I am once again at school and, though classes have not yet begun, I have found that I am overwhelmed with both stress and joy.
Balancing the two is a key practice that not all have mastered. Nay, I believe none can quite become an expert on how to deal with stress: especially the good kind. The kind that occurs when too many doors are opened and one does not know which one to go through.
This is where I am.
So, what to do?
Either one could cast lots and let the fates decide which door to take, or logically one could deduce which one has the best possible outcome. Or, scariest of all, one could take a leap of faith and go through the door that one's heart is most longing for.
What to decide?
What would you do?
Cheers,
M.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
My Language and Spelling
My Gaffer (dad) pointed out that my spelling of some words might appear a bit odd to you.
I was taught to use proper British English in school, so, to you Americans, my "criticise" looks funny. It is not grammatical error. Likewise, "analyse, centre" and other words of that nature will use alternate spellings. I may slip up every once in a while and use American spelling without
realizing. <---
Just letting you know :)
I was taught to use proper British English in school, so, to you Americans, my "criticise" looks funny. It is not grammatical error. Likewise, "analyse, centre" and other words of that nature will use alternate spellings. I may slip up every once in a while and use American spelling without
realizing. <---
Just letting you know :)
The First Step: Love
Take a moment to step outside yourself, imaginatively. Look at yourself (I'd recommend literally looking at yourself in the mirror) from another's point of view.
The person that you see is in fact you, and yet not. Even if you don't agree with this thought, described most eloquently by C.S. Lewis, imagine that you are a soul within a body, and the body before you is something that has been assigned to you. It is your gift for a time, a garden of sorts, that is yours to care for and nourish. You must feed it, water it, clean it, and keep it from harm. Why? Because you love it.
So how is your garden doing? Producing fruit? Bearing flowers? Do you like what you see? How the body feels on you?
If you answered yes, then you have been dutifully tending your garden, and ought to be happy.
If not, why? Are you simply unable to maintain your garden or have you neglected it purposely?
There is only one or the other. Forgetfulness here is not allowed. I'll come back to that.
I used the metaphor of the garden because it is a spiritual and physical endeavour to maintain something that is seemingly out of your control. "Nature" controls the basic growth and processes of the garden, much like "human nature" controls your body. But there is also a choice involved, and power given to the human mind to contribute to nature and help it along. Nature makes the flowers grow, but you get to decide which flowers to plant, or remove. Savvy?
Just like weeding a garden or watering it during a hot season, we can also aid our own physical/emotional bodies apart from our "human nature." We can choose what foods we put into our bodies, how we exercise it, and how we think and react to happenings all around us. All is choice, of our very own. And it is an art. It is a science too. But most of all, it is an act of love.
I will attempt to address all three of those choices that occur on a daily basis.
Food:
This is the big one.--particularly in the United States where everything is saturated in preservatives and processed elements that many of us cannot pronounce let alone digest properly. A lot of folks nowadays are spoiled with fast, easy to get, disgusting food. Some excuses for ingesting said toxins is price, appetite, time, etc. But those excuses don't float. YOU complete the action of picking up items of nutritional value and placing them in your mouth. YOU chew the food and swallow it. YOU. There is no excuse. If you are on a budget, then spend what money you do have on something that won't kill you. Eat exactly what your body needs. It is fuel. Yes, it can be enjoyed, but it is first and foremost a means for your physical body to continue its functions so that you can go on with your life pursuing your passion--which many have turned into food itself. I would recommend, that if you have decided to live for food, to consider going into the culinary arts rather than making your career and life one of eating. Making food what you look forward to in life is like making sleep the main purpose of your life, or other bodily functions...
Exercise:
Exercise, in and of itself, should not exist. We ought to be exerting a certain amount of energy each day to maintain proper skeletal structure, fat content, muscle tone, and brain development, without having to set aside special time to . However, thanks to technology, we have made life "easier." I'm not a fan of "easier," because it is another word for "lazier." And your garden, if not exercised (metaphorically trimmed and pruned), will rot.
Don't misunderstand me; I am a huge proponent of science and technology. However, throughout the history of mankind, we have swung from extreme to extreme like a pendulum. We have neglected the advancement of our physical and mental forms on an everyday basis in order to alleviate stresses of everyday life. We are the Athens of the modern world.
Whereas, in the days of Sparta, physical ability was the foundation of society. If a task was easy, it was made more difficult in order to increase personal achievement.
Remember who won the Peloponnesian war? I'll let you look it up.
In future posts I will introduce very simple ways to counteract the negative affects of the technology that is allowing us to return to our infantile forms and is counteracting our development.
Thinking:
Reactions to events that occur in your life are entirely up to you. Some people say, "it's just in my nature," but really what that means is, "that's the way I've decided to be."
You control how you respond to a sign of affection, anger, despair, or humour. Letting yourself go "out of control" in the case of a temper or something of likeness, is merely the decision to allow oneself to get as angry as possible; most of the time for dramatic effect.
