The Art of Being

"To be, or not to be" is the opening line of a soliloquy uttered by Hamlet, as he ponders the meaning of life and whether the price we pay is worth the suffering that we must endure to experience it. Hamlet is a gentle and introspective young man, who is not given to bold action. One day, his tranquil world is turned upside down, after the ghost of his recently deceased father visits him.

Hamlet's father reveals that he was murdered by his brother, Claudius, who has been crowned king and is married to Hamlet's mother, Queen Gertrude. His father demands that Hamlet avenges his death. To do otherwise, would mean dishonoring his father's memory and being branded a coward. This is the life script that Hamlet is handed to work out his destiny. It's no wonder that Shakespeare writes in his play, As You Like It, "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players."

What does your life script look like? Even though we do not get to choose the type of script we receive in life, we can still decide how we play our roles by making the best possible choices that are available within our particular set of circumstances. To be sure, we are all born with a certain backstory, within a particular family, culture, historical context and socio-economic status that will shape our experiences, values and belief system. Thus, your particular background will inform your decisions and influence your actions. Even though we live in a society with a justice system that saves us from avenging the wrongful death of a loved one, the same code that guided Hamlet's society, i.e., loyalty, honor, courage, are the same values that are admired today.

Ultimately, the essence of what we seek in life is happiness. Even though we pursue external objects and experiences as major goals in life, any happiness we derive arises from deep within ourselves. Happiness is a state of being. It is our essential nature. Just like reel life heroes, we may feel a certain lack in our lives, or possess a character flaw that keeps us from living the good life. It is this need for change and self-improvement that stirs the mind and embarks us on an incredible journey of self-discovery and self-fulfillment.

It is just like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, who feels unloved and decides to run away from the home where she lives with her aunt and uncle. She is swept away by a tornado and winds up in the Land of Oz. As she follows the yellow brick road to find the Wizard of Oz, she meets Scarecrow who desires a brain, Tinman who seeks a heart and Cowardly Lion who wishes for more courage. By the time Dorothy reaches her destination, she discovers that happiness is a byproduct of helping others and that "there's no place like home." By venturing out into the unknown, she discovers what is truly valuable in life.

We all play a variety of roles throughout our lives, beginning with being members of a family unit and part of a larger community. If you are unlucky to be an orphan like Oliver Twist, then your life may turn out to be extremely difficult. It will require greater coping skills to navigate the world. Once you decide on a goal, you will find everyone else is either there to support, or oppose you in your quest. Similarly, depending on whether you wish to cooperate or compete with others, you will find yourself frequently changing masks and playing the role of a shapeshifter. Depending on the situation, you may change your personality to assume the role of a friend, confidante, mentor, gossip, flirt, snitch, pessimist, optimist, panderer, or aggressor, to name just a few.

In Oliver's case, he finds himself with no good options. His mother dies in a workhouse while giving birth to him. By the time he is nine years old, he is sent to the main workhouse where he toils away, but receives barely any food in return. After running away to London, he is recruited as a member of a gang of pickpockets. Oliver is clueless that the gang is involved in criminal activity. He yearns to become part of a family and even though his situation is not ideal, he works hard to be accepted. It is not until he is arrested that his life changes serendipitously, and he discovers that he is not an orphan after all.

What the movie, Oliver Twist, reveals is that there are times when we need to surrender to certain situations that are beyond our control. Not surprisingly, they embark us on an inner journey that leaves us feeling lost, lonely and frightened. These hardships are there to test and instruct us, so we must persist through doubt and fear. Sometimes it may even seem like we are standing at the end of a long, dark tunnel with no way out. But, if we keep our focus on the essence of what we hope to achieve, it will act as a beacon of light guiding our destiny.

As human beings, we possess an uncanny ability to imagine the outcome of whatever we desire and simulate the emotions that we expect to experience as though they were real. It is what gives us the freedom to dream the impossible. It is what keeps us motivated whenever obstacles are confronted. By creating an image of what we desire in the mind, we become like an artist painting a picture on a canvas. Since thoughts become things, we attract the people and circumstances that can help to make them a reality.

In The Secret Garden, a young orphan, Mary Lennox, is sent from India to live with her uncle in a gloomy, old castle in England. Life for Mary becomes an adventure as she discovers a bedridden cousin, Colin, who is kept locked away in his room because of his disability, and a secret garden that has been locked up since her aunt passed away. Mary sets to work, tirelessly restoring the garden to its former glory and inspiring Colin to believe that he can walk again. In so doing, she restores life in the garden and love in the castle.

What Mary reminds us is that we all need a Secret Garden to escape and regenerate ourselves. It should be a place of beauty and serenity, where we can find solace and solitude. Such a sanctuary must be created deep within ourselves, where we can withdraw from the hustle and bustle of the world. It must be a place where past and future do not exist. What we did yesterday, or last year, is past and gone, except for the memories that still flicker in our minds. Tomorrow remains nothing more than a dream. All we have is this present moment, which is the seat of our power.