The Shadow, Instant Karma and Thoughts of Suicide

We all have a shadow, the dark part of ourselves that we sometimes deny or project on others. It comes out in times when we are triggered, in fear or feel separated from everyone and everything.

But the truth is that we are all in this together. Anyone who tells you differently is living in their own shadow. Anyone who thinks that they are more important than others is merely deluding themselves.

On the flip side, anyone who feels low and insignificant is also living in their personal shadow.

Each one of us matters. Every single one of us.

It has been said that something as seemingly insignificant as the flutter of a butterfly’s wing can ultimately cause a typhoon on the other side of the world. This is because everything is connected.

But then, you know that already. You might even see it demonstrated in the Internet.

My personal shadow has been a lifelong battle with depression. But I made a promise before I was born to get through this and shine as much light as I can. That’s why I started writing this blog.

My journey in this lifetime has taken me to the depths of despair far too many times.

My life has been a struggle for most of it. I live too much in my head trying to find solutions to my problems, many of which are money related. Whenever I put those solutions into action, they never turn out how I expected. In fact, many choices that I made with my head have made the situation worse.

My financial problems had gone from bad to worse. I wasn’t getting enough work at my job to support myself and last month my online sales were the lowest they have been in December. I usually make enough in the holiday season to get me through a few months but despite all my marketing, I lost money.

I was at my lowest point I’ve ever been.

Last Wednesday night, I sat in my car as I contemplated suicide.  I was going to leave the car running in the garage and attempt to kill myself from carbon monoxide poisoning. I didn’t because I thought that maybe the poison could leak into my neighbor’s condo unit.

The next day, I totaled my car. My little yellow 2005 Ford Focus. A car I had bought new because Ford was giving away Dell computer with each new Focus. I car I waited to be delivered from Wisconsin, the land of cheese. A yellow cheese color car I named Tweety Goo.

It was a freak accident that was caused because of my negative thoughts and desperate actions.

A rainy day created the perfect weather condition. I had just came from a resale shop where I sold a few items for $26.I was stopped at a light on my way to the gym. As I waited, grabbed the cash out of my wallet.

Then BAM! The front end of my little Tweety Goo was crushed against a giant Hummer. That vehicle was left with a few scratches. My hood bent in two and was pushed into the windshield.

I didn’t die. I walked away from the accident.

It shook me down to my core. I feel like I don’t ever  to drive again.

I’ll get through this rough patch. I have to. My inner guidance tells me that if I take my life, I will set things back for myself and end up reincarnating in a much more difficult life.

What we don’t overcome, we are repeat.

We need to embrace our shadow and love it. And to do that, we have to live from the heart. We have to be careful what we think and say because like John Lennon sang, Instant Karma‘s gonna get you, gonna knock you right in the head.

It got me. It changed my life. I don’t know what’s going to happen. The only thing I know is that I have to make it through this.

Maybe you are in a dark place also. Maybe something that I write will help in your life. Maybe we all need to get through the darkness together.

I am here to serve humanity. We are all pieces of a puzzle of life.  What if I am a piece of your personal puzzle? What if you and I had decided before we were born that we would connect our puzzle pieces to create a new, wonderful world? Ending my life would never allow that to happen.

Some of the things that I am planning to write in the future have never been written before. I know that I hold an important piece of the cosmic puzzle about imagination. I am not saying this to be elitist. I am merely speaking what I know, from my own heart and soul.

Yesterday, on a walk in nature, my beloved and I saw a young bald eagle. He later asked me to read about what eagle stood for in terms of Animal Spirit Medicine. I read the passage from Ted Andrew‘s Animal-Speak book.

I cried through the entire last paragraph:

To align yourself with eagle medicine is to take on the responsibility and the power of becoming so much more than you now appear to be. From a karmic aspect, it reflects that the events will now fly faster, and the repercussions for everything you think, do or say (or fail to think do or say)–positive and negative–will be both stronger and quicker. To accept the eagle as a totem is to accept a powerful new dimension to life, and a heightened responsibility for your spiritual growth. But only through doing so do you learn how to move between worlds, touch all life with healing, and become the mediator and the bearer of new creative force within the world. 

