Have you ever heard someone reflect on a period in their life and say something like ...
"In this season of my life ..."
Well, if you haven't, just imagine you have.
I'd like to talk about seasons.
What marks the beginning and end of a season?
A day? An event?
Is there a transition period between seasons?
As I've thought more about this, a useful analogy came to mind, and I'd like to use it as our guide through this conversation about seasons.
Imagine your life as a TV show.
In my TV show, not that long ago, an event occurred that I would clearly mark as the end of a season.
I now find myself in a period of reflection looking back on the season that just ended and asking myself questions like:
How did I show up this past season? What did I like and not like about my character? What were my favourite episodes? Was I a main character or a supporting character? I could go on.
Looking ahead, I am also asking questions like:
What are my hopes and dreams for my character next season? Put another way, how would I like my character to evolve?
If you share this concept with a few of your fellow cast members, it might be useful for you to get their perspectives on your character in the past season, and their hopes for your character next season.
If this makes sense and you're following along so far, then I have one final piece of the analogy that's proved useful for me.
When I'm in a season, I'm acting. When I'm between seasons, I'm writing.
I'm obviously not writing a script, life isn't scripted. At best, I'm writing direction. Guidelines. Suggestions maybe.
The reason the distinction between writing and acting has proved helpful is because it forces a shift in focus.
I'm off to keep writing.
See you next season.
