May 3, 2007
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All the World’s a Stage
Ever wake up and you are already having a terrible day, regardless of the fact that nothing has even happened? Does it seem as though a bad mood was implanted into your brain during your sleep? Do you ever take life too seriously, as I do every ten minutes or so?
Here is an imagination exercise to lessen the stressin’.
You have awoken and are in a dismal mood. Now as your crinkly eyes learn to grasp more and more of physical reality, you begin slowly traveling to do whatever it is you do first in the morning.
But now, to start, imagine yourself from outside your mind, as a camera shot looking at you from a third person perspective. Look at yourself indifferently, as though a person watching a movie, as a moody schlub schlepping across the floor, protesting angrily against nagging gravity and the intrusive sun. Switch the camera angle a few times as you walk through the hallway or as you are in the kitchen or wherever you are.
Next, as you are watching yourself galumphing along haplessly, cue the soundtrack. Unless you are particularly fond of a specific song of a band, just imagine a basic instrumental piece to run as background music to the start of the movie of your day.
Naturally, you begin rolling the credits after this. Depending on who is directing and producing your life, roll the appropriate credits, all while watching your life from the camera angles as you enter each new room. Perhaps if you go to pick up the paper, set the camera angle so that it shows the outside with animals already busy in movement, and then you opening the door to retrieve the paper. Do remember to include who co-stars and the guest appearances, depending on who you are going to be interacting with during the day.
Mostly, your work is finished. You have pictured the beginning of your day as though you were the star of a movie, using the aspect of camera angles, a soundtrack, and credits. If you time things right, once you are done with the credits you may begin dialoguing with someone, as it happens in real movies. This person obviously knows nothing of your mind’s fantasies so far in the morning, and you find it funny that your movie-esque imaginings have climaxed with dialogue, just as they do in actual movies.
As you realize the facetious and brilliant work of your imagination, smirk slowly to yourself and think of what a wonder it is to wake up every day and be a person.
Comments (4)
I think I’ve been guilty of this, too. Sometimes it’s healthy to view yourself as someone else. If you do it too often, however, I think you lose sight of reality.
But yes, in some way we all think we’re the stars of our own movies.
Good idea. I’ve done it. And we all ARE stars, after all, not? Unfortunately, we’re all too often the only informed audience and reviewers of our stories.
interesting. we are stars….for an audience of One.
ahhh (a contented sigh, not a yell
)
it is relieving and relaxing to view ourselves as we are–in life, without all the presuppositions that we usually have, just primal consciousness and the wonder of the overwhelming and awing context we find ourselves in