One of William Shakespeare’s most famous quotes comes from one of his plays, AS YOU LIKE IT:
“ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE, AND ALL OF THE MEN AND WOMEN MERELY PLAYERS. . .”

SOUND FAMILIAR?

Shakespeare goes on to say in this soliloquy:

“They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms;
And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lin’d,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper’d pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well sav’d, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion;
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything. . .”

It kind of makes you want to ask:
SO WHAT STAGE AM I ON RIGHT NOW?
Our whole LIVES teach us that we don’t have a
PURPOSE
MEANING
REASON
DESTINY
. . .that in fact it’s
P L U R A L
and not
SINGULAR. . .

There have been so many different stages you have been on throughout your life
and some of them you might have not even noticed
as they have literally blurred from
one scene
one Act
to another
in seemingly
BLINK-OF-THE-EYE
q u i c k n e s s. . .

So very, very many different stages
you have been on to show and share your
L I F E

Each are merely a piece to the puzzle that literally
MAKES YOU UP. . .

So here’s a most important question for the
N O W
of the day. . .
THIS MOMENT:

What stage are you on NOW. . .
WHAT ARE YOU SHOWING?

Shakespeare aside. . .
we are all authors of our own play
and in many ways,
D I R E C T O R S

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh:

EVERYONE QUIET ON THE SET:
READY
SET
A C T I O N

T  H  E      E  L  E  V  A  T  O  R

is always in

S E R V I C E

and it doesn’t matter so much

 W      H      O

purses the Buttons

as it does

WHICH      FLOOR      YOU      DECIDE      TO      GET      OFF.          .          .

I flat out got my BUTTONS pushed this past week

My FUSE

not only got lit

I found out painfully just how short it was

on this particular day

because of this SCRUPULOUS  Reason.         .        .

WHAT    CLOGS    YOUR    DRAIN.          .          .

I RE-DISCOVERED what stopped mine up

to less than a trickle.          .          .

I was asked to do the funeral for

a person I had never met:

N  O  R  M  A  L

I got at the funeral home to meet with the family I had never met:

N  O  R  M  A  L

I talked with the Funeral Director for any additional information about the Person:

N  O  R  M  A  L

He told me the reason the family asked for someone they had never met to conduct the services of their loved one:

M E

Was because the family’s minister, when called by the Funeral Director to ask about his availability for the service told the Director that the Deceased had not paid his Church Pledge and he would be glad to conduct the Services FOR $650.00 because the HE  IS  RUNNING  A  BUSINESS  AND  NOT  A  CHARITY.       .      .

ALL OF MY BUTTONS GOT PUSHED/JAMMED simultaneously 

ALL OF MY BELLS AND WHISTLES  screamed

ALL  OF  MY  FLAGS  went high up/off the Poles

 ALL  OF  MY  LIGHTS  went Red Flashing

ALL  OF  MY  WEAKEST  LINKS  snapped

E          V          E          R          Y          T          H          I          N          G 

I despise about Organized Religion

went off like an ongoing 4th of July Firework Session

gone amok.          .        .

I was way past

I N C E N S E

a n d    straight    to    the    dark    heart    of

I        N        C        E       N        S        E        D

and then we were in the service

and his friend stood up and Eulogized him so perfectly

and   it   h i t   me:

I am not THE CARING CATALYST.        .          .

but I am  A  CARING CATALYST

and as it turns out

a   not   so   perfect   Caring   Catalyst.          .          .

T R U T H:

I          A    M            P    E    R    F    E    C    T    L    Y          I   M   P   E   R   F   E   C   T

and one of the Biggest Hypocrites I’ve ever known.          .          .

Here I am espousing all of this

Peace on Earth

Goodwill

Forgive

Give no matter what

All of this:

and even more of

and dashes and doses of

and pinches of

I   come   to   RE-DISCOVER:

I          A    M            P    E    R    F    E    C    T    L    Y          I   M   P   E   R   F   E   C   T

Pssssssssssssssssssssssssssssst:

So        is           everyone          E  l  s  e.          .          .

    E               V               E               R               Y               O               N               E

P     E     R     I     O     D

I on/off stewed

I on/off complained

I on/off retold

I on/off obsessed

over this

all-too-live-all-too-real-button-pushing-bell-whistle-blowing-red-light-blaring

s t o r y

and this poor excuse of a Caring Catalyst

who is most

 P    E    R    F    E    C    T    L    Y          I   M   P   E   R   F   E   C   T

came to this humble-less-than-ever-honest-with-himself:

S     E     R     V     E          T     H     E          U     N     D     E     S     E     R     V     I     N     G

o  r

S E R V E    N O    O N E

No

if’s

an’s

but’s

or’s

unless’s

excepts

until’s

Join me

You      Perfectly       Imperfects

JOIN       ME

JOIN ME, JOIN ME, JOIN ME, JOIN ME, JOIN ME, JOIN ME, JOIN ME, JOIN ME, JOIN

m e

Let’s be Pieces of the Puzzle

who come together

and become better as

ONE

than we could ever be

by our PERFECTLY IMPERFECT SELVES

SERVING     THE     UNDESERVING 

.             .           .THAT’S  not so much thinking out of the box.          .          .

IT’S       O B L I T E R A T I N G       IT

And the Biggest Discovery Since one of Columbus’s might be

Let    your    Imperfect    YOU

J  O  I  N

My Imperfect  ME

The SERVED

is not always the DESERVED.          .          .

LET’S       SERVE        THEM        ANYWAY