Waiting for Godot
Sometimes the mystery of life is just almost too much to contemplate. I have had on three occasions in the last thirteen days of where I have been reminded of a play by the title of Waiting for Godot by Thomas Beckett. I had the pleasure, if it can be called that, of reading that play back in my college days for a drama class. If I recall correctly, I was treated to a viewing of the play, via a video recording, that was almost as dry as the reading of itself. Regardless of that though, the meaning of the play truly did strike a chord with me at the time and I have periodically come back to it several times in life.
So three times I have been reminded of the play. The first, nearly two weeks ago when a team builder type of person came to the office as we prepared for our strategy and budgeting for 2010. At some point during his group presentation he made the point of how we, as especially team leaders in the organization can not be content to sit and wait for someone else to go do whatever it is that needs to be done. Clearly it was a much deeper and much more eloquently made point, but that was the general meaning of the point all the same.
The second, nothing so grand, was a few things a co-worker has said on a few occasions in some mild unsuspecting way, but all the same the point I took home from the comments was much the same as that mentioned above. I am not sure, in some ways, if the co-worker did not know exactly what they were saying and exactly the effect it would have on my person, short of they are probably in the dark about Godot.
The last mention and the one that was perhaps the most profound, being the situation and location, coupled with being the third mention of something that made me think of the play was in church this morning. The pastor began by reviewing a bit of last week, where the focus of the message was recognizing we all have gifts and that we should all go do something with those gifts, regardless of how little we think those gifts are. And while his sermon was based on Romans 12, I am also reminded by that of my, perhaps favorite parable – that of the talents. The key of both being a call to action on our part with what we have at our disposal at the present.
Back to the play, Waiting for Godot. In the play we find the two main characters Vladimir and Estragon sitting in a stark landscape waiting for the obvious character named Godot to arrive. They discuss the major plans they have and the various ways they will accomplish all it is they have to set before them and then some, just as soon as Godot arrives, at which point they can set to it. They even question at some point if Godot will arrive at today as the time wears on, and that perhaps he will not be here until the following day instead. Act II is much more the same, giving a sense that the Godot may never arrive and they may never start the actions required to complete the endeavors before them. And of course in the end, that is exactly what happens – Godot, which can almost (and I personally think should) be pronounced Go-do-it instead of the more correct Ga-Dough.
While I am still trying to figure out all of the things that I should go do, there are a number of them that I know to be the truest path that is meant for me and on those I am going to endeavor to pursue with great gusto. The writing of this blog being but one small check-mark on that list. I am reminded that next month, November, is both NaBloPoMo and NaNoWriMo months, so expect a bunch of blogging leading up to and during next month as well as some major work on other things as well. Do not take that as putting off or waiting on Godot until November first though, as I am working on many of such of those things even as I finish and post this small entry.
** – Picture credit to Joan Marcus, from a production of “Waiting on Godot” by the Round About Theatre Company
