Eknath Easwaran's Commentary
From what I have seen of life, problems are a repertory theater. We may see all sorts of characters, but only a very few problems are playing all the roles. Self-will, of course, is the most versatile of actors. In fact, in a sense, he is the only actor. He can play any part, anytime. He throws us off guard by continually changing his costume, so that we think we are dealing with a brand-new problem, instead of the famous ham, Mr. Ego. Today he may star as Alf, The Amazing Palate Craving, tomorrow as Why-don’t-you-love-me Winifred.
Give us a problem that we recognize – dressed in a particular costume, cast in a particular role, appearing at a particular place and time – and we know how to deal with it. But the moment the same problem appears in a way we do not expect – say, wearing a false mustache and a fez – we go to pieces. The mind looks through its catalog and throws up its hands: “Boss, this isn’t supposed to happen! I don’t know what to do.”
We can learn to see the underlying problem, self-will, and deal with it, instead of trying to deal with each individual disguise.