Dump all previous notions of how life is supposed to turn out. Look, instead, at what is. In doing so, life will never get you by the tail. Whenever I encounter circumstances that don't align with how I perceive things, I consider myself in a growth spurt. The unusual part is that even though I remember that the outcome isn't as important as the process, I'm still tied to the fairytale of a happy ending. Well, the absolute truth states that all is well. At least Shakespeare had something to say about this...
At the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon, this summer, I sat with my family through a three-hour version of All's Well That Ends Well. In my studies of Shakespeare, I was taught that the main characters in his plays are often basically good people with one, maybe two, fatal flaws. So, in All's Well That Ends Well, I'd say the fatal flaw was obvious with Bertram, Count of Roussillon: he sought lust over true love. After all, he was engaged in a marriage arranged behind his back by the King of France; the King was a man enamored by a witch disguised as Gentlewoman, Helena, who was protected by the Countess (Bertram, Count of Roussillon's mother). Helena offered a potion and cast a spell to heal the King's terminal illness. At the same time, she had the King of France's full attention and requested he grant her one special favor in return for saving his life: marrying her to Bertram (practically her brother). The King agreed!
In Bertram's defense, who would want to stay for the wedding ceremony? So, following the forced marriage, the angry Count Bertram clearly stated his demands. The marriage was to be annulled unless Helena met certain conditions within a specific time; unrealistically, one of the conditions said Helena had to become pregnant with Bertram's child. Well, after making his demands, the Count hid. The Gentlewoman, however, was very cunning and managed to disguise herself as a whore…and the rest is how it ended.
Life's circumstances aren't all that special in the grander scheme of things. One's pursuit of happiness, however, is the coup de gras.
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