It reminded me that I have a mission to fulfill and I cannot leave until it’s finished.

So, until then, I’m gonna shine on like the moon and the stars and the sun.

Always,
Alice Always

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My Illuminating Rainbow Led Zeppelin Sungazing Meditation

I’m a sungazer, and as such, I meditate with the sun at the dawn on sunny mornings.

The title of my last blog post was Eleven Illuminating Insights about Illumination.

Because I was bubbling with silliness, I decided to use that phrase as a mantra in my morning sungazing meditation on the second day of the New Year. Knowing that we were still in the midst of full moon energy, I knew it would be extremely powerful.

Every sungazing session is different as each day different energies are present on all levels. More on energetic influences and levels another time.

Sungazing is an intuitive practice for me, so I don’t prescribe any formal techniques. As I said in a previous post, sungazing is dangerous, so, if you are thinking of doing it, read my post about it and do diligent research before attempting it.

As I repeated the magic phrase that pays, eleven illuminating insights about illumination, I saw the sun with two large number ones in the center forming a gateway. In my mind’s eye, I felt myself pass through this gateway and into the sun.

My seven chakras were lit up with the energetic colors they represent: red base to violet crown.  A curved rainbow ran through my body and into the ground behind me and connected me to the sun in front of me.

My Faerie feet lifted. I call them that because they remind me of Irish dancing and my maternal Celtic ancestry. You have Faerie feet if you walk or stand naturally on the tips of your toes. I’ve been doing that since I learned to walk. Maybe children outgrow it; I didn’t. I even got teased in sixth grade for walking on my tippy-toes.

Back to the meditation. I saw the chakra rainbow as a flattened lp album and I was part of it. Now, if I get to choose which album it is (which I do because I’m writing this) it would be the second record of Led Zeppelin‘s Physical Graffiti double album because I used to play the first track of side 3, In the Light, repeatedly over and over when I was 13. More on that another time.

Oh, my! So much to write. Sorry about the tangent. Back to the subject at hand.

In my meditation, I saw the Green Fire.

I have never heard talk of the Green Fire and I will not even do a Google search until after I complete this. I don’t want my awareness to be colored. Yes, pun intended, so make sure that you do that ba-dum-bum-tss drum sound in your head.

The green fire in my vision is the energy burning through my own heart. Green is the color of the heart chakra, the color we associate with the Earth, just as blue is to the sky.

My internal programming is high visionary functioning. I think I just made that phrase up but that’s how I would describe it. I have what others call mystical experiences on a regular basis when I am connected with my Source.

When I am in disconnect, I fall into depression. That might be the same for you. Your disconnect may be anger. Or greed. Or hatred. You can pick your own deadly sin or add a new one to the list.

Whenever you, me, or anyone else is out of harmony with our true selves, we react instead of responding rationally to any situation.

We go into the darkness that is our shadow. I’ll write on this topic another time.

Anyway, back to my vision in my morning sungazing meditation.

The green fire separated into as ones and zeros. I went into the Matrix, the binary code that runs computers.

I saw the Matrix completely for what it is, an elaborate program, that was created to connect our disconnect. It’s also its opposite: a system that sucks us into it and disconnects us from our true Source, which is within.

When we were ready for this insight, it became available to us.

It’s part of our collective imagination. I thought I made that term up but it’s an actual documented term.

This is what we create collectively. It’s been going on since our arrival on this planet.

Wait! Did I just say arrival? Did I mean to say that, you think?

Anyway, there’s more to the Matrix thing and collective imagination and I’ll write about them at other times.

In my vision, I left the Matrix and ended up back in my own heart.

In the Light played as music in my head. I felt peaceful.

After a while, I spontaneously started repeating the phrase: I Am the Light, the Light I Am. I learned this mantra from Matt Kahn, a spiritual teacher whose wisdom corresponds to my inner knowing. His talks are filled with humor and insight.

Because my mind is so enmeshed with the Led Zeppelin song, it was a natural progression from that to repeating I Am the Light, the Light I Am.

