exactly what I needed to do at the time. Sadly, stifling my creativity had other effects I didn't realize till I got through that haze. Once I made up my mind that I have to do something, and after trying to keep pace with single people at work, I realized that not only could I not keep up, I didn't want to. Still, I am not entitled to anything. So, if I want to do something with my life, I decided I have to do it on my own terms, in my own way, and I am still figuring out exactly what that is. Every single day, I try to take one step closer.
Are you playing the right instrument? If we must, let us change our instruments, stick to our instruments, or make up new instruments! That's not what matters, the important thing is to each play our own tune the best we can. Are you jamming right now? I hope you are, and if you've had a hard time with it, take it from someone who was on mute for a while... you'll get there, but it's in your hands to start playing again.
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