Showing posts with label Act III. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Act III. Show all posts

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Choices

There are times that I question whether Free Will is a gift or a curse!

A dear friend once told me that a dilemma is having to make a decision between two objectionable choices.

The crew and I are right smack in the middle of a dilemma. Mrs. Richardson knows what she thinks is best for us and Bea, of course, has her preference. The rest of the troops are kneeling next to the pool with their heads under water. They are refusing to come up for air until I leap off the fence, committing myself to action, one way or the other.

I'm going to miss them!

Usually, when a decision is to be made, I take a sheet of paper, draw a line down the middle. The left column gets the word:

    Options

At the top of the right column, I write: (yes, I actually use a pen and paper like in the "olde days")

Advantages / Disadvantages

Under options, in this case, are two simple lines:

Make A Big Change.

Make a couple of little changes within the status quo.

Though I have considered a third option:
Don't make any change.

The third line is a cop-out, so I'm hesitant to give it any energy and Bea stomps her foot every time I attempt to write it down.

Act III is not a time to be weak or scared or indecisive but, I have to be honest with you; I don't think Act III is a good time to make any grand booboos either!

So, I ponder the lists in the right column:
Sense of self-worth/
Living in my own integrity/
Pride/
Peace/
Self-Respect/

/Scarey (yes, I am a bit of a coward)
/ Some other stuff
/ and some other stuff


Being a woman who believes in a higher spirit, I could place it all in God's hands but I find that God often expects more from me than I have.  We will definitely have a conversation about expectations on Judgement Day...and timeliness, definitely timeliness!

I could take the spinner out of the box of the Life game in the family room cabinet, make my own little boxes with possible options and give it a spin! I'm not sure that spinner and I ever had much of a relationship, so maybe that's a no.

Maybe a pair of dice! Odds, I Make A Big Change; Even, I make little changes within status quo!  Bill just pulled his head out of the pool long enough to yell out "3 out of 5"!  He's right, I would keep raising the odds to keep myself from making a decision.

A puddle grows around her feet as BabaMara wrings pool water from her skirt. Her face is a little pruney! The crew has been under water way too long!  "You cannot make this decision alone, my love. There needs to be communication, discussion, boundaries set!"

I love BabaMara but she obviously inhaled way too much in the 60's. It seems to have affected her memory. There has been communication, discussion and boundaries!  Yet, her comment does inspire a new column: 

Moving Options to the middle of the page:

Options

New left column:

Needs

Being heard
Being acknowledged
Being respected


Pull your heads out of the water, Peeps! We're jumping off the fence! Looks like Make A Big Change wins!

Get that spinner out and lets see where we're going!

Saturday, August 9, 2014

Act III

Acts I and II of my life have come and gone. It appears that the curtains have closed for a short Intermission.

The characters are changing costumes, refreshing making-up, maybe, even, going pee-pee!

We know it's just a matter of time before the lights dim, the curtains open, and Act III will begin!

Damn it, I can't find the script!

Is it possible I forgot to bang out a script? I was kind of busy during Acts I and II, school, children, loves and lovers, broken heart. and soaring heart, but, still...who does that? Who forgets to write the third Act?  I bet William Shakespeare never had this problem. The playwright, Keith Passmore wrote The Last Time I Saw Paris.  It was a comedy but I bet he had the third act written before he  went into casting.  What was I thinking?

The crew and I dodge into the props room. We've to jot down some quick notes, some key ideas before the curtain go up!

"Hell, I've got this! We'll wing it!"

Well, of course, Bill's whole existence is winging it. While I sincerely want him to join us in Act III, I am not willing to wander around the next 30 years of my life waiting to respond to the conversations and actions of others. Neither are any of the rest of us, with the exception of Beatrice. If Beatrice joins us in Act III, we are going to insist that she read the Tao of Pooh (as many times as it takes).

Mrs. Richardson brings us paper and a very sharp pencil.

We jot down a quick outline.

ACT III

  I.   Pro-active
       A.  Initiators or Responders?  

("I know you can get the job, but can you do the job!"
  "Bill, please, not now!")

    We vote.    Initiators? 7 votes. Responders, 1 vote.

Initiators it is!

(Note to self: Make sure Beatrice understands difference between Initiator and Instigator!)

 II.  Change

      A. Is "Because that's the way we've always done it" a valid reason?  7 nays, 1 yay (She'll get over it)
      B. Is "But I've never done that before" a valid excuse?  8 nays (Thumbs up, Peeps!)
      C. Is "But I'm afraid" a valid excuse? 4 to 4 ~ (We'll have to work on that one.)

III.  Adventure

       Myra Lipinsky a "woman of a certain age" in the book Never Change believes her life has been like the girl who sits in the hall with a cigar box on her lap selling tickets to the prom but never attending the prom.

      A. "Are we going to the prom this time around?" I ask the troupe.  Yays have it! Unanimous!

("Oh, mis queridos, I shall wear midnight blue chiffon!"
"It's a metaphor, Sinthya, not a real prom!
"Si, I know, but I need the perfect dress for a metaphor!") 

 IV. Third Party Influence

      A.  Will we let "What will people think?" influence our actions?   

Me:  "No!"

Ms. Machado:  "No!"

BabaMara:  "Absolutely Not!"

Carly-Anne:  "...mmm...maybe a little...."

Beatrice:  "Hell, No!"

Mrs. Richardson:  "We must conduct ourselves in a manner....."  (Really, Mrs. Richardson, aren't there some figures that need to be added up; somewhere? anywhere?"

Sinthya:  "Seriously, you ask me this question! Have I ever worried what people think?"

Five "NO's, we've got a majority.

Take your places everyone! Dim the lights,! Cue the curtains! Still no script but we can work with what we've got for now!

Let Act III begin!