New Earth;chapter Four:role-Playing:the Many Faces

¶ … new earth;chapter four:"Role-playing:the many faces of the ego'

The fourth chapter of in Eckhart Toll's widely popular discourse on humanity and its current state of happiness (A New Earth) -- which is entitled Role Playing: The Many Faces Of The Ego -- is closely related to the information presented in the third chapter of this manuscript, which is mostly about certain tendencies of the ego to create drama and complain. In chapter four, however, the author explains how people intrinsically take on and adopt a variety of roles which they feel comfortable in, but which ultimately prevent them from becoming fully happy. It should be noted that the premise for the entire book (and which is certainly present in chapter four) is that people need to get rid of their egos, of their preoccupation with themselves and material trappings, in order to fully live in the moment where they are aware of life's true joy.

A good deal of this philosophy is delivered in the fourth chapter, especially the part that deals with Eckhart's belief of the best path to happiness, which the following quotation neatly summarizes. "There are three words that convey the secret of the art of living, the secret of all success and happiness: One With Life. Being one with life is being one with Now. You then realize that you don't live your life, but life lives you. Life is the dancer, and you are the dance." However, the author explains in this chapter that the egos preoccupation with roles, in which it merely feels comfortable in, impedes such happiness from taking place. More specifically, the author explains that the people tend to slip into three main roles, that of either the victim or the villain, or the lover. According to Eckhart, these roles and the feeling which they convey to people are simply crutches to deal with (while not addressing) a variety of issues that can comprise a lot of situations in life.

However, the author explains that the true danger in role playing is the fact that it actually prevents people from developing an entire, well-rounded identity on their own. Instead, they merely lock themselves into a role which, when it happens to end either through circumstance or through will, people are unable to detach themselves from that role. Consequently, they no longer have a true appreciation for or even knowledge of themselves, and have a difficult time existing outside of the role itself. A common example of this phenomenon occurs with parents in their process of parenting. People can become so good at being "mommy" or "daddy" that after there is no longer a need for a day-to-day mother or father, they do not fully know who they are or how to live life outside of those comfortable roles.