Food for Thought: "All the World's A Stage..."

Good evening, lovely people.

I'm sure that most of you have at one point or another heard the expression that draws a parallel between life and a theatrical performance. If you haven't it basically states that in life, as in theatre, when you're on stage you have to perform.

Anyhow, awhile back I ran across a monologue from one of Shakespeare's plays, "As You Like It" (read more about it here) that expounds on this topic; check it out below:

"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,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms;
And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lin'd,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well sav'd, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion;
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything." — Jaques (Act II, Scene VII, lines 139-166)

I like this passage because for me it puts our mortality in perspective. True enough, life is a stage, and we will ultimately be critiqued (or judged) based on our performance.

No matter how many of these 7 stages that we are blessed enough to see, we decide what type of character we want to be during our time here and the impact that we will have on the world. We can exit as quietly as we entered, or we can do something worth mentioning during our time here.

That being said, enjoy your time on stage...that's what life is for. Do good works, be true to yourself, and be mindful of your performance...the world is watching.

Cheers to the world,

JIP