Instant Life

"...We demand instant communication,

 instant coverage of world events, 

instant gratification, 

instant wealth,

 and even instant relationships. 

Ultimately, even fast food isn't fast enough

-we want instant food.
What is lost in our fast-paced society is depth. 

What is lost is not only the chance to reflect on our stories,

but even the thought 

that we should want to reflect on them. 

In turn,

what is lost is wisdom."
~Earnie Larsen

You'll Always Want To Be... There

Every single person on the planet 

and every single Consciousness in the Universe 

has the same experience of being here 

and having a desire to be there. 

In other words,

 it is the promise of this eternal Universe. 

You're always, always, always 

going to be on your way to something more - always. 

And when you relax and accept that, 

and stop beating up on yourself 

for not being someplace that you're not, 

and instead, 

start embracing where you are 

while you keep your eye on where you're going 

- now life becomes really, really, really fun.

--- Abraham

Sign Posts, Letting Go, and Thoughts Along The Journey

If I recall correctly, it was the winter of 2011, or maybe even the fall of 2010 when I started following my friend and colleague Jason "The JPod" Marlett around as he did the Recycling Adds Up program in third grade classrooms all over the city.  Honestly, I was petrified.  Not of performing, and not of teaching, but of behavior management.  Third graders are harder to win over than grown ups, and they can misbehave while I'm trying to impress them!  ;-) Now, I can act, teach and manage behavior at the same time.  "Tina," my puppet and I, have done 200 or so shows.  Michael and Jason did about 700, so the total run for "Recycling Adds Up" signs off at around 900 shows.   I've visited over 40 elementary schools in the Austin, Eanes and Round Rock school districts.  Many of them twice.  Jason visited them over and over throughout the course of six years or more.  You know, it's just like any other job. Except it's not.

But things are changing once again.  Tina and I retired the show today. I don't know if Tina is done with her sassy behavior or slightly argumentative attitude.  As much as she had started to ask third grade boys if she could kiss them, none of them agreed.  Good thing.  She's just not mature enough for that yet.  

At Zilker Elementary, all the portables are painted in the eclectic colors that reflect its culture.  They were the only school I recall making an announcement about how cool it was that the third graders were gonna get to do the Recycling Adds Up program. I'm sure the principal there, who I didn't meet, is a hippie, just from his style with the announcements. The Dell Jewish Academy gets the prize for the best art, and bonus points for using plastic bottles to make some of it, instead of throwing them away.  The best third grade team is at Cedar Creek, where my friend Sandy Crump made sure she was the first to book this year.  The gorgeous principal there, who fished her own keys out and gave them to me, a complete stranger, just after daybreak, so I could prep for classes is terrific. Bridge Point has some of the most beautiful teachers in the city, so if you're up for girl watching, you could stalk the staff at lunch time.  They're also very kind and enthusiastic, so you'll be rejected with grace for your advances. Lee Elementary is the hippest elementary school in town despite it's globetrotting third graders - and the best story comes from its third grade lead teacher:

Student: Well Ms. S-, you know how when you get off the plane in Paris?

Ms. S-: No.  No I don't know. 

I've done the show on the fringes in far southeast and far northeast Austin - and I'm just sayin' - some of the kids don't understand what "how many more" means as they approach fourth grade.  On the other end of town - I can't ask them complicated enough questions as they begin their third grade year. I'm just being honest, but I learned so much about how this "diverse" city of ours is not so diverse - it's gentrified.  Only thirty years ago near Mathews Elementary, African American and Hispanic mothers and grandmothers (mostly single) struggled to raise their kids in that "rough neighborhood."  Today, the median price for a home in that area is $500K.  I'm a little sad about it.  I already feel - well - snobbish about the gentrification going on in my hometown, I don't like it - and it really does move the less affluent further and further to the geographical edges.  Austin isn't weird anymore, it's just suburban - unless you know where to go.  The Sahara Lounge is groovy, Alamo Drafthouse South is still the best movie theater in town, I love the Blue Dahlia, Genuine Joe's is a great place for coffee and when I travel northwest, it's not the same, and doesn't feel as authentic. But I digress.

But what has this program done for me? Given me the chance to do over 200 shows.  Yes, you can phone it in and still look good, and once you've done a show ten, twenty, fifty times, it's pretty easy to get the job done AND think of your grocery list at the same time.   It has instilled in me a different kind of confidence than I ever had before - that I could actually live my dream to get paid to act and be a photographer at the same time. But now it's time to do something different.

By the way, that behavior management thing - I feel fairly confident about that, too. Just yesterday, I may have crossed a teacher's boundaries, but I had a chat with one of her students after hearing him call someone gay in a derogatory fashion.  I concluded with telling him that Tina has gay friends, because she does.

I have loved being engaged and employed as an actor who has done over 200 shows over the course of a year and a half.  I love being able to say I am a professional actor.  And I didn't even need to leave town to do it. I've had a lot of jobs since I squeaked my way out of high school, and this has been among the best.

