8.21.2004
PASSION
What is Passion? According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of Passion is:
"EMOTION: intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction, ardent affection, an emotion that is deeply stirring or ungovernable."
What causes us to be passionate about something or someone? Is there some spark that ignites that passion, and if so, how? And how important is passion to having a memorable life? "You know the Greeks didn't write obituaries. They only asked one question after a man died: "Did he have passion?"" (from Serendipity)
"I want you to get swept away. I want you to levitate. I want you to sing with rapture and dance like a dervish... be deliriously happy. But love is passion, obsession. Someone you can't live without. I say, fall head over heels. Find someone you can love like crazy, who can love you the same way back. How do you find that? You forget your head, and listen to your heart. ...The truth is, there's no point in living your life without this. To make the journey and not fall deeply in love, well you haven't lived a life at all. But you have to try, because if you haven't tried, you haven't lived. Stay open. Who knows? Lightning could strike." (Anthony Hopkins from Meet Joe Black).
Life is too short to settle for anything less than passionate love. And I'm not speaking of physical lust. I'm speaking of passion of the heart and soul. Too many times people end up in passionless relationships because they just don't want to be alone; because the relationship is convenient and meets their "needs", is safe. Sometimes we are afraid of passion...of falling deeply in love, and being hurt from it; because we have been hurt before. I have been guilty of this in the past, and I will never be guilty of it again. I will never settle for a relationship that doesn't stir both the passions in the deepest part of my soul, and equally important, the passions of the one I love. A one-sided passionate relationship is guaranteed heartache and misery!
Love without passion is like a summer day without the sun, like a smile with no sparkle in the eyes, like an ice cream sunday with no ice cream... there's really no point. Passion is beauty, uncontrollable emotions, intense pain and joy, excitement and heartache, laughter and tears. But what is life without it? EMPTY.
My favorite poem of passion is a poem by Rumi - click here for the poem that a man will say to me one day, and I will melt at his feet.
In Life, as in Love, you will never get more than what you settle for. So set your expectations high, and take nothing less.
What is Passion? According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of Passion is:
"EMOTION: intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction, ardent affection, an emotion that is deeply stirring or ungovernable."
What causes us to be passionate about something or someone? Is there some spark that ignites that passion, and if so, how? And how important is passion to having a memorable life? "You know the Greeks didn't write obituaries. They only asked one question after a man died: "Did he have passion?"" (from Serendipity)
"I want you to get swept away. I want you to levitate. I want you to sing with rapture and dance like a dervish... be deliriously happy. But love is passion, obsession. Someone you can't live without. I say, fall head over heels. Find someone you can love like crazy, who can love you the same way back. How do you find that? You forget your head, and listen to your heart. ...The truth is, there's no point in living your life without this. To make the journey and not fall deeply in love, well you haven't lived a life at all. But you have to try, because if you haven't tried, you haven't lived. Stay open. Who knows? Lightning could strike." (Anthony Hopkins from Meet Joe Black).
Life is too short to settle for anything less than passionate love. And I'm not speaking of physical lust. I'm speaking of passion of the heart and soul. Too many times people end up in passionless relationships because they just don't want to be alone; because the relationship is convenient and meets their "needs", is safe. Sometimes we are afraid of passion...of falling deeply in love, and being hurt from it; because we have been hurt before. I have been guilty of this in the past, and I will never be guilty of it again. I will never settle for a relationship that doesn't stir both the passions in the deepest part of my soul, and equally important, the passions of the one I love. A one-sided passionate relationship is guaranteed heartache and misery!
Love without passion is like a summer day without the sun, like a smile with no sparkle in the eyes, like an ice cream sunday with no ice cream... there's really no point. Passion is beauty, uncontrollable emotions, intense pain and joy, excitement and heartache, laughter and tears. But what is life without it? EMPTY.
My favorite poem of passion is a poem by Rumi - click here for the poem that a man will say to me one day, and I will melt at his feet.
In Life, as in Love, you will never get more than what you settle for. So set your expectations high, and take nothing less.
8.18.2004
Do we ever really know another person? Does anybody else ever really know us? Really truly know us? No matter how much you think you know about someone, you never really know their innermost thoughts, their most secret desires, their innermost longings. What does it take to break the down the walls between two people, in order for them to completely trust, to completely open up to one another? It seems to me that it is incredibly important to know a person very, very well before you ever make any long-term commitments. But then how do you ever get to know a person that well? Some people have been married for years, and still have no clue about who they are married to.
