In the last six weeks, we’ve been bombarded with daily accusations between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni regarding the filming of the movie It Ends With Us. Last week, Mr. Baldoni did something that has not been done before. He created a website where, we the public, could read his Complaint and a Timeline of Relevant Events. As most of the people familiar with me know, I’m an actor, writer, director and producer who has created my own content via theater and film. Because I’ve done what JB has done, but on a smaller scale, I wanted to read his Timeline. I did this to get a better perspective on what was being shared in the news. After reading the Timeline, I feel that there are two spiritual teachings here for all of us.
The first is ego. Ego is our sense of self. We can have a healthy ego or an unhealthy ego. The unhealthy ego behaves in a way that requires validation and self-importance. BL’s behavior as substantiated by text messages and emails in the Timeline shows an ego that needs to be in control, needs to be right and to take credit when credit isn’t due. In my own experiences in working with actors, I’ve dealt with egos, but nothing of this proportion. It’s no wonder that JB ended up in the hospital physically broken down and emotionally shut down by the constant barrage of changes, demands and requests from BL. In a way, BL’s behavior is a wonderful teacher for us. She has shown us and will most likely continue to do so what happens when the ego goes too far and commands too much.
The second is karma. There’s the expression, “You reap what you sow” or “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction”. Ego drives us to do things that create karma. Each time BL made another request or demand, we witnessed JB and the production company fold and acquiesce until there was nothing left to give. This was one part of the karma that was created. The second part of the karma that BL created happened when her promotion of the film blew up in her face. BL was labelled insensitive and she was criticized for taking a lighthearted approach to the topic of domestic violence. Instead of admitting her mistakes her ego drove her to accuse JB of sexual harassment. To date, her allegations have not been proven because the snippets of information she has provided don’t show the bigger picture that the Timeline details. Is BL aware of the karma she created? Probably not.
What is the bigger message for all of us? We are being shown that ego and karma go hand-in-hand and that whether we want to acknowledge it or not our actions do have an effect in the world. As far as BL, is there a part of her that wants to heal her ego? Perhaps. Did she unconsciously decide to play this out publicly so that this healing can occur? Maybe. Was JB also unconsciously publicly playing out his role to tame something within himself? It could be. Time will tell, but one thing we need to remember. This drama can serve as a mirror to what we all have - an ego that needs to be healed.