Guest Moodler: A Play

My dear friend, Cathy, has done it again... used her creative writing to get me thinking about what's really important -- in this case, looking after ourselves at a deeper level by detaching from our egos, something that many of us learn a bit late when, as one of her characters comments, "something drastic" happens.

Even before appearing in these moodlings, Cathy wrote a lot of amazing stuff (just search Guest Moodler in the sidebar and you'll see some of her more recent reflections). I'm privileged to share this little play she wrote about "knowing," featuring our friends, Head, Heart, and  Body, who rediscover how to work together for well-being. May we all let our Soul Child's desire to just BE lead us to delight and peace and better overall health more often!

A Play 

by Catherine G. Coulter

Head: I call this meeting to order!

Body: You would! But really, Head, do we have to be in this stuffy boardroom? I mean, come on!

Head: What? Meetings are held in board rooms.

Body: Can’t you imagine us somewhere a little more….imaginative?

Heart: Somewhere where we feel relaxed and peaceful.

Head: Like where?

Heart: How about down by the creek on a warm gentle summer day. Where we went that time.

Head (exasperated): Oh alright! There! Is that better?

Body: Much! I’m going to stretch out on the grass. Ahh!

Heart: Oh, and listen to that red wing black bird! It just gives me a lift.

Head: Fine. Let’s start over. I call this meeting to order. Now I have an agenda. I’m going to read it off to you to keep us on track. Item number one: Situation. Item number two: Background. Item number three…

Body: Blah, blah, blah.

Heart: What about a check-in?

Head: Additional business can be added to the end.

Heart: But a check-in should always come at the beginning.

Body: Like an ice breaker!

 Heart: Exactly!

Head (sighing): Alright. Check in. Then S-BAR: Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation. It’s a communication model that has gained popularity in healthcare settings, especially amongst professions such as physicians and nurses.

Heart: Body, I think it sounds fine. Let’s just go with it. Okay. Can we start with the check-in? How is everyone? Head, you go first.

Head: I have to think about it. Body, you go first.

Body: Well, I know how I’m doing. I’m a wreck! A Titanic approaching the iceberg! Someone needs to steer this ship on a different course! I mean, look at me. My shoulders haven’t come down from around my ears forever. My upper back is a macramé of knots. My gut is completely shut down. And my nerves are keeping us awake at night. I mean, seriously! I could keep up when we were much younger but we’re reaching an age where things start falling apart. I’m speaking up but the message isn’t being heard or understood and I’m afraid the next communication from me to her is going to have to be something drastic.

Heart (gasps): No! That makes me feel like sinking.

Body: I don’t want to scare you but I’ve been holding this fight or flight reaction too long. Something’s gotta give.

(The three sit in silence, digesting this.)

Head: Well, what you say has made me think about myself. I’m tired too. Always spinning, planning, anticipating. Worrying. And it’s not just your nerves keeping us awake. I never get a chance to shut off. Except for the sporadic prayer time.

Heart: Oh yes! That’s my favourite time.

Head: I just feel like I have to keep on top of everything. If I relax for a minute….

Heart and Body in unison: What?

Head: Well, I don’t know. Something bad will happen.

(They sit in silence again for a few moments.)

Heart: I’m not tired, but I can see why both of you are, my dear ones. I feel like I’m just waking up. Stirring, you know. It’s like I was turned to stone, like in a fairy tale and now I’m coming alive. “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” It’s from Ezekiel and she’s been praying those verses for a long time. But it’s scary. So she puts up a little wall around me a lot of the time. It squeezes me.

Body: Yes, I’ve been feeling that little pain.

Head: Well it seems to me our check-ins are coinciding nicely with our agenda item one: Situation. Our girl wants to break free from this holding back, holding on, holding up.

Heart: Well said, Head.

Body: There’s another thing too. We’ve been working in isolation. At least I’ve been experiencing that. Like I’ve been marched along on automatic and nobody’s paying attention to me.

Heart: I know what you mean. There’s a disconnect among us.

Head: Well this may be a good time bring up Item two: Background. And I want to bring in another participant to join us.

Body and Heart: Who?

Head: Body, Heart, this is Soul Child.

Heart: Oh my goodness! I haven’t seen you, Soul Child for ages. Oh, I feel tears coming.

Body: Yikes! Why couldn’t you have warned us, Head? This one always wants to fight.

Head: I was doing some reading in Sandri Maitri’s book “The Spiritual Dimension of the Enneagram” and I learned about Soul Child. But how do you two know her?

Heart: Oh Head, it’s clear that you developed quite a bit after she went into hiding, but Soul Child was with us at the start, connected to Essence. She still is but she’s been acting out quite a bit.

Body: That’s right! She’s the one that made me eat half a coconut cream pie and lie on the couch all day last weekend. I felt sick afterwards.

Heart: She just needs a little attention.

Body: So why did you invite her, Head?

Head: Well once I found out about her, I thought she could provide us with some background. Like how were things at the beginning and how did we get from there to here?

Heart: Except she doesn’t talk in that way, Head. Not to be able to give a summary or a report. Here, Soul Child, lie down on the grass with us. Look up at the sky. Sees those fluffy clouds? Why don’t you see what shapes you can see in them. There. That will keep her satisfied for awhile. Body and I remember Soul Child, Head. We can fill you in.

Body: Yes. Back in the day, Soul Child loved to play and create and explore and delight. I had a great time running around with her.

Heart: I did too. I was filled with emotions overflowing back then. Tears of rage and hurt, great excitement and joy, abundant love. It was Being, pure and simple.

Head: What happened to her?

Heart: Well, you know. Life happened. Expectations, feelings of separation and scary times that made her need to hide and protect herself.

Body: We got our marching orders, so to speak, from the world around us and needed to protect her too. But hiding doesn’t work forever. She’s been wanting to bust out for a long time.

Head: She wants to play again?

Heart: Exactly. And create and delight…

Heart and Body in unison: And Be!

Head: I see. Well. My goodness. This is extraordinary. Well, let’s move on then to Item number…let’s see…three: Assessment. What is it we are looking for? What are our options?

Body: Well I’ll start from my perspective. I want to be more connected with the rest of you. More in tune.

Head: How do we do that?

Body: More check-ins for a start. Head you could do that. Start paying more attention.

Head: I’m sorry, Body.

Body: No blame. No shame. You’ve had it just as tough.

Heart: That’s right. What do you need, Head?

Head: Well, that’s hard for me to say. I don’t know what I need.

Body: If I may make a suggestion…and a pun…you’ve been shouldering too much of the load for too long, Head. Let us help you.

Head: But how can you help me? I have to do the thinking!

Heart: Silly Head. Body and I can think too. We can provide information that comes straight from the Source. You can trust what we say.

Head: Really?

Body: Absolutely. Learn to listen to us. That might mean getting quiet. Turning down the volume. 

Heart: Checking out so you can check in with us. We’re all in this together after all. We can trust each other.

Head: That does sound good.

Heart: And with trust, that wall will drop and I’ll have more space to expand and fill up and start flowing.

Body: And I’ll be able to drop these shoulders and untie these knots and take big breaths.

Head: And what about Soul Child? What do we do with her?

Heart: Oh, she’ll be okay. Once we get on track she’ll calm down and we can let her lead us into delight again.

Head: Oh that does sound good!

Body: So what’s the last item on the agenda, Boss?

Head: Ha Ha. I know now that I don’t have to be the boss and I’m going to lay that mantle down. But okay. Item four: Recommendations.

Body: Hey! Where’s Soul Child going?

Heart: Oh my goodness! Something has caught her fancy. There she goes!

Head: Shall we follow, Team? Let’s go!