And the reality is, that people will almost always tell you whatever is necessary to continue to meet their immediate needs. For instance, if a wife asks her husband, "Honey, am I fat?" Well, the husband has learned that if he says yes, regardless if that is the truth, he will probably not get any dinner, or he'll end up sleeping on the couch, or at the very least, he'll have to hear over and over for an eternity, "Maybe you'd be happier with so and so, she's not fat like me, is she, cause I know you think I'm fat!"
Why can't we learn to communicate with honesty and intimacy? To open up and share our innermost fears and insecurities, and to be able to trust another enough to know that they will be honest, and caring, and sensitive in their response to those fears. "Am I going bald?" shouldn't be met with, "Of course not baby," if indeed that person is slowly, but surely, going bald. It should be met with, "Yes, but even if you lose every hair on your head, it will have no effect on the way that I feel about you."
I think true intimacy comes with time when two people are committed to sharing and communicating honestly with each other. When they have shared good times and bad, laughter and tears, and have come through it all stronger than they started out.
And the reality is, that people will almost always tell you whatever is necessary to continue to meet their immediate needs. For instance, if a wife asks her husband, "Honey, am I fat?" Well, the husband has learned that if he says yes, regardless if that is the truth, he will probably not get any dinner, or he'll end up sleeping on the couch, or at the very least, he'll have to hear over and over for an eternity, "Maybe you'd be happier with so and so, she's not fat like me, is she, cause I know you think I'm fat!"
Why can't we learn to communicate with honesty and intimacy? To open up and share our innermost fears and insecurities, and to be able to trust another enough to know that they will be honest, and caring, and sensitive in their response to those fears. "Am I going bald?" shouldn't be met with, "Of course not baby," if indeed that person is slowly, but surely, going bald. It should be met with, "Yes, but even if you lose every hair on your head, it will have no effect on the way that I feel about you."
I think true intimacy comes with time when two people are committed to sharing and communicating honestly with each other. When they have shared good times and bad, laughter and tears, and have come through it all stronger than they started out.
8.11.2004
Every once in a very great and rare while, you meet someone uniquely special, whose very presence makes you feel more alive, more complete, more full of the joie de vivre that makes life worth living. In their presence, you become more of the you that you always knew you were meant to be. And in their absence, everything is just a little bit off, like someone forgot to put the color in the flowers, or the smell in the coffee. Their mere presence, without uttering a word, or lifting a finger, is more enjoyable than the most delicious food, the most humorous joke, or the most beautiful sunset. In their presence, delicious foods become memorable, laughter comes from a deeper place in the soul, and sunsets take on a kind of magic. I am fortunate to have someone so uniquely special in my life...like a candle that burns both steady and bright, for a very, very, very long time...
8.06.2004
What I Do and Don't Want
One of the things that I like best about myself is that I know what I want, and what I don't want. I have always been very clear in that respect. Unfortunately, knowing what I want doesn't always get me what I want. For instance, I know what I want in a man... intelligence, sense of humor, talent, a good heart and a kind spirit. A tall order for sure. And I actually found a man who fits the bill. Sounds too perfect. Too good to be true. Unfortunately, there is one catch. He is apparently still thinking about someone else. Something that I definitely don't want. I've been down that road, and I refuse to go down that road again.
Other things I don't want.
Heartache
Pain
Drama
Anxiety
Fear
Confusion
Frustration
Depression
Loneliness
Other things I do want;
To be his one and only love
Unconditional Love
Honesty
Loyalty
Truth
Friendship
Good times
Happiness
Success
Peace
Why does wanting to be the only one woman in his heart and on his mind seem to be asking for too much? It wouldn't hurt so much if it weren't for the fact that the past couple of months have been so good. But apparently not good enough to keep his thoughts from straying back to her...
I wish love wasn't so complicated... Maybe I should just buy a dog...
One of the things that I like best about myself is that I know what I want, and what I don't want. I have always been very clear in that respect. Unfortunately, knowing what I want doesn't always get me what I want. For instance, I know what I want in a man... intelligence, sense of humor, talent, a good heart and a kind spirit. A tall order for sure. And I actually found a man who fits the bill. Sounds too perfect. Too good to be true. Unfortunately, there is one catch. He is apparently still thinking about someone else. Something that I definitely don't want. I've been down that road, and I refuse to go down that road again.
Other things I don't want.
