“He must Consider the course of this world, that all things in it are but a play, wherewith he spends his time in such unquietness; and that it goes with the Rich as mighty as with the poor and the beggar. That all of us equally live and move in the four elements; and that the hard-earned morsel of the poor is as relishing and savory to him in his labors as the dainties of the rich are to him in his cares. Also, that all of us subsist by one breath, and that the rich man hath nothing but the pleasures of the palate and the lust of the eye, for a little while more than his poor neighbor, for the end of both is the same. Yet for this short-lived lust’s sake, many foolishly forgo so inconceivable a Happiness, and bring themselves into such extreme and eternal misery.” ~Jacob Boehme
Course of this World
Shakespeare said that all the world is a stage and all of us just actors in a play. Boehme is saying much the same thing. And when he says we spend much of out time in “unquietness,” he means that we engage in many pointless activities just to kill time, have fun, and avoid do anything serious and responsible. Just watch any sporting event with fans jumping up
and down and totally loosing control while painted in team colors. Just think about this simple fact: a successful person in sports, acting, or singing can earn hundreds of times as much as a school teacher. We value distracting entertainment more than education. We want to be distracted so we don’t have to deal with the realities of the world around us. Governments and the wealthy like it that way. If they can keep us distracted, we won’t turn on them. If we ever do a Reality check, they may be in trouble.
But Boehme says this getting caught up in the play is with the rich “as mighty as with the poor”. So while they are playing different parts, the rich are as much actors in the play as the poor are. They too are distracted by the meaningless pursuit of more, more, and yet more of things that have no real value.
Reality Check
The problem with allowing ourselves to get so involved in playing our part in the big play is that we forget reality. We forget what is real and what isn’t. We forget what is permanent and what is temporary. Sometimes we even forget that what is permanent is more valuable than what is temporary in nearly all cases. We need a reality check.
Of course if you are starving, a temporary sandwich is of more interest to you than development of your spirit and soul. But if you are well fed, that should change. If you are homeless, you will understandable value a temporary shelter more than the permanent development of the soul. After you have shelter though, you should move on to what truly matters. They need a reality check to Remind them what is truly important.
Sometimes, that reality check comes to us on an individual level. We lose our job. We get a serious illness. Our stock portfolio crashes. This can help remind us of what really matters. On other occasions, we are sent a major disaster to remind us on a national or worldwide level what is real and what matters. So while disasters are unpleasant things, the silver lining is that they can remind us that the permanent world of spirit is what really matters. So if we want to avoid disasters, we need to start developing our spiritual faculties.
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