To Change... or Not To Change
That is the conundrum.
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to be stalwart
Despite the roiling turmoil of mundane fortune
Or to throw up our arms against a sea of habits
And by opposing end them. To choose - to change,
No more; and by a change we say we end
The rutted road and the thousand worn paths
That minds are kin to: 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To choose, to change;
To change, perchance to grow - ay, there's the rub:
For in what change of choice what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off these mental coils,
Must give us pause - there's the retrospect
That makes cacophony of so long a past.
For who wants bear the whips and scorns of thyself
The oppressor within, the sure man's shame,
The pangs of pride, lov'd - a past mislaid,
The solace of knowing, and the spurs
That spin potent merits unconscious, done
When they, themselves might redirect fate
With cold commanding? Who could carry the cost
To grunt and sweat under mistakes made
Fathoms deep, if they were not meant to be
the unexamine'd country, which once birth'd -
unable to return to womb, puzzles the want,
And makes us rather bear those ills we willed
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus comfort doth make cowards of us all,
And thus the native haze of habitude
Is tied through with the pale cast of fear,
And enterprises of great poise and moment
With some regret, regain their certain current
And lose the name of action.
I was thinking about what parts about us that put is in paradox.
I know so many people who are most comfortable,
when they are uncomfortable.
Who are most happy,
when they have something to complain about.
Who live in the balance where
they wish for change,
but do not wish to change things
and seem to prefer
thresholds
THEMSELVES
as opposed to actually choosing
In... or.... Out?
My mom is like this.
She will say "Goodbye!"
open the door,
stand in the doorway
and begin a new conversation
right from there.
If you are not seeing her out,
she will still do this.
She will say goodbye,
open the door,
stand in the doorway
and shout out
a conversation opener.
She loves standing in bottlenecks,
gateways, driveways, and thresholds.
She loves sitting in the driver's seat of a parked car
with her hands on the wheel... going nowhere.
She will do this for 10-20 minutes, easily.
She loves standing in front of a chair,
and talking about how she should really sit down,
and how comfortable the furniture looks,
but how if she sat, she'd be too comfortable.
She loves sitting in a comfortable chair,
and talking about how she wishes she were standing/walking
even though it hurts her back/legs/etc.
She is the sort who will talk about how NICE something is,
and then unconsciously attempt to destroy it somehow.
I know other people I love who have similar traits.
I'm not immune to this problem, either.
We all struggle to be the person we WANT to be,
while still being the person we ARE.
There is a refrain that comes out sometimes,
talking about change...
... and the idea that not only are habits comfortable
(even if they are acknowledged as creating situations
that are decidedly uncomfortable)
but also... as if taking a new course
could undo the good things
that have come from their
past way of making decisions.
This also gets expressed in people who reinvent themselves
expecting the New Them to be the Only Them
and the Old Them to be forgotten,
rather than simply amended/forgiven.
But when I rewrote my version of Hamlet's monologue
I wanted to focus on the fears that keep us moored
to the UnChanged self.
The weighted tether of uncertainty regarding a lesser-known
lesser-expected future...
but also change (for some) is sometimes feared
as an unexpected gateway
to a lesser-understood past
if the change goes WELL.
When you are in the habit of pain, strife, or struggle,...
... first, can you imagine a world with less of it,..
... secondly, can you imagine what it would take to make that world a reality for yourself,
.... thirdly, can you imagine how that may change the way others who are used to the CURRENT you, may feel about you after change occurs,
and lastly,
if you make it all that way...
can you imagine forgiving yourself and who you were,
and letting go of the burdens your previous you,
may have cherished as 'normal', 'natural', or 'necessary'?
So...
then I butchered some well-known Shakespeare,
despite my lack of training [read:interest] in strict poetic meter.
Sorry?
You're welcome.
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to be stalwart
Despite the roiling turmoil of mundane fortune
Or to throw up our arms against a sea of habits
And by opposing end them. To choose - to change,
No more; and by a change we say we end
The rutted road and the thousand worn paths
That minds are kin to: 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To choose, to change;
To change, perchance to grow - ay, there's the rub:
For in what change of choice what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off these mental coils,
Must give us pause - there's the retrospect
That makes cacophony of so long a past.
For who wants bear the whips and scorns of thyself
The oppressor within, the sure man's shame,
The pangs of pride, lov'd - a past mislaid,
The solace of knowing, and the spurs
That spin potent merits unconscious, done
When they, themselves might redirect fate
With cold commanding? Who could carry the cost
To grunt and sweat under mistakes made
Fathoms deep, if they were not meant to be
the unexamine'd country, which once birth'd -
unable to return to womb, puzzles the want,
And makes us rather bear those ills we willed
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus comfort doth make cowards of us all,
And thus the native haze of habitude
Is tied through with the pale cast of fear,
And enterprises of great poise and moment
With some regret, regain their certain current
And lose the name of action.
I was thinking about what parts about us that put is in paradox.
I know so many people who are most comfortable,
when they are uncomfortable.
Who are most happy,
when they have something to complain about.
Who live in the balance where
they wish for change,
but do not wish to change things
and seem to prefer
thresholds
THEMSELVES
as opposed to actually choosing
In... or.... Out?
My mom is like this.
She will say "Goodbye!"
open the door,
stand in the doorway
and begin a new conversation
right from there.
If you are not seeing her out,
she will still do this.
She will say goodbye,
open the door,
stand in the doorway
and shout out
a conversation opener.
She loves standing in bottlenecks,
gateways, driveways, and thresholds.
She loves sitting in the driver's seat of a parked car
with her hands on the wheel... going nowhere.
She will do this for 10-20 minutes, easily.
She loves standing in front of a chair,
and talking about how she should really sit down,
and how comfortable the furniture looks,
but how if she sat, she'd be too comfortable.
She loves sitting in a comfortable chair,
and talking about how she wishes she were standing/walking
even though it hurts her back/legs/etc.
She is the sort who will talk about how NICE something is,
and then unconsciously attempt to destroy it somehow.
I know other people I love who have similar traits.
I'm not immune to this problem, either.
We all struggle to be the person we WANT to be,
while still being the person we ARE.
There is a refrain that comes out sometimes,
talking about change...
... and the idea that not only are habits comfortable
(even if they are acknowledged as creating situations
that are decidedly uncomfortable)
but also... as if taking a new course
could undo the good things
that have come from their
past way of making decisions.
This also gets expressed in people who reinvent themselves
expecting the New Them to be the Only Them
and the Old Them to be forgotten,
rather than simply amended/forgiven.
But when I rewrote my version of Hamlet's monologue
I wanted to focus on the fears that keep us moored
to the UnChanged self.
The weighted tether of uncertainty regarding a lesser-known
lesser-expected future...
but also change (for some) is sometimes feared
as an unexpected gateway
to a lesser-understood past
if the change goes WELL.
When you are in the habit of pain, strife, or struggle,...
... first, can you imagine a world with less of it,..
... secondly, can you imagine what it would take to make that world a reality for yourself,
.... thirdly, can you imagine how that may change the way others who are used to the CURRENT you, may feel about you after change occurs,
and lastly,
if you make it all that way...
can you imagine forgiving yourself and who you were,
and letting go of the burdens your previous you,
may have cherished as 'normal', 'natural', or 'necessary'?
So...
then I butchered some well-known Shakespeare,
despite my lack of training [read:interest] in strict poetic meter.
Sorry?
You're welcome.