THE DRAMA

I'm compelled to wonder why folks seek out drama in their lives.

I'm not talking about soap opera entertainment, theatre or performance art.

I'm talking about the tawdry human dramas that make something out of nothing and insist on then enlarging that nothing into a something that become all-consuming.

Just living should contain enough drama that one doesn't have to go creating it.

My recent post is an example of potential drama: It's an idle what-if doddle through my mind that, if dwelt upon, could actually become some passion of destruction that could consume my life, if I were serious about it. (The spate of comments that followed it were interesting, although one thread degenerated into drama for no real reason.)

Then today I was talking to a buddy on AIM who was telling me about the drama in HIS life. Except that in his case, he was making the drama happen. He was on about this guy he likes going with this girl he doesn't like, who's cheating on him, but he wants to be friends with this guy but she won't let him...blah blah BLAH.

And this guy is in knots. He can't divorce himself from it, although this other couple's problems have nothing to do with him.

This all reminded me of drama I had in my life a couple years back. And then I got to thinking about the drama that seemed to surround every single group of human beings I ever associated myself with.

Some drama is real. Addiction, abuse, depression... these are real things that are part and parcel of the human experience. But to go out and CREATE drama for oneself? To "borrow trouble," as Mother M might put it?

The hell is with that?

I believe it stems from our need to connect with other human beings; from our innate caveman-brain desire for tribal community. No man is an island, they say. Therefore I think that people who feel too isolated-- or, to put it bluntly, have too much damn time on their hands-- create drama to involve themselves with those around them. And in these days of Internet connectivity, "those around them" takes on a much more global meaning.

It seems, too, that drama is inversely proportionate to exactly how much the topic at hand really matters in the grand scheme of things. Therefore, gossip of no real value becomes the Worst Thing Imaginable whereas an actual ISSUE is handled with gentler reassurances and a twelve-step program.

There's a phrase I can't quite remember; but it has to do with University politics and I believe it goes: "No issue too small." In fact, the smaller the better, because by the time it's blown out of proportion no one would recognize it as a small issue anymore.

Agents, I'll share with you my mother's wisdom on this subject. She doesn't always keep to it herself, but none of us is our ideal self one hundred percent of the time: "Before you put your energy into an issue, consider who's going to benefit." Who WILL benefit from your involvement? You are SPENDING time and effort. Will this drama repay you in some way? Will you sleep better, become enriched, or in some way grow as a person? Consider these things before investing in the Shadow Play you see before you.

We all do this to some extent. We ALL have The Drama. I just think it's important to step back once in a while and realize it.

Posted by Agent M at March 22, 2004 06:09 PM