Following the Sun to the West

There is this monologue that I have always been so intrigued by.  It is one of the final monologues at the end of the play “Angels in America”  I was able to find the monologue from the HBO film version with Mary-Louise Parker playing the part.  In this monologue she talks about the feeling of being up in the air, following the sunset across the country.  Her exact words are “chase the moon across America”  but the presentation is the sunset.  Last Thursday, I was on a flight that did that. 
I have flown quite a bit, but I’ve never had a flight at that time of the evening.  While I was chatting with Sonia, I kept watching out the window, keeping an eye on how much of the sun I could still see.  It was almost as if time stood still for a moment and we were able to do anything, talk about any topic, or make any claims without remorse.  My thought evolved into everyday life and the question of why can’t we be that free all of the time?  Why can’t our imagination always run free like Harper’s (Mary-Louise Parker) could in this play?

I feel that if we can get past the hesitation of always thinking about what others will think of us, that we can.  The power that we let others have on our decisions stops so much greatness on a daily basis that we are our own virus and are constantly stifling our forward motion.  If we can take a moment and be honest with ourselves and think about how much we do every day that is influenced by what others think, then we can have a tiny fragment of how true this is.  I include myself on this so much and know, cause I have attempted through workshops, daily regimens and forceful decisions to change my decision-making process’.   It is crazy when we think about the outside influence because it is everywhere.  What should I where?  What should I eat?  I should work out?  I won’t say that because I’ll sound stupid.  And so on, and so on, and so on. 

My purpose for this though isn’t to send you through a self-help workshop right now, it is just to get some thought going on our decisions, all the time, paying some attention on an amazing play written by Tony Kushner.  I also added the closing scene for you to watch.  If you are to never see the play or film, I believe that these two messages are still well worth the look.  Life is great and no matter who we are, we find the love and happiness in there somehow.  WE ARE ALL INVOLVED!!!