The meditation ended with my hands on my heart and a feeling of being pure light.

Always,
Alice Always

11 Illuminating Insights about Illumination

Since 2018 is The Year of Illumination and today is the eleventh day of the year, I wanted to present for your perusal, eleven illuminating insights about illumination.

How’s that for alliteration?

I repeated the title of this post 11 times out loud, hoping to get some silly stumbling of syllables, You know, like what happens when you say “Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers”. The whole tongue-twisted and burst out laughing thing. Yeah, it doesn’t happen with this one.

Why don’t you try it for yourself? Let me know what happens.

I did a meditation using the phrase that pays that was quite illuminating. I will share my experiences in another post.

So here are eleven illuminating insights about illumination:

The first nine are meanings of the word taken from the Dictionary.com definition of illumination.

Wow! Nothing like getting it all done with a dictionary definition. I know, huh? But I like the Number 9 so much, I had to do it.

Illumination is:

1. an act or instance of illuminating.
2. the fact or condition of being illuminated.
3. a decoration of lights, usually colored lights.
4. sometimes, illuminations. An entertainment, display, or celebration using lights as a major feature or decoration.
5. intellectual or spiritual enlightenment.
6. also called illuminance, intensity of illumination. Optics. the intensity of light falling at a given place on a lighted surface; luminous flux incident per unit area, expressed in lumens per unit of area.
7. a supply of light: a source of illumination.
8. decoration of a manuscript or book with a painted design in color, gold, etc.
9. a design used in such decoration.

We can mix all the various definitions in a soup or (as I prefer) a cosmic goop. We have colored light bulbs, gold manuscripts, science, the stars, sun, and the moon, all swirling at light speed in our heads, leading us to intellectual or spiritual enlightenment. 

Just imagine that. Now, take it one step further, and add the next item on our list:

10. 2018 is the Year of Illumination

Isn’t Number 10 redundant, as it was used in the first sentence? You ask.

No, it’s repetition. There’s joy in repetition.

This year we will all gain new insights and see things that we haven’t seen before. As our awareness expands, we will also open up to new ideas that we never entertained before.

Illumination is about bringing something into the light that was previously in the darkness.

Which brings us to the next number, which is about each of us:

11. It’s time to shine your light!

Illuminate the world with your light! Share who you are from your heart!

Always,
Alice Always

2018: The Year of Illumination

As I said in a previous post, Numbers are a shorthand code. As we live in a universe of vibrational energy, numbers are significant.

The year 2018 is broken down as:
2 + 0 + 1 + 8 = 11

 

Here is what Joanne Walmsley wrote about it on her Angel Numbers blog:

Number 2018 is a combination of the energies and influences of number 2 and number 0, and the attributes and vibrations of number 1 and number 8.  Number 2 relates to service and duty, balance and harmony, adaptability, diplomacy and co-operation, consideration and receptivity, fulfilment and happiness, and your Divine life purpose and soul mission. Number 0 resonates with developing one’s spiritual aspects and represents the beginning of a spiritual journey and suggests that you listen to your intuition and higher-self. Number 0 also amplifies the energies of the numbers it appears with, and relates to eternity, infinity, oneness, wholeness, continuing cycles and flow, potential and/or choice, and the beginning point.  Number 1 resonates with initiative, instinct and intuition, self-leadership and assertiveness, new beginnings and a fresh approach, motivation, tenacity, striving forward and progress, and also reminds us that we create our own realities by our thoughts, beliefs and actions.  Number 8 brings personal power and authority, inner-wisdom, truth and integrity, dependability and self-reliance, good judgement,manifesting abundance and prosperity, the concept of karma and the Universal Spiritual Law of Karma.

Since Eleven is a repetition of the number one, it doubles the energy, making it a pattern. Repeated numbers like 11, 22, 33 and 44 are master numbers. When the numbers within a year are reduced to a master number, it is a powerful year.

