Sound and Fury?

...full of sound and fury signifying nothing.
William Shakespeare: MacBeth; Act 5; Scene 5

I think of this quote for many reasons.  As I awaken, I find myself looking out at the world as an audience member watching some drama unfold on stage. I see the senseless reactions, defenses, attacks in others and in myself and question ,"Is this life?" 

Just as Macbeth describes it in his grief ridden soliloquy, we  can look at ego's diminished version of  life for what it is when we begin to awaken from it. "It is a tale told by an idiot."  Told by  the fool  only after ego's little "me"  has finished strutting and fretting about on stage. You do know that in most of Shakespeare's plays, the fool turns out to be the wisest character?  :)

When we are lost in ego, it is like we are strutting about like actors playing a part and too often getting lost in the character.  We worry and fret about a "tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow" that will never come. And then we die! It is all  nothing more than a "story,"  full of so much senseless noise, anger, effort, stress, defense, attack, loss and fruitless doing.  In our fight to gain or regain power, recognition, righteousness, and/or  a victim status... all we get is an opportunity  to stand in the spot light alone and recite some eloquent complaint.  Ahhh but how dramatic and wonderful we are in the delivery of our soliloquy. :)  Is it worth it? It really means nothing.

This depiction of life...is not Life.  It is just ego drama.  Life (with a capitol "L") is that which watches the play without any attachment to it what so ever... "life"(with a lower case "l") is a mental creation, a brief candle so easily blown out.  What most of us are watching or starring in is just a play people...just a play. 

The director and producer of the entire shebang is the Mind.  As long as we know we are watching, we are awake but when we become so engrossed in the acting or the viewing that we forget we are merely watching...than we are indeed nothing more than a "walking shadow."  Life becomes a melodrama.

When we begin to do as Macbeth did, stand back and see it for what it is, we are waking up.  We begin to see that ego's version of life...death, loss and suffering are not real.   In the true version of Life,   there is no death, Death cannot come from life. .(ACIM-w-167:5:1) That flame is inextinguishable. What seems to die is but the mind asleep. (ACIM-w-167:6:7) 

So the ego's version of life is full of sound and fury signifying nothing but the real version of Life is full of silence and stillness signifying  everything.

All is well.