Don't curse the glove

You are witness to your own drama

Kublai Khan had noticed that Marco Polo’s cities resembled one another, as if the passage from one to another involved not a journey but a change of elements.
–Italo Calvino, “Invisible Cities”

What performers know and critics resist, is that life is a performance.

Performance isn’t a bad word, by the way, it means the undertaking of duty. In this life you will don many costumes. Many chances to play many roles. Artist. Writer. Poet. Nurse. Lover. Rebel. Performer. Critic. You.

But not every role is meant for you. At first, this bums you out. But if the glove don’t fit, don’t curse the glove. Don’t curse your hand either. You may not yet be ready, or perhaps you never will be. You can’t do everything.

You may never learn that second language. You might never find work/life balance. You might never be the life of the party. That’s OK. You’re only human.
–You Can’t Do Everything

So then you look within and see an ensemble of players in medias res. It turns out you already contain many roles. And they don’t always get along.

There’s that one voice on a quest. How noble. Another voice prods him with resistance. How rude. So they duel. “You should write more” squares off against “You have nothing of value to say.” A third voice pleads from the back, “Stop fighting, let’s get ice cream.” A fourth one asks himself, “Could this be a microprinciple?”

You are witness to your own drama.

But there’s a twist in the third act. When you bring your adversary closer, your inner swordplay comes to resemble dancing. A musical number! This is enlightenment; the easeful embodiment of performance. Should you chance to glimpse it, all performance disappears. The costumes fall away.

All that remains is you.