What did Shakespeare portray in his plays that makes producers, directors, and actors seek involvement in the bard’s work? I mean, the dude wrote 400 years ago in very Early Modern English. Why is his work so irresistible? I know it’s not great to everyone, but the reality is that major money is spent putting his work into action every year.
Romeo and Juliet — youth desiring to express themselves, make their own decisions, defy the wishes of their families — shows the pathos of the young people, the logic of their families, the impulsive passion of egoic conflict and how misunderstanding of one another and lack of empathy creates a tragedy. Hmmm. Do things like that happen now? Did they happen before? Macbeth — political intrigue fueled by unbridled greed for power — makes an easy parallel to the struggle for power throughout history, including today’s American scene. Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales presents a microcosm of late 14th century society and was written in late Middle English. Guess what: analogies to the 31 people portrayed there exist abundantly today. In Gulliver’s Travels, Jonathan Swift presents a brilliant, creative satire that characterizes and condemns elements of our world today as much as it did in 1726. Then, when the Age of Enlightenment occurred, followed by the Industrial Revolution, the Romantic poets, writers, and thinkers exposed the discrepancy between technological advancement and the emotional and spiritual states of humankind, and that produced huge problems for society. The greed of mankind that accelerated with the advent of faster, more efficient ways to make money and gain power showed that people had not advanced with the technology. Why? Because since the beginning of our race, the only event that makes a difference for our good is when the individual awakens to self through hearing the heart, through choosing the heart as the guide and filter to truly enlighten life. Technology isn’t always the problem; the misuse of it is. That excludes technology that is harmful to us and the environment. When that occurs, it’s only because of the same human ego — a desire to gain wealth, power, or importance at any expense. Folks, it’s all about the heart. I have referred to self-awareness and self-awakening to the voice of the heart over ego as the Unified Theory of Humanity. This spiritual awakening has always been the keystone to true human progress. Technology is not the salvation of our race; our hearts are. I know that I have previously quoted William Wordsworth, one of the founders of the Romantic movement, and when he first-hand saw the ravages of man’s ego on humans and nature during the Industrial Revolution, eventually his hopeful tone changed in the poem “The World Is Too Much with Us.” His insight about what was happening kind of sums up what I have been saying here, and pretty much in the last 135 posts. Listen: “The world is too much with us, late and soon, Getting and spending we lay waste our powers: Little we see in Nature that is ours; We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!” The benefits of technology was rising affluence but only for a select few, especially the decision-makers. People had sacrificed their hearts and Nature for the ego pursuits of possible wealth. Hearts know and value the significance of connections and relationships and of people coming to know core Self. Hearts guide us to labor to gain the wealth of expressing that core Self in love to all else. Trading that away thoroughly disgusted Wordsworth. And it should us, too. As I said, technology isn’t the problem; our egos are. Any transformation that occurs in humanity will happen through a grassroots movement — one by one coming to know Self. If at some point those transformations reach a tipping point, then our development as sentient beings will exceed the advances of technology. That’s the way it should be!
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Questions to consider:How many times have you asked yourself or simply thought about the following questions?
Who am I, really? What is my truth? How do my actions reveal what I really feel and believe? What would I do with my life if I could do anything? What is my passion? Why am I here? How can I discover answers to any of these questions? If you have considered any of these questions, I hope that my experiences and writing will give you some guidance. Please read my blog and comment and share your thoughts. I would love to hear from you! Archives
December 2019
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