Wonder what's next?  We'll find out next school year. 

Here's a shot of the last Recycling Adds Up class, Canyon Creek Elementary, Ms. Christie's class.

Pleasure and Joy

The difference between pleasure and joy? 

Ohh . . . the distance is from here to the moon! 

From here to another galaxy! 

Pleasure is an attempt to fill yourself. 

Joy is what you are. 

~ Byron Katie

The Divine Arsonist

There are times on earth 

when extraordinary consciousness 

invades the everyday life.

There are times on earth

when unforeseen forces

make a calamity 

of the status quo.

There are times on earth

when it seems a divine arsonist

has set fire to the world as we know it.

~Jacob Nordby

divinearsonist.com

(I'll miss you Jacob!)

It's Impossible...

~You can't kid yourself indefinitely~

Through You

...happiness and joy 

comes to you 

when it moves through you. 

There is no other pathway 

- and that's the miracle. 

~Neale Donald Walsh

Keep Watch Over Your Heart

More than all else, keep watch over your heart,
since here are the wellsprings of life.
Turn your back on the mouth that misleads,
keep your distance from lips that deceive.
Let your eyes be fixed ahead,
your gaze be straight before you.
Let the path you tread be level
and all your ways made firm.
~Proverbs 4:23-26

Prayer

In the end, 

the number of prayers we say 

 may contribute to our happiness,

but the number of prayers we answer

 may be of greater importance. 

~D.F. Uchtdorf 

You never know what people are going through. 

Heartache, loss, loneliness, everyday struggles.

Be the answer to their prayers.

Everything In Himself

At the bottom no one in life can help anyone else in life;
this one experiences over and over
in every conflict and every perplexity:
 that one is alone.
That isn't as bad as it may first appear;
and again it is the best thing in life
that each should have everything in himself;
his fate, his future, his whole expanse and world.

~Rilke

Fooled

There are two ways to be fooled.

One is to believe what isn't true;

the other is to refuse to accept

what is true.

~Soren Kierkegaard 

When The Chickens Come Home To Roost

I posted these brilliant photos 

(ok, they're cell phone photos but so what...)

a little earlier this week over on Facebook

in beaming pride about my soul sons.

To my right is the Big Man,

who celebrated a landmark this last week in his own sense of recovery.

To my left is the Little Man,

who celebrated with me today, as he goes into his first year as a chaplain,

and I go into my eighth.

I couldn't be prouder. Of both of them.

And while they occasionally call each other Little Man and Big Man,

I call them both Great Men.

It's a happy, rewarding and validating experience 

to share these kinds of moments with them.

I'm so happy to have been there.

These are the moments 

where the positive impact a parent can have are unmistakable.

It is surprising to me, to be able to point to the blatant similarities

between the kind of work they're doing on and for themselves

and the work I do on and for myself.

There's a million ways we can screw up our kids,

but I have realized in the last couple of weeks,

that the best way to keep that from happening,

is to be the best me I know how to be.

To be a chaplain makes my heart sing.

It incidentally makes my life better,

keeps me on spiritual track,

and is just about the greatest work I do.

I authentically choose to do it,

and it is a vital part of me.

I was just being my Self by choosing to be a chaplain,

 so to be told directly by my children

that I'm an inspiration 

by simply doing what was in my heart to do, 

and exampling that by just being me,

is immeasurable.

It is also irrefutable evidence that whatever role I may play in life,

my job here is to be the best me I can be,

and when I'm doing that,

my good chickens come home to roost.

It's a gift that keeps on circulating.

Just when I think I need to be different,

I learn from my own soul son 

that just being me is inspiring.

Seeing them graduate from high school was a proud moment,

but I want to be honest, that is an achievement everyone ushers in with children.

And they are "expected" achievements.

The achievements these boys celebrated this week are born from the heart,

from the strong desire to better themselves and serve others.

These are precious and one of a kind experiences.

These are priceless moments.

And these are my soul sons.

Soul Mates

We must be under no illusion that all soul mates are meant to last a lifetime. 

Some are only meant to last a moment. 

That brief soul gaze with a ‘stranger’ at the grocery store 

that reminded you of your own essence 

was just right.  

That unexpected weekend encounter

 that set your spirit to soar 

is perfect. 

That great love that walked away 

after cracking your heart open 

was just what the soul doctor ordered.  

Whatever you need 

to smooth the rough diamond of the soul. 

No matter how long they last, 

profound connections 

paint pictures of possibility in the sky, 

expanding our lens for all eternity.

~ Jeff Brown

Big Picture

Take some time to analyze the situation at hand.

 Is there something you're missing? 

Sometimes if you take step back, 

you'll not only see the big picture, 

but you'll see the little tiny space

 that hasn't been filled yet. 

This isn't a quote.  

It's my horoscope for today.

I'm excited to look out for the little tiny space,

that hasn't been filled yet.

I love the big picture!

Sage advice,

for any day.