When the actor takes part in any mob or crowd scene, he is inclined to lose his indivduality and feel himself engulfed in the group of people around him -“absorbed” in it, as it were. As a consequence of such a wrong attitude, the actor begins alone to act as if he were the whole crowd. He becomes noisy and restless, and his whole behavior is “general” instead of being individual. This false and unnatural acting makes the impression that the crowd consists of dolls and puppets. An actor must elaborate his part in a crowd scene with the same care as any individual part. Michael Chekhov
As actors in the universal stage, from the quantum soup perspective, we are undeniably in every scene. There are no thoughts, no actions, no feelings and no behaviors that are excluded from being an ingredient of this soup of agreed upon reality. Sometimes as one drop in this, I feel completely alone and insignificant. I wonder what the point is and whether the apparent struggle for meaning has any value whatsoever. Other times, I believe I am a significant ingredient that can transform this soup into a tastier dish for all. I think of a grain of salt-the finest salt extracted from the sea. I am curious how salt works in the soup-somehow just the right amount shifts our experience from bland to delicious to too salty. There must be one grain of that salt that creates the tipping point. Is that one grain the most significant in the crowd? What if another grain were missing, wouldn’t that shift the tipping point to different grain than the first? If effect, then all grains are significant, all thoughts are meaningful, all actions contribute to the quantum soup that is you, that is we, that is the larger reality we consume. And hence if I, at any point, decide to commit my life to adding value to creation, my individual task must always include being responsible for contributing consciously in relation to the whole.
I gravitate to groups–families of social activities. Do you? I love the camaraderie, the team effort and the power of two or more. Its fun, isn’t it? I have strong opinions and believe in causes. I rant and rave in tirades against injustice. We read, we listen to radio, watch TV and forward emails. We feel friended. we mk new wrds. We propagate humor, inspiration and hatriotism with the click of a mouse.
Ah, Hatriotism! Indignation that we shovel down the IP address paths hungry mail mouths. Way too much salt! We suddenly become the dolls and puppets of a idea gone viral, toying with reality in virtual reality, deluding ourselves into believing we are expressing our individuality and that the click is sufficient. But if you are truly fully and wholly committed to the change you are implying is necessary-are you truly taking the full depth of potential action that you are uniquely qualified to take? Are you elaborating your part in the crowd scene as you would any part of your life that you felt needed change? Change requires willingness, guidance, and action specifically targeted to the undesired condition. It doesn’t come from being a puppet clicking a mouse.