Here is information from Angel Numbers blog about the Number 11:

The karmic Master Number 11 symbolizes the principles of spiritual awakening and enlightenment, high energy, idealism, inspiration and intuition, illumination, visionary, enthusiasm, creative/creativity, self-expression and sensitivity, and mysticism. Number 11 tells us that to connect with our higher-selves is to know and live our soul mission and life purpose. Master Number 11 is usually called ‘the Illuminator’, ‘the Messenger’ or ‘the Teacher’ and relates to those who are here to be inspirational guiding lights, and their mission is to bring illumination to others and to help raise spiritual awareness.

Angel Number 11 brings a message from your angels to pay special attention to your thoughts and ideas as these are revealing the answers to your prayers. Your positive affirmations and optimistic attitude will manifest your desires and help you to achieve your goals and aspirations. They will also assist you upon your spiritual life purpose and soul mission.

Angel Number 11 encourages you to contribute your unique perspective and philosophy to instigate a new consciousness. Seek out some form of outlet where there can be active participation, whether it be through one’s own profession or some charitable organization. Working with others gives the opportunity to be the inspirational leader, setting an example for others to learn from.

Angel Number 11 encourages you to assist and inspire the human race via your natural abilities, relying upon your inner-wisdom and intuition to guide you.

Angel Number 11 encourages you to be an inspirational guiding light to bring illumination to others and help raise spiritual awareness.

There’s that magical word for this year:
i l l u m i n a t i o n

 

We are here to shine our Light this year in whatever way best expresses our soul, using our own unique talents and abilities., otherwise known as our gifts.

One of my traditional New Years rituals is listening to New Year’s Day by U2.

Here are the lyrics that have a special meaning for us now:

Under a blood-red sky
A crowd has gathered in black and white
Arms entwined, the chosen few
The newspapers says, says
Say it’s true, it’s true…
And we can break through
Though torn in two
We can be one

It’s so relevant that lyrics were written by an Irish band in the early 80s about the Polish Solidarity movement for an album entitled “War” could hold so much meaning in 2018. Especially here in the USA where “fake news” and politics have divided a nation.

I believe that there are enough of us who can stand together and break through this separation that we have been in way too long.

I feel it is time to light up the world with our joy. Time for new insights. Time to listen to our intuition if we haven’t been before. Time to be inspired and follow our inspiration to create new ways of interacting with each other. Time to imagine the endless possibilities…

It’s time for Illumination. Time to shine brightly this year!

Always,
Alice Always

Diary of an Elf – Day 3: Greetings from the Closet at Cabin Number 9

I’m still in the closet at Cabin Number 9 or Number 9, Number 9, Number 9 as innumerable Beatles fans here call it.

For the record, Elves love music, especially Classic Rock.

It appears that since I did not announce my arrival at Santa’s Magical Realm at the North Pole, no one knows that I’m here.

I came here in the middle of the night and made myself comfy in the only spot available. Because no one knew I was coming, someone or some peeps put a large barrier across the door and I’m stuck in the closet.

I have been since the night of December 26.

Imagine the wonderful feeling of being in one of the most magical places but having no one to share it with. It would be like you are living in a world that no one else is aware of.

It gets lonely in the dark.

 

So I’ll have to wait until the party music simmers down and/or someone hears my knocking.

The thing is, Elves really know how to party with loud music and pointy party favor hats, so I might be here awhile.

Always,
Alice Always the Elf

Diary of an Elf – Day 1: The Day After Christmas

I’m starting a new diary! What better day to start a diary than the day after Christmas? Especially if was a Christmas present! That means it already has love in it because the person who gave it to you did so because they care. This also applies to Santa.

I can use a fresh journal to journal my journey.

Why wait until New Year’s Day when you can begin today or even yesterday?

If I could, yes, I would. . .   If I could, I would. . . 

Sorry about that. I drifted off on a tangent of reverie.

Back to reality.

I’m at the North Pole.

At the North Pole, we call today Ruby Tuesday, named such because this year Christmas fell on a Monday.

Why Ruby Tuesday? you may ask.

I’m sure someone somewhere will figure out the answer.

