There is good and evil in us all

There is good and evil in all of us. Depending on where we are in life. Where we are in our growth. What lessons we are meant to learn. How strong our ego is versus our inner compass.
Last night my daughter and I went to see the Broadway show, Wicked. And I was pleasantly surprised by the message I took away from it. I was fully expecting it to be trite and in some places it was. But what came across clear as day to me was the dichotomy of human nature.
Wicked is a fictional story about how Alphaba, the "evil witch" became known as the "Wicked Witch" and how Glinda, the "good witch" became known as the  "Good Witch". And essentially the story is about how perception, prejudiceness, beliefs and lack of exposure and education can colour our view of people, places and things without us fully understanding why. Wicked is a parody about life. About our insecurities. About ego.
Alpahaba was conceived in an affair between the Governor's wife and a young man who went on to become the Wizard of Oz. So she carried genes from the human world and the magic world. Hence she came out green - different from anyone else. And she had these special powers that she did not understand nor could she contain because they only manifested when she was provoked or made angry. Because she was green and because her powers manifested when she was angry she thought she was evil and so did her parents.  And so did everyone she met. She was never loved by her father and was blamed for all the evil that fell upon her family.
And then  there was Glinda, the perfect blond, with the perfect upbringing. The one who got everything she wanted because of the way she looked and her status in life. She was manipulative and cunning but because of how the world views people that look like her and come from the "right background" as she did, she was able to make people believe she was good even when she was looking them in the face while simultaneously stabbing them in the back.
Alphaba and Glinda were thrust upon each other in school and were forced to become roommates by the Headmistress, who was manipulating everyone to sanitize the world in the way she thought fit.
It was only after being forced together that they realised they were good and evil at the same time. All Alphaba wanted was to be loved and accepted. Instead of being thought of as a freak. Glinda wanted and expected to be a star because that's what life had made her believe.
The headmistress saw the powers in Alphaba and immediately took her before The Wizard of Oz who had no powers at all. But needed someone to carry out his and the headmistress's plans to sanitize the world. And they saw it in Alphaba. But Alphaba having being ostracised for the majority of her life wanted no parts in helping to do the same to others who were like her. She wanted the world to have people and animals from all different walks of life. She wanted the different and unusual to remain and to be accepted. She wanted to be thought of as good. Not evil. But what they expected of her was to be evil so she ran away.
It was only then that the headmistress devised a plan to have the world believe that Alphaba was evil and spread the word throughout the land. Before long, everyone feared Alphaba. Her name became  synonomous with everything that was evil. Easily done because of the way she looked. Forcing Alphaba into hiding.
Glinda emerged as the star she always wanted to be. The Good Witch. The Beautiful Witch pitted against her only true friend. Eventually Glinda betrayed Alphaba by telling the Headmistress how she could capture Alphaba when she discovered the man she loved, loved  Alphaba instead.
Glinda was reeling from having something go against her wishes. She was not used to that feeling. And what she discovered was that she was a sore loser and did not like being second best. Despite loving Alphaba she loved herself more and betrayed her best friend. Handing her over to the people. Who threw cold water on her and she evaporated never to be seen again.
Wicked is all about how the ego can shroud our vision. How it can easily obscure the good in all of us and push to the forefront the evil that lurks deep within us all. Ego is what makes us want to be number one at the expense of everything and everyone and leaves us feeling empty inside.
It is also the story of how easily we can be manipulated by heresay rather than trusting our own inner voices. It is about judgement and condemnation prior to even knowing the truth. It is a wonderful story for us all to remember that every single one of us has a story to be told. A life that is the result of our upbringing, surroundings, looks, and belief systems. A life where we want to be accepted, acknowledged and loved and we all have to be careful about judging before we know someone else's true story.
Wicked was a reminder to me that the green eyed monster of the ego is always lurking beneath the surface waiting to be manipulated by the puppet master who needs it the most. Remembering there is good and evil in each one of us. And in order to be balanced we must learn compassion, understanding and patience. Because the tables are always turned so we can feel the same pain we are inflicting on others. And vice versa.