What is my truth? It’s probably the question we all make ourselves at some point of our lives. That is, of all the infinite possibilities life has to offer us, where do we fit?
Some truths are easy to know. Our name, the place where we live, our family, our clothing size. Others grow and get shaped with time, such as food and music preferences. We move through space and time gives us the tools and knowledge to shape our own identity, our truth.
There are truths we will never know. All the movies we will never see; the person that was born in the middle of mountains and never learned to swim; the girl that couldn’t receive an education; the man that, due to fear, never boarded a plane. Circumstances box us to a subset of truths at our reach. Even our own experiences, personality, and biases can prevent us from discovering other sides of the human experience.
That is why serendipity is a wonderful remedy that opens pathways and exposes us to other truth catalogues. Experiences that although ordinary for some, they become an extraordinary event for us.
This year I had the change of witnessing five theatre plays in five days, that exposed me to the fascinating world of the scenic arts. I was able to talk with actors and actresses about their experiences; which motivated me, against all odds, to attend a theatre workshop to keep exploring this world. Something that I had never considered nor shown much interest, became part of my truth.
We were a group of strangers, whose life experiences were superimposed like a Venn diagram with theatre at the intersection. It served as a bridge for me, not only to approach the shore of the immense ocean that the scenic arts are, but also to share and learn about the truths and paths that others have followed. Starting from an interest in theatre, collaboration and teamwork ties were formed, that resulted in improbable friendships.
We’re more malleable than we think. Just like the way we are nourished by the books we read, or we empathize with characters when we assume roles on stage, learning about people so far removed from what we’re used to can lead us to discover another dimension, once hidden, of our own identity. And I emphasize on finding truths far removed from our own, as continuing to delve in the puddle we’ve known our entire life doesn’t compare to taking the leap to another pond.