Santa’s sleigh ride stirs up powerful Magic of Wonder Energy the week following Christmas. If you allow yourself to go deep into the depths of our collective imagination, you can feel it. If you sit with it, you with feel it stirring within you. If you go deep enough, you can create wonderful ideas that you thought you would never think of before that moment.

But you did.

Did I confuse you? Because I didn’t want to confuse you, just wake you up to that Magic of Wonder Energy that is flowing right now.

About me… I am sitting in the dark while I write this in Cabin Number 9.

Seeing an Elf in a mall a few days ago sparked memories that I had long forgotten. The need to be among my Elven kin grew strong in me, so I went to Santa’s Magical Realm at the North Pole, where you can always find Elves.

When I got back here all the beds in the dorms were taken so I ended up in a closet with U-Haul boxes and clothing from previous occupants.

I was lucky enough to find a mattress in the large closet. You know, some people living outside on the streets don’t have that luxury. I could sympathize with them, the temperature in my closet was freezing. I am grateful I have a parka to keep me warm under the covers.

As anyone who has been here can tell you, it gets cold in the North Pole. Long Johns are a necessity and sometimes you have to even wear your parka to sleep.

So I’m up in the middle of a cold winter’s night writing this.

I don’t know how long I’m going to stay here. We’ll just see how it goes.

Always,
Alice Always the Elf

Why I Will Always Believe in Santa

I believe in Santa Claus. I always have, I always will.

You can debate that he doesn’t exist until you are blue in the face as a Smurf, I won’t believe you.

I believe in endless vistas of imagination. I live there.

I believe in the magic that lives in hearts of children. It lives within me too.

I live in a world of wonder.

Santa is an inspiration to me. He opens up to our collective imagination, the one we are creating together.

Like the White Queen in Alice in Wonderland, I sometimes think of six impossible things before breakfast. Let’s apply that to Santa Claus.

Here’s six impossible things that Santa does:

  1. Knows if everyone has been naughty or nice.
  2. Flies through the air on a giant sleigh, heavily laden with toys and other gifts.
  3. His aforementioned sleigh is powered by eight reindeer, nine in inclement weather when a light is needed.
  4. Goes up and down chimneys, seemingly propelled by magic.
  5. He transports himself and any oversized gifts down all those chimneys without getting stuck.
  6. Delivers gifts all over the world on one night of the year.

Santa accomplishes things that no one else in the world can do. His joyful Ho-Ho-Hos create energy bubbles of laughter throughout the world. That jolly dude is the personification of magic and wonder.

He is the Spirit of Christmas.

I do believe in Santa, I do, I do!
I do believe in Santa, I do, I do!
I do believe in Santa, I do, I do!

Always,
Alice Always the Elf

The Elf I Met at the Shopping Mall

This time of year, you see all kinds of people holiday shopping including Elves.

Shhhhh! Don’t tell Santa that some Elves are ditching work in the Gift Wrap Room at the Big House. With only a few days until Santa’s annual sleigh ride, it’s crunch time! All hands are needed to write names on those little itty-bitty teeny-weeny tiny tags. Not to mention, forefingers are required to hold down the intersecting ribbon on gifts so that other, more nimble, fingers can make knots and tie everything all together.

In terms of Elven jobs, this part of the gift process is crucial, because, without enough workers, chaos ensues at the North Pole and Elves can get a little grumpy.

Believe me, you don’t want to be near a grumpy Elf. More about that in Diary of an Elf (coming to a theatre near you, in the near or not so near future, depending on when you are reading this).

I kinda have to write the book first. So I’m starting with blog posts.

This time of year, it’s important that all North Pole Elves are present and accounted for. Like many humans, some Elves feel like they have to give presents during the last few weeks of the year instead of celebrating the joy of rebirth each and every day.

Is it end of the year gift-giving or just gift-giving procrastination?

Even Elves forget, but that’s a story for another day.

Back to this one.

A few days ago, I was at a store in my local strip mall when I saw a person shopping in the ladies clothing section, her back turned to me.

She was wearing a Santa-style hat. I was incognito, looking like your average Suzie Shopper, not at all like Suzie Snowflake with a snow-white gown.

