The yellowish light of table lamps
And the chandelier over the dining room table
--the one that never gets used--
Set a drab mood for this scene...

The click-clack-jingle of dog
Claws and the tags on their collars
As they walk,
Licking pork marinade from the kitchen floor--

--that and the Dave Matthews song
Playing in my right earphone

They are the soundtrack.

But what is the script?
And where are the players?

My friend, take a good look around you.
NOW.

Wherever you are, THAT
is your stage, to act upon, to put your emotions on display.
Now,
close your eyes.
Just do it. I promise, no one is watching you as you do this.
So,
now that you have walled
yourself off from the
DISTRACTIONS of this world, the various

sights-noises-smells-sensory alerts-flavors-thoughts

that can complete or ruin any given fraction of
a second by taking your attention
and calling it away, screaming

LOOK AT ME!!!
You can stop and hone in on a few of
them, one at a time, slowly..
Unfolding them slowly, with fear
with awe.

Let's start with
Sound...
Whatever you hear
While you are standing/seated on the stage
I have informed you that you are on is your soundtrack.

Do you Feel anything while listening?
A tingle on the back of your neck?
A knot in your stomach?
Tears in your eyes, or the stifling of laughter....?

OPEN YOUR EYES.
...look around.
Put it all together, the sight, the sound, the feeling.
My friend, YOU are the player.
All of life is a play--
--no auditions! This is it!
and all the world
Truly IS a stage.

The best we can do, then
is to make sure our speech is UNscripted,
our actions NOT acted,
and that we give our star performance
Until the curtain falls.