Don't let anyone tell you, "you are depressed," or "you are just happy all the time," or "you are reclusive," because you'll most likely end up agreeing with them and becoming that person. No one tells you who you are or what type of personality you have. Not psychology, nor a random quiz, nor the stars. If you wish to be happy, be happy.
I will elaborate on my own personal experience with this issue at a later time. This subject is a bit tricky and will take several posts to explain.
I apologise for the concise nature of each topic. Believe me, I will go back to each one on several occasions, but at the moment I ought to get back to other writings and chores. This is just a brief overview and all I am saying in a long-winded manner is:
Take care of yourself. You are worth caring for. If you don't take the time to love and care for yourself, why would anyone else? Look at the person in front of you in the mirror and love him or her, sincerely. That is the first step toward becoming who you want to be. Love.
A gardener takes care of a garden because it is a source of joy and love in the gardener's life.
Make yourself a source of joy and love, and you will become that to others as well.
Cheers and much love,
Inkling
The person that you see is in fact you, and yet not. Even if you don't agree with this thought, described most eloquently by C.S. Lewis, imagine that you are a soul within a body, and the body before you is something that has been assigned to you. It is your gift for a time, a garden of sorts, that is yours to care for and nourish. You must feed it, water it, clean it, and keep it from harm. Why? Because you love it.
So how is your garden doing? Producing fruit? Bearing flowers? Do you like what you see? How the body feels on you?
If you answered yes, then you have been dutifully tending your garden, and ought to be happy.
If not, why? Are you simply unable to maintain your garden or have you neglected it purposely?
There is only one or the other. Forgetfulness here is not allowed. I'll come back to that.
I used the metaphor of the garden because it is a spiritual and physical endeavour to maintain something that is seemingly out of your control. "Nature" controls the basic growth and processes of the garden, much like "human nature" controls your body. But there is also a choice involved, and power given to the human mind to contribute to nature and help it along. Nature makes the flowers grow, but you get to decide which flowers to plant, or remove. Savvy?
Just like weeding a garden or watering it during a hot season, we can also aid our own physical/emotional bodies apart from our "human nature." We can choose what foods we put into our bodies, how we exercise it, and how we think and react to happenings all around us. All is choice, of our very own. And it is an art. It is a science too. But most of all, it is an act of love.
I will attempt to address all three of those choices that occur on a daily basis.
Food:
This is the big one.--particularly in the United States where everything is saturated in preservatives and processed elements that many of us cannot pronounce let alone digest properly. A lot of folks nowadays are spoiled with fast, easy to get, disgusting food. Some excuses for ingesting said toxins is price, appetite, time, etc. But those excuses don't float. YOU complete the action of picking up items of nutritional value and placing them in your mouth. YOU chew the food and swallow it. YOU. There is no excuse. If you are on a budget, then spend what money you do have on something that won't kill you. Eat exactly what your body needs. It is fuel. Yes, it can be enjoyed, but it is first and foremost a means for your physical body to continue its functions so that you can go on with your life pursuing your passion--which many have turned into food itself. I would recommend, that if you have decided to live for food, to consider going into the culinary arts rather than making your career and life one of eating. Making food what you look forward to in life is like making sleep the main purpose of your life, or other bodily functions...
Exercise:
Exercise, in and of itself, should not exist. We ought to be exerting a certain amount of energy each day to maintain proper skeletal structure, fat content, muscle tone, and brain development, without having to set aside special time to . However, thanks to technology, we have made life "easier." I'm not a fan of "easier," because it is another word for "lazier." And your garden, if not exercised (metaphorically trimmed and pruned), will rot.
Don't misunderstand me; I am a huge proponent of science and technology. However, throughout the history of mankind, we have swung from extreme to extreme like a pendulum. We have neglected the advancement of our physical and mental forms on an everyday basis in order to alleviate stresses of everyday life. We are the Athens of the modern world.
Whereas, in the days of Sparta, physical ability was the foundation of society. If a task was easy, it was made more difficult in order to increase personal achievement.
Remember who won the Peloponnesian war? I'll let you look it up.
In future posts I will introduce very simple ways to counteract the negative affects of the technology that is allowing us to return to our infantile forms and is counteracting our development.
Thinking:
Reactions to events that occur in your life are entirely up to you. Some people say, "it's just in my nature," but really what that means is, "that's the way I've decided to be."
You control how you respond to a sign of affection, anger, despair, or humour. Letting yourself go "out of control" in the case of a temper or something of likeness, is merely the decision to allow oneself to get as angry as possible; most of the time for dramatic effect.
Don't let anyone tell you, "you are depressed," or "you are just happy all the time," or "you are reclusive," because you'll most likely end up agreeing with them and becoming that person. No one tells you who you are or what type of personality you have. Not psychology, nor a random quiz, nor the stars. If you wish to be happy, be happy.
I will elaborate on my own personal experience with this issue at a later time. This subject is a bit tricky and will take several posts to explain.
I apologise for the concise nature of each topic. Believe me, I will go back to each one on several occasions, but at the moment I ought to get back to other writings and chores. This is just a brief overview and all I am saying in a long-winded manner is:
Take care of yourself. You are worth caring for. If you don't take the time to love and care for yourself, why would anyone else? Look at the person in front of you in the mirror and love him or her, sincerely. That is the first step toward becoming who you want to be. Love.