Being in a super-silly mood, I just had to talk to her.

I walked up to her and she turned to look at me.

“Aren’t you one of those Elves from the North Pole?” I asked.

She looked surprised and hesitated for the briefest of moments. Then she lit up like a star atop a Christmas tree.

“Yes!” she exclaimed.

“I thought so,” I said. “Elf Cabin Number 9, right?”

I didn’t give her time to answer. I turned and disappeared into the endless racks of clothing.

I recognize my own. Elves and Faeries, that is.

Now you’re thinking: I thought she was supposed to be Alice in Wonderland.

Yep. Alice is about wonder and imagination. So are Elves and Faeries.

Just like a child, I can be any magical being that I choose to be.

So can you.

Always,
Alice Always the Elf

P.S. The t-shirts in the picture are available in assorted colors and sizes on Amazon! Let It Shine Sun Rays and Let It Shine with Lyrics.

R U Awake or in Living in The Matrix?

Today, I can’t seem to get the red pill/blue pill scene from The Matrix out of my head. When an idea “pops” in your head and keeps coming back, it might be trying to tell you something.

It’s time for me to look further into it, which is about reality.

In the scene, Morpheus offers Neo a choice between the Blue Pill and the Red Pill. If Neo takes the blue, he continues to live in a computer-generated world. If he takes the red, he will enter the real world so that he can escape from the Matrix.

There are many levels of meaning in just the colors of the pills alone.

Blue is a cool color, representing peace and serenity. It is the color of the sky, which reflects our perception of water, even though water itself is clear.

Red is a warm color, representing the heat of passion, both love and anger. It is the color of fire, which warms as well as burns.

Blue has always been my favorite color. If I was given the choice of pills without knowing what either did, I would have chosen the Blue Pill.

Out of favorite colors, blue is the most popular in the world. Here in the USA, red lags behind green and purple.

You have to consider that some things are just not appealing so maybe I wouldn’t take the blue pill because it’s plain odd. For me, blue Gatorade is just the most curious beverage and even if it is the best flavor in the world, I might not like it. So I never tried it.

Here in the United States, we have started coloring the states with two colors instead of using other colors in the crayon box.

I remember coloring a map of the USA back in 4th grade for a class contest. I was excited to beautify my mimeographed copy of America. I wanted to use as many colors as possible from my box of 64 Crayola crayons (with the sharpener on the box). A highlight of my school memories was getting a copy fresh from the mimeograph machine, with its fresh smell and crisp purple lines.

Red and blue mixed together make purple. In terms of color, we are a purple nation. I’II think I’ll skip the Pharmaceuticals of the Matrix and take the purple crayon.

I like coloring, No, I love it. I wish I had time to color but lately, the time has been speeding by. Maybe you noticed it also?

Today is 12/21, so I made the graphic with the time of 12:21.

Here is information about 1221 from Joanne Walmsley’s Sacred Scribes Angel Numbers blog:

Number 1221 is a combination of the influences of number 1 (appearing twice, amplifying its influences) and the vibrations of number 2 (also appearing twice, magnifying its attributes and resonating with the Master Number 22).  Number 1 brings its energies of creation and new beginnings, progress and motivation, striving forward, inspiration and initiative, achieving success, fulfilment and happiness.  Number 1 also reminds you that you create your own experiences and realities with your beliefs, thoughts and actions.  Number 2 brings its attributes of balance and harmony, partnerships and relationships, adaptability, diplomacy and co-operation, encouragement, duality, faith and trust and serving your Divine life purpose and soul mission.  Number 2 appears twice, relating it to the Master Number 22 (Master Builder) –  the number of philanthropy and service to humanity. Number 22 is the number of Archangel Raphael and resonates with vision, practicality and common sense.

The repeating Angel Number 1221 reminds you to be grateful for all the blessings in your life, and for those yet to come.  When you express an ‘attitude of gratitude’ you manifest even more blessings.  Your angels ask you to follow your Divine life path with passion and purpose.

Angel Number 1221 tells you that your reality is what you make it.

