Drama is a Choice
By Alan Cohen
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My lawnmower technician is an Australian whose attitude I enjoy as much as his skill. One day I arrived at his shop after closing time and apologized for keeping him after hours. “That's okay, mate,” he told me. “No dramas.” No dramas? That is an amazing affirmation. In America we say, “No problem.” The affirmation “no dramas” takes you to the next level.

The notion of “drama” is built on multi-layered illusions. First, you must believe that there are bad guys who are trying to get a good guy. This assumes there is a presence or reality of evil that has power over good. If a higher power is truly higher, this cannot be so. Either God is present and all powerful or not. However, if evil is illusion, is the truth of good not stronger?

Next, drama assumes the protagonist is a victim. Someone stronger is trying to hurt someone weaker, and the weaker one has to struggle to overcome the stronger evil. Surely, you have come to recognize that you are not a victim and that there is a direct relationship between your thoughts and your creations. You are the source of your experience, and no matter what errors you have made, at any given moment you can shift your thoughts and retool your destiny.

Finally, a drama suggests doubt or tension about the outcome. Will the bad guys win or can the underdog triumph? A Course in Miracles tells us that the word “challenge” is meaningless to a spiritual master since it implies a doubt about the outcome. One of the Course's lessons is “A happy outcome to all things is sure.”

Drama is not a fact; it is an interpretation. Two people could look upon the same situation and one could see a frightening drama while the other sees a great opportunity. A shoe company dispatched a salesperson to Africa in the early 1900s to open up a new territory for his company. A month later, the home office received a telegram: “Disaster! Disaster! These people do not wear shoes. Bring me home immediately!” Several months later another shoe company sent its representative to Africa. It, too, received a telegram: “Opportunity! Opportunity! These people do not wear shoes. Triple production immediately!”

Have you ever noticed that people who have a lot of dramas in their lives always have a lot of drama? And people who have a moderate number of dramas always have a moderate level of drama? And those who have few dramas always have a light level of drama? Is this because of astrology, genetics or fate? Or could each group be creating dramas by their thoughts, willingness and interpretation of events?

Drama can be an addiction. Some people grow accustomed to a certain amount of drama and if their drama level falls below a certain threshold, they find something to create a drama in order to raise their adrenaline level back up to speed. By contrast, people with few dramas appear to know how to cut back on drama if it exceeds their comfort level. I do not intend to demean one's difficulties or suggest that a Mr. Spock-like non-feeling nature be adapted. In our human adventure, we all face illusions that have been instigated by fear. I am simply suggesting that one may increase effectiveness and peace by questioning the reality of the dramas that distract from purpose or joy.

Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, author of the perennially popular book The Power of Positive Thinking, suggests that successful people have used the following method: Respond to emergencies in a casual manner. Do what you need to do but do it from a place of calm assurance that this will be handled. Do not “fake it 'til you make it.” Instead, “faith it 'til you make it.”

In the 1980s I joined several citizen-diplomacy missions to the (then) Soviet Union. We were inspired by President Eisenhower's statement that “One day the people of the world will want peace so much that the governments will have to get out of their way and give it to them.” We went to build bridges of trust and understanding with the Russian people. And it worked.

On one of our trips we had a banquet at our hotel to which we invited a few of our Soviet friends to join us. We had given some of them gifts out of friendship. However, this was verboten by the then-ominous KGB. A tense moment came when a KGB man infiltrated our gathering, chastised a young Russian man for accepting gifts and removed the packages from his arms. To my amazement, a fellow in our group walked up to the KGB guy, retrieved the gifts and gave them back to the fellow. The KGB man backed off and walked away.

I saw this scenario as a phenomenal lesson in the confidence in outcome that sincere intention brings. When you know who you are and what you are here to do, you recognize that there is no power that can stop you. You do not have to fight anyone or anything. Just stand in truth, a place where drama has no claim over love and it dissipates into a greater ocean of well-being.

Alan Cohen is the author of many popular inspirational books, including the best-selling The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore and Why Your Life Sucks and What You can do about It. Join Alan this August in Fiji for a life-changing mastery training. For information on this program or to receive Alan's daily inspirational quote and monthly newsletter, visit www.alancohen.com, email info@alancohen.com or phone (800) 568-3079.