“All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players;” *
When Shakespeare wrote the above, comparing the world to a stage and all of us playing a part, he may have seen this as symbolically describing life on earth. Most people see this statement at a very material level, but when taken to a higher level it describes accurately our lifetime on earth.
Our true being is spiritual and we all come from one spiritual source with a spark of the divine connecting us all in what can be termed One or Oneness. We came here from spirit and to spirit we return. We are all spiritual beings at all times, always have been and always will be, even while we have physical bodies which are necessary for our survival on the earth plane.
When we incarnate what we experience isn’t real and eternal and will disappear at the death of the physical body. It’s like Shakespeare describes as all we are experiencing is everyone role-playing for a short lifespan on earth.
Most of us have experienced role-play during training courses to practice how we are supposed to react in particular situations. These help participants to understand where they go wrong and find a better way of responding in difficult situations.
The earth is sometimes referred to as a school of learning as it is the only place we can learn lessons and evolve spiritually. It may take many incarnations for us to learn and grow so returning to this material existence is necessary for our pathway back to our creator.
To go back to Shakespeare’s statement we can see why we have come here to play different parts which all provide us with learning experiences. We have free will and can choose to ignore the lessons presented or we can try to understand what situations are teaching us and thus progress. One of the great spiritual laws is the Law of Cause and Effect which, simply put, says that for every action there is a reaction. Whatever we do, think or say will have repercussions and if these are negative we will incur negative Karma which will have to be balanced either in this life or in future ones.
We come to this great stage or world with a purpose. We are like actors in a play; we each have a part and of course plays generally have several actors. The difference here is that there is one enormous stage, one play, and millions of actors. We are all playing our own part and although we may think we are playing solo we are having an effect on all the others and them on us even if we are unaware of this.
The life stage is full of many varieties of situations and the players are all there to learn from their responses to each other and to learn from each other. When the physical body dies we leave this stage and return to the true life which is spirit to consider how we dealt with these role-play situations.
We cannot avoid interactions with others, some whom we know and some whom we don’t know. Actors in a play have to respect each other, and allow them to act out their part to the best of their ability, without criticism or judgment. The play could not be successful if the actors were at loggerheads and their egos having battles. Scenes have to follow each other smoothly with everyone coming in on time and working in unison with their fellow actors.
The world stage doesn’t have scenes going smoothly with everyone playing their part well and assisting each other as a team ought to do to be successful in their endeavours.
We incarnate and often fail to remember what our part really is in the big scheme of things. We can end up playing a part we never intended and not only does this harm us but it has a knock-on effect which can be detrimental to others. We judge and criticise the other actors. Sometimes we become arrogant and at other times we put ourselves down. The negative stuff we give out can lead to others forgetting their purpose and responding to us in a similar unloving fashion. How can the stage of life be a pleasant place and the play go smoothly when the actors can’t get their act right?
Another great universal law is that All is Energy. Our thoughts are energy and can be just as damaging as our actions. Our thoughts and actions just don’t affect those around us but can travel too and affect actors at the other side of the world. Sending thoughts of love, peace and healing can be beneficial but anger, selfishness and fear lead to many detrimental repercussions such as war, and even the destruction of the ozone layer.
We are not alone. We are not islands unconnected to anything else. We are part of Source and if we all remember we are connected to All, remember our spiritual purpose, we can make such a difference not just to ourselves but to all on this planet. It’s a huge responsibility but when we love, show considerations to others, share what we have and have a desire to assist others with their parts on the stage transformation can occur. Let us all go back to spirit having discharged negative Karma and not having incurred even more. What a waste of a lifetime that would be!
The stage can be fine, harmonious, satisfying and supportive for all involved. The world can be the same if we all play our part. What is real, true and beautiful is our spiritual identity as a “Child of God”. All these situations experienced on earth are tests to enable spiritual growth to take place.
When we understand that, just like going to the theatre, what is being played out isn’t real then we have a different view of physical existence. It’s short lived and we can’t take physical assets with us. What lives on is how we dealt with them, and how we treated others. If we can see the interconnection of all life, share what we have, love others as ourselves then the riches we take back to spirit will be great and any material riches we have accumulated on earth will matter not.
Maybe the game of life on earth is rather like the game of Monopoly where the aim is often to make as much money as possible but at the end it all goes back in the box. We may feel it is exciting to play but understand it is only a game and not for real. Seeing life on earth in this way can help us learn what is real and eternal about ourselves and what is unreal and temporal.
* As You Like It Act II, Scene VII.
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