Every lifetime we get immersed within the roles that we play. The ego becomes attached to being a husband or wife, victim or abuser, pious or sinful, rich or poor… and it can become difficult to escape the identities with which we have aligned ourselves.
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 plays many parts… ~ Shakespeare
As spiritual beings, we use this world as a playground of discovery. We arrange specific karmic contracts such as teacher/student, rescuer/rescued, jailor/prisoner, and accept yet others as we walk through the events of our lives (such as the idea that we must be the good child, the one who changes the world, the one who\’s never good enough, the fixer, etc.)
All roles are utilized as vehicles of healing and discovery. But at the source of your experience, you are far greater than the roles you have chosen to play. As divine, infinite beings created from the source of love, our true purpose is to learn to drop the need and attachment to our roles and see one another (and ourselves) as aspects of the Divine who are in the process of awakening.
Over the course of a lifetime, these roles can get stripped away. Those who had ego-fulfillment through their work lose a sense of identity after retirement and must find new authenticity in the daily walk in order to remain happy. Breakups cause some to question their role when no longer identified with a specific person, and victims forget their true power when they remain identified with victimhood.
There is great beauty to be discovered when we drop our attachment to particular identifiers. You can still be an excellent and loving parent by seeing both yourself and your children as souls on a journey of discovery, letting go of expectations and being the support that allow those you love to explore the world on their own terms. The ego will tell you that you are nothing if your lose your role – this is what causes some people to remain stuck in limitation… they cannot see beyond the role to the limitless possibility of the infinite. Give yourself the gift of seeing through the roles that others play. See them instead as spiritual beings choosing to have a physical experience for the sole purpose of healing and discovery… just as you are.
Today my intention is to honor all paths as sacred.