The Wisdom of Calvin and Hobbes

As I was stumbling the other day, I happened across some quotes from my favorite cartoon: Calvin and Hobbes.  This imaginative, spunky, sarcastic child and his toy tiger hold wisdom beyond their years.  This is frequently reflected in their conversations.  One such quote happened to relate to Shakespeare's metaphor of the stage.  It goes as follows:

On realizing God is more Woody Allen than Michael Bay

Calvin: They say the world is a stage. But obviously the play is unrehearsed and everybody is ad-libbing his lines.

Hobbes: Maybe that’s why it’s hard to tell if we’re living in a tragedy or a farce.

Calvin: We need more special effects and dance numbers.

Here, Calvin reflects on how we are all actors on a stage.  We are playing parts, maybe these roles are designed by God.  This fits with Shakespeare's frequent comments throughout his plays.  Our world is a stage, to act, to speak, to create.  But Calvin is astute.  He realizes life doesn't always follow a specific script.  We can plan and plot, but things rarely turn out according to plan.  We find ourselves improvising, trying to find a way to fill our brief performance with meaning, to achieve some outstanding review.  As we stumble through, we create both tragedy and farce within our lives.  We make mistakes.  Sometimes these are comical.  We trip over some stairs.  We fumble our lines and say something unintentionally funny or inappropriate.  Sometimes our mistakes are tragic.  We hurt someone close to us.  We lose them.  This is particularly seen in King Lear as he distances his youngest daughter and closest friend, the only two who were truly loyal to him in the first place.  Regardless of our mistakes, we must attempt to make the most of our few brief hours upon this stage.  Be grand, live life, throw in some outstanding effects or spectacular dance numbers to jazz things up a bit.  Anyone who reads this cartoon knows Calvin is all about living a life full of adventure. If the young Calvin can remember this, we too must strive to live our performance to the fullest.