Hamlet is one of William Shakespeare’s most recognized, studied, and retold plays. Hamlet’s descent into madness has been studied and critiqued time and again. Most people today would immediately recognize the beginning of one of the most iconic soliloquies, “To be, or not to be!” even if they cannot identify the source as Hamlet Act 3, Scene 1.

I had the great fortune of attending a Shakespeare class one semester as part of my BA in Literature. If you do not know me well, this phrase will do a lot of work in getting us acquainted! Yes, I love literature. Yes, I love Shakespeare! And yes, I consider myself very fortunate to have had that opportunity.

Hamlet intrigues me. The descent into madness intrigues me the same way it does for stories like The Awakening by Kate Chopin and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. That alone could be a research paper I’d love to write; comparing and contrasting the “outrageous fortune” (Act 3, Scene 1) symbolic literary figures suffered, and their mental unraveling. But I digress.

While the soliloquy “To be, or not to be” brings me to tears, there is another statement Hamlet makes earlier in the play (Act 2, Scene 2) that deserves as much attention: “Oh, God, I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself the king of infinite space.”

This is the kind of mental power and philosophy that has been discussed and exemplified as far back as the ancient Greek Philosophers, on through Viktor Frankl, and now to your modern-day mindfulness app on your phone. The first part of this quote highlights the incredible and immense power of our minds. It says, “I contain within me such power as you will never be able to bound!”

I hesitated only a little to publish this on my usual Sunday (which was the day I chose to post my blogs, even though I write them sporadically on any given day of the week). I am writing this on a Saturday. It’s been a long time since I’ve blogged. And it so happens that tomorrow is Mother’s Day. This was not intended. And I will not schedule this to be posted next week instead.

Because, as a mother, I am speaking from my current experience. As a mother of an incredibly amazing child. As a mother who then suffered a miscarriage that destroyed her health. Not only am I constantly trying to remind myself of my own power, I am constantly trying to ensure my child’s is growing.

There are good days.

And there are bad days.

Hamlet said it best.

He completed his seemingly positive and inspirational sentence with, “were it not that I have bad dreams.”

Most of William Shakespeare’s plays were written in iambic pentameter: a rhythmic structure of ten syllables alternating between stressed and unstressed beats. Shakespeare’s words were chosen meticulously. Every single word had to fit a structure. The phrase was written that way on purpose. The words were chosen on purpose. The inclusion of “bad” was not written lightly.

I write this to say you are not alone.

I have bad dreams, too.

Some days I feel a surge of power as the Queen of Infinite Space.

Some days I am bounded by my own bad dreams.

It helps to be reminded I am not alone.

In conclusion: keep going.

Take care of yourself. Love yourself. Be good to yourself.

And remember to count yourself the King/Queen of Infinite Space.