Great Power, Too Shall Pass
Man, lots going on these past couple weeks! So far, lots of really good things! Some of which I can’t specifically talk about right now, but stay tuned. Audition season is only just getting started!
However, despite all the awesome things that have been going on in my life professionally, two phrases have been permeating my thoughts recently, the first of which being “This, too, shall pass”. The funny thing is, this statement doesn’t come to me regarding tragedy or lose or poor luck. As a matter of fact, it’s a reminder that as life moves past the lows, it also moves past the highs. I’m loving the influx of assignments during a relatively slow audition season thus far, and like I said before I’ve already received some good news. But the thing about the lows is that they teach you to focus on what’s important and trains you to go that extra step. The highs, however, can be intoxicating. Coming right when you truly do deserve to take a breath from all of your hard work, and validating the prideful and often pompous ideas your ego has held on to, and probably pulled you into the low you’ve just recovered from. So, I’m making a point to remember “This too, shall pass” whenever I want to complain or procrastinate. Or even when I try to make excuses to not take the next step to further my career, like taking an on camera course.
The second phrase I’m sure we’ve all heard, “With great power, comes great responsibility”. Now, I’ll be the first admit that I, in the grand scheme of things, have very little “power”. Hell, in the minimal scheme of things I have very little power. But it’s not me that I’m applying it too. I’ve been struggling with finding my own voice when it comes to my views on society and the world we live in. Some think that people such as myself have no need to comment on such matters and should stay in my lane. That may be true, but if so, who is qualified? I’m not trying to represent anyone, but artists spend their lives trying to experience and understand every inch of the human experience. Often those whose voices are heard are successful “celebrities” with money to their name, but many of them came from little moderate amounts of money and chose to empathize and relate to not only the most shinny and positive stories of “us”, but also the darkest, dingiest, uncomfortable, misunderstood stories as well. So while we may not have the answer to all the problems in the world, what’s to say we may not be the closet to understanding the human condition? And, to wrap it all up and bring the theme full circle, being an American in this day and age(and a result of every decision made since our inception), I think that we all should make more of an effort to inform yourself on what’s going on. Beyond that of what Fox, CNN, and other mainstream media tells you, because there is ALWAYS more to the story.