Narrated by the author, Marie T. Russell. Image by bigter choi 

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 playes many parts…
                                        -- Shakespeare, As You Like It

We tend to take life seriously… all the problems, challenges, crises… all of these seem to be like life and death situations, and in some cases they are. Yet as Shakespeare told us, all the world is a stage, and we are all players or actors upon this earth.

We are all acting in a huge play, yet this play has no script. It is strictly an improvisation. We make up the lines as we go along. We also can make up our character as we go. Some days we play the villain, others the lover. Some days we play a character consumed by anger and fear, other days we are kind and considerate. Some days we play the stressed out family member, other days the casual relaxed neighbor.

Perhaps if we saw our daily actions and interactions simply as participation in improv theater, we might become less mired in actions, reactions, habits and attitudes. After all, in improvisational theater, while there is a main theme to the play -- as there is in the play called "Life on Earth" -- all actors are free to make up their role as they go along. Each response from another actor can send the whole play careening in a new direction, with all the other actors making up their responses as they go along.

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Read by Marie T. Russell, InnerSelf.com

Music By Caffeine Creek Band, Pixabayvda

About The Author

Marie T. Russell is the founder of InnerSelf Magazine (founded 1985). She also produced and hosted a weekly South Florida radio broadcast, Inner Power, from 1992-1995 which focused on themes such as self-esteem, personal growth, and well-being. Her articles focus on transformation and reconnecting with our own inner source of joy and creativity.

Creative Commons 3.0: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 License. Attribute the author: Marie T. Russell, InnerSelf.com. Link back to the article: This article originally appeared on InnerSelf.com