Fear stems from our unwillingness to experience a particular condition. It doesn’t matter what that condition is. If we are unwilling to experience it, we can be controlled. The condition could be anything: unemployment, divorce, solitude, poverty, confrontation, injury, illness, or death. All conditions have an opposing counterpart to which we are probably very attached: ie. employment, marriage, friendship, wealth, harmony, mobility, health, and life. Read more
When we are willing to do the work, remain flexible as to the means, and have unwavering belief in our ability to get it right—disappointment has no place to root. On the other hand, when our heart and mind are attached to a fixed outcome and timetable, disappointment digs deep and sprouts up like a nasty weed. Water those weeds with doubt, and soon we’ll have a field of despair where nothing positive can grow.Read more
Expectation and attachment are killers of a good time. When we cling to them, nothing that comes our way—no matter how lavish—feels like enough; but when we can let them go, every moment that life has to offer becomes an unexpected gift.
The culprits are those pictures we hold in our minds of how we want the world to be. We imagine the way people should react, how we should be treated, the way in which love should be communicated.Read more
So, there we were, sitting on the tarmac in St. Louis biding our time. Actually, the pilot had taxied our plane away from the gate to avoid the mandatory evacuation that is required after an hour or so of just sitting in a non-ventilated cabin, enjoying the slow ripening of 150 humans. He would chime in periodically to inform us of the status of the thunderstorms that had temporarily shut down La Guardia airport—apparently lightening is not a good thing. It was time for some ninja magic.Read more
Producer Tony Eldridge
After eight rollercoaster years of development, Tony and I step off the teamster van into the bustling location set of THE EQUALIZER—a tent town of Hollywood activity in the Boston burb of Chelsea. It’s surreal, and hot. They’re having a heat wave. Heat is literally coming off the pavement in waves. An off-duty cop stops traffic and waves us across the street where electricians, sound techs, grips, and dozens of other specialists are happily going about their business despite the high temperature. And why shouldn’t they? They’re working on an exciting movie with the incomparable Denzel Washington!Read more
What is generosity of spirit? For me, it is willingness to offer meaningful support without fear for self. Sometimes that support will take a financial form, but more likely it will come in the form of praise, thanks, promotion, assistance, compassion, or simply time. I imagine that this half of my definition resonates with most people, but what about the last part? For me, that little tag, “without fear for self,” is the most important part.Read more
How do you like your coffee? Black? With enough cream to give it substance? Or loaded with sugar to cut the bitterness? Perhaps you’ve guessed that I’m not really asking about coffee, or even tea, for that matter. I’m asking about life. How do you like your reality—straight up or sugar-coated? Well, here’s some straight up truism to contradict the soothing sweet cliches we see written on pretty lotus flowers.Read more
Have you ever noticed how some people always find a way to get a task done while others flounder and fail? We might be tempted to assume that it has something to do with the nature of the task—and sometimes it does—unless we witness two people facing the identical challenge. Our second assumption might be to credit the fortitude and resourcefulness of the individual—which is frequently the caseRead more
We have all heard the warning to be careful of what we wish for. It frequently accompanies a sentiment regarding trees and a forest. Well, there have been far too many times in my life where what I had thought would be best was later proven to be wrong for me to trust my wish-making abilities. Fortunately, most of those lessons were delivered safely by not getting what I asked for, rather than getting stuck with what I did.Read more
Not only are there many paths from here to there, but Here and There are matters of perception. I’m not talking about MapQuest for the multi-universe where we’re standing on a corner in one dimension but not in another. I’m referring to a matter of perspective where we perceive the experience of standing on the corner to be one way while others perceive it to be another. And how could we not? Perception is, after all, personal.Read more
What is happiness, exactly? Is it big smiles and laughter? Champagne, presents and celebration? Love? Peace of mind? Contentment? What does happy look like to you? How does it feel – to you? Most of us list happiness as a fundamental goal but how do we know if we’re achieving it if we haven’t taken the time to define it?Read more
Negative thoughts can take over our minds like weeds in a neglected garden. Given time, those suckers dig in deep. But while pulling a mature weed is darn near impossible without an Olympic tug-of-war team behind you, pulling a new weed is easy. The trick is to take them out when they first appear.
Perhaps the worst of these insidious thoughts is doubt. Doubt is a weed on steroids. It undermines every positive idea, project, or relationship we try to grow.Read more
