I'm willing to be a useful idiot ... for the right reason.
I'm highly comfortable with ambiguity and paradoxes. I don't need to be right. Or to feel special. Or to feel needed. Shadow Work done and dusted in these regards.
I know I'm being played. I know I have no chance in hell of understanding all the dynamics in motion.
I know I'm being played. And it's with my consent. I choose who I allow to play me.
You see ...
It's quite like Shakespeare, or whoever wrote as him, described ...
"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts."
As You Like It, Act II Scene VII Line 139
My REAL self is my immortal Soul. I AM eternal.
And like an actor, I am a performer in my dances with incarnations into various realities.
And I scan for roles to audition for. Not just ANY old roles, mind you. But ones that interest me, amuse me, challenge me ... depending on my disposition at the time of choosing.
And it's not only the roles. It's the the director and producer that count as well.
With the director, it's their reputation or their vibe that help me decide. Some allow a relaxed approach, with plenty of improv. Some demand adherence to the script. Some demand perfection, with scenes being rehearsed again and again until the envisioned nuance of the director is achieved.
With the producer, I look for their intention, their agenda for the particular project. Is it just to make money, or is there a message, or is it for some other strategic purpose?
I take this into consideration before applying ... and before accepting the role, if it were offered.
At times, I would agree to anything for the chance to work for a particular director, or colleague, or ... whatever.
And there are roles that I would not deign to play, and directors or producers that I would not (willingly) work with under any circumstances.