So which pill would you take? You don’t really have to take either.

Just keep reading my blog and you may eventually wake up in Wonderland.

Always,
Alice Always

 

All the World’s Indeed a Stage and We are Merely Players

All the world’s indeed a stage
And we are merely players
Performers and portrayers
Each another’s audience
Outside the gilded cage

Those are lyrics from the song “Limelight” by the Canadian rock band, Rush. This adaptation of Shakespeare was written by drummer Neil Peart and sung by bassist/keyboardist/vocalist Geddy Lee.

The origin of the song is a speech from William Shakespeare’s play, As You Like It. Act II, Scene VII, features one of Shakespeare’s most famous monologues which begins:

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 …

Though I love many of Shakespeare’s monologues, this one is best depicted as a song running through my head throughout my life since I first heard it on the Rush Moving Pictures album in 1981 when I was a teenage fan.

Theater as a metaphor for life is a concept I entertained when I was still in the single digits of life. I was one of those philosophical, geeky, 4-eyed kids who just couldn’t get into sports because my hands, eyes, arms, and legs didn’t know how to work in conjunction. I couldn’t do cartwheels, skip rope with others holding the end of the jump rope, or run at the pace of others.  I barely scraped by in gym class.

I couldn’t sing on-key but that never stopped me from singing to myself. It still doesn’t.

I found myself on a stage in theatre class in college where we did a session on Improv acting. A student director approached me afterward and told me I had a stage presence. He asked me to be in his play but I was too nervous to say yes.

I was afraid of making a mistake in delivering scripted lines. Imagine what could  have happened if I had gone beyond my fear.

I had jobs at the local Renaissance Faire where I could create a character and play act but that ended a while back. The last dozen or so years I’ve portrayed other facets of myself: a pirate chic named Red-Handed Ginny and a faerie queen entitled Her Royal Highness Queen Goo, Queen of the Pigeons, the Sparrows, the Jedi Knights and the Knights who say Ni.

I’m a silly person who enjoys playing different roles with friends. I often play Mario to my best friend’s Luigi where-a I talk with-a lousy Italian accent. In real life, I have a distinctive Sout’side (the “h” is silent) Chicago dialect no one else in my family seems to have. It’s all part of the character I play in my imagination.

We all play various characters in the theatre of life: child, sibling, friend, parent, lover, student, teacher, employee, coworker, boss or fill-in-the-blank.

A lot of times we juggle roles.

In the 1965 animated Peanuts Christmas special, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Linus,  with his blue security blanket and profound philosophical nature, gives a narrative of the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke which ends with:

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and goodwill towards men.

Linus is playing the narrator in that play.

In the theatre of life, there are times when we are in the spotlight of center stage, on the side, backstage or in the audience.

There are people who always want to be the center of attention and demand that we give our attention to them. In our society, we make celebrities out of them, obsessing to no end about what they did or what they said. Some of them can be so ego-driven that they upstage everyone in their lives and may attack those who have a different perspective.

We call them drama queens in everyday life and tyrants in positions of power. They care more about themselves and their own interests than everyone else. In their world, everyone is the audience praising them or antagonists who vilify them. Their reality is warped because their ego is out of control.

We get sucked into their world. When we give them our attention, it feeds their egos. When we give them our attention, it takes away from us doing something wonderful for ourselves.

Getting hooked on their little reality show often makes us forget that we have the right to be center stage as well.

All of us have the right to tell our version of the story, to think for ourselves. We don’t have to believe what another says just because they said it.

When Linus got onstage, he spoke words of love, to which I say:

The ability to shine in the light
is available to all.
Spreading a message of peace
and goodwill uplifts everyone.

Imagine the world if we all actually lived the lessons of kindergarten: sharing, caring, kindness and respect.

Imagine the world if we all gave attention to our joy instead of our misery. Imagine if we stopped attacking those who are different from us. Imagine if our choices were made from a warm loving heart instead of a reactive hot head. Imagine if we listened more than we talked.

Do you ever wonder how our world change if we changed the play?

Always,
Alice Always