A gardener takes care of a garden because it is a source of joy and love in the gardener's life.
Make yourself a source of joy and love, and you will become that to others as well.
Cheers and much love,
Inkling
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Clarification
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I must introduce myself as a writer to my audience. I am not a professional, but rather an academic--always a student. And I never cease to desire to learn. You do not trust me, whoever you are, and should not off the bat. Always question. Always be a cynic. (Or don't. See what I did there?) Never accept anything until you're absolutely sure...which you might never be. Such is the human condition.
Now I don't presume to truly know anyone, not even myself, however, I do know things. By things I mean universal truths or patterns in the world that many of us see everyday but fail to register in our minds. You know these things, too, I assure you, and most likely in a greater multitude than I.
I am unapologetically a Christian, and you ought to know that straight away in case you get that suspicious rumbling in your tummy later on and think, "That sounds like something Jesus said..." If the thought of Christian teachings interwoven into an overall theme sends you running to the loo, then, I beg you, save your stomach contents and find another blog.
Splendid.
Moving on...
I must introduce myself as a writer to my audience. I am not a professional, but rather an academic--always a student. And I never cease to desire to learn. You do not trust me, whoever you are, and should not off the bat. Always question. Always be a cynic. (Or don't. See what I did there?) Never accept anything until you're absolutely sure...which you might never be. Such is the human condition.
Now I don't presume to truly know anyone, not even myself, however, I do know things. By things I mean universal truths or patterns in the world that many of us see everyday but fail to register in our minds. You know these things, too, I assure you, and most likely in a greater multitude than I.
I am unapologetically a Christian, and you ought to know that straight away in case you get that suspicious rumbling in your tummy later on and think, "That sounds like something Jesus said..." If the thought of Christian teachings interwoven into an overall theme sends you running to the loo, then, I beg you, save your stomach contents and find another blog.
Splendid.
Moving on...
A New Direction...
So, the original purpose of this blog was to introduce the public to new artists and people who ought to be noticed and remembered.
But I've decided to expand. You see, I have a fantastic group of friends who support me and have told me constantly one thing that I think is essential to life, love, and happiness.
You can be whatever you imagine yourself to be.
Absolutely anything.
No matter what other people say. You are exactly who you have chosen to be, and no one has "made" you a certain way. Don't like the way you are? Imagine yourself the way you would like to be. Now, be.
So...where are my ramblings leading me?
I will attempt in this blog to regularly provide, from personal experience and a little book knowledge, tips on how to be, in the most basic sense, you.
Step One...
But I've decided to expand. You see, I have a fantastic group of friends who support me and have told me constantly one thing that I think is essential to life, love, and happiness.
You can be whatever you imagine yourself to be.
Absolutely anything.
No matter what other people say. You are exactly who you have chosen to be, and no one has "made" you a certain way. Don't like the way you are? Imagine yourself the way you would like to be. Now, be.
So...where are my ramblings leading me?
I will attempt in this blog to regularly provide, from personal experience and a little book knowledge, tips on how to be, in the most basic sense, you.
Step One...
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Brigette Davidovici: A Note For Casting Directors
If you don't hire this young lady in your next major motion picture, you're going to miss out on the best acting you'll ever see.
Brigette is a BFA Acting graduate who has gone well beyond any training that she could have received at school. Miss Davidovici probably didn't need any training to begin with as far as I'm concerned. She is bright, outrageously caring, and will never fail to surprise you with her knack for bringing people together both on set and off. I know her as a good friend who took me under her wing without really knowing me at all, and as an actress that I look up to as a mentor.
But this is my personal opinion. Of course, you don't have to listen to me--you could ignore this post and skim over other actresses for the part you are trying to cast and someone else will snag her up to steal your Oscar.
Your other option is to listen to this piece of advice and consider her. Just an interview, even. It's up to you.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3355730/
M.
Brigette is a BFA Acting graduate who has gone well beyond any training that she could have received at school. Miss Davidovici probably didn't need any training to begin with as far as I'm concerned. She is bright, outrageously caring, and will never fail to surprise you with her knack for bringing people together both on set and off. I know her as a good friend who took me under her wing without really knowing me at all, and as an actress that I look up to as a mentor.
But this is my personal opinion. Of course, you don't have to listen to me--you could ignore this post and skim over other actresses for the part you are trying to cast and someone else will snag her up to steal your Oscar.
Your other option is to listen to this piece of advice and consider her. Just an interview, even. It's up to you.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3355730/
M.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Light and Limb
This new production company is only at the beginning of its journey through cinematic storytelling and breakthrough technological advancements. The team is made of brilliant minds and good friends who are striving to have their voices heard.
SO LISTEN UP AND CHECK THEM OUT.
They are worth your time.
http://lightandlimb.com/index.html
M.
SO LISTEN UP AND CHECK THEM OUT.
They are worth your time.
http://lightandlimb.com/index.html
M.
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