Heartache
Pain
Drama
Anxiety
Fear
Confusion
Frustration
Depression
Loneliness
Other things I do want;
To be his one and only love
Unconditional Love
Honesty
Loyalty
Truth
Friendship
Good times
Happiness
Success
Peace
Why does wanting to be the only one woman in his heart and on his mind seem to be asking for too much? It wouldn't hurt so much if it weren't for the fact that the past couple of months have been so good. But apparently not good enough to keep his thoughts from straying back to her...
I wish love wasn't so complicated... Maybe I should just buy a dog...
8.03.2004
The WRAP
Well we wrapped on the shoot. Then came the drudgery of painting, cleaning and restoring the location to it's original condition. This is when everyone on the crew disappears except a precious few. Thanks Jason and Conan for sticking in there. And thanks to Mark for helping out. It was pure torture! Long, long hours of endless work. But now it's finished. On to pick-up shots, editing and the joys of post-production.
Also in post-production with Blurred Vision. And 12 Hours. All these projects to finally finish. And starting on the next one... a great little script that I'm very excited about... a haunted house script that I am co-writing with my friend Michael Lovaglia, a very talented actor, and I may even star in it too. How fun will that be? Looking forward to it. Starting pre-production all over again, with only a day or two break in between.
LOVE
Love is a little scary sometimes... I know that he loves me. He's my best friend. We have great times together. But right now, I feel like a complete idiot. After all we have been through together, he is still thinking of her. If I can't be the only girl in his heart and on his mind, then I can't be his girl. If after all we have shared, he is still drawn back to her, then maybe we don't have what I thought we had. Maybe I was wrong to think that time would change things...
Well we wrapped on the shoot. Then came the drudgery of painting, cleaning and restoring the location to it's original condition. This is when everyone on the crew disappears except a precious few. Thanks Jason and Conan for sticking in there. And thanks to Mark for helping out. It was pure torture! Long, long hours of endless work. But now it's finished. On to pick-up shots, editing and the joys of post-production.
Also in post-production with Blurred Vision. And 12 Hours. All these projects to finally finish. And starting on the next one... a great little script that I'm very excited about... a haunted house script that I am co-writing with my friend Michael Lovaglia, a very talented actor, and I may even star in it too. How fun will that be? Looking forward to it. Starting pre-production all over again, with only a day or two break in between.
LOVE
Love is a little scary sometimes... I know that he loves me. He's my best friend. We have great times together. But right now, I feel like a complete idiot. After all we have been through together, he is still thinking of her. If I can't be the only girl in his heart and on his mind, then I can't be his girl. If after all we have shared, he is still drawn back to her, then maybe we don't have what I thought we had. Maybe I was wrong to think that time would change things...
APES
I have always had a fascination for apes... gorillas especially. I think it all started when I was at the zoo, watching the gorillas, and there was one male gorilla standing very close, staring back at me with an angry intensity and an intelligence that startled me. It dawned on me in that moment that these creatures were much too intelligent to be imprisoned in a zoo. Gorillas have been tested to have IQ's between 70 and 95. With 100 being the mean average intelligence quotient of the human being, that would mean that there are some gorillas that are more intelligent than some human beings. They share many of the same emotions and abilities. Gorillas that have been raised to learn to speak with sign language have vocabularies containing as many as a thousand words, and seem to have a great understanding of concepts and ideas. Following is a collection of photos that shows how amazing these animals really are. Also included are some photos of Orangutangs, equally amazing.
These photos show the intelligence obvious in their eyes:
Their amazing strength and power:
Their sense of family devotion;
This little guy looks terrified about something!
This guy is obviously a character...
I have always had a fascination for apes... gorillas especially. I think it all started when I was at the zoo, watching the gorillas, and there was one male gorilla standing very close, staring back at me with an angry intensity and an intelligence that startled me. It dawned on me in that moment that these creatures were much too intelligent to be imprisoned in a zoo. Gorillas have been tested to have IQ's between 70 and 95. With 100 being the mean average intelligence quotient of the human being, that would mean that there are some gorillas that are more intelligent than some human beings. They share many of the same emotions and abilities. Gorillas that have been raised to learn to speak with sign language have vocabularies containing as many as a thousand words, and seem to have a great understanding of concepts and ideas. Following is a collection of photos that shows how amazing these animals really are. Also included are some photos of Orangutangs, equally amazing.
These photos show the intelligence obvious in their eyes:
Their amazing strength and power:
Their sense of family devotion;
This little guy looