Independence Day
July 4th, 2010“No matter what he does, each person on earth plays a central role in the history of the earth. And normally he doesn’t know it.” – The Alchemist
I’m reading this quote and I am deeply struck by it, in my heart. “Normally he doesn’t know it”. What does this mean “normally”? Is it that most people do not listen to that deep instinctual voice that some call heart and others call soul? If so, why don’t they listen? Why don’t the “normal” people and how do these “normal” people influence our lives? After all, society tends to revile those known as “crazy”. Perhaps it is genetic, for how many of us witnessed our parents sitting around talking about how grateful they are because they understand that they are playing a “central role in the history of the earth”. How many could honor the reality of their own importance?
What happens when person does not realize that they have an important role? I know that as an actor and as someone who counsels actors, there is a feeling sometimes that we do not have an important role, literally when there is a lack of auditions, jobs, agents, etc. It seems obvious that these are the things that provide the actor with a sense of purpose as well as the experience that they have some importance in this world. But it does not always work out that way, as we look back on the history of successful actors who still felt a sense of deep emptiness inside and therefore were not able to grasp their importance to the “history of the earth”. Just walk down Hollywood Blvd, look at the stars and remember those who died without a sense of purpose or gratitude. They had success, money, auditions, jobs, agents, etc. But because they did not feel on a deep internal level important in the large scheme of things, they craved it. They believed that pursuing this mirage would provide it for them, it does not. It must come from within, from inside the heart of the individual. When they needed to look inside at their truth, they instead looked outside to the trappings of success and the false sense of what purpose means. Some say “who cares about the history of the earth, I have to work this shitty job at this restaurant and cant’ get an audition!” That is a way of looking at life, a perspective for certain, but only one. And sometimes for some people they cannot escape that perspective and it becomes a steel cage in which they become encased.
Today is July 4, Independence Day and I wonder about that steel cage, the one a person can create for themselves. For the actor, I find it most interesting and perhaps a little bit ironic that it is the actors who have the most powerful gifts of expression, nuance, charm, humor and sexuality, can be the ones who feel most restricted, trapped, limited and hopeless. I think it is the external validation, the desire to be seen, understood, financially remunerated and honored by society that can be the trap of the actor. When one can truly believe in the words of Coelho and embrace their role, no matter what it turns out to look like, they will possess the true riches, the treasure, the true feeling of purpose.
“The psyche strives toward wholeness. But on the path we stumble upon we have come to believe what society expects of us, and these beliefs have a strong effect on the way we behave as men and as women” June Singer, Boundaries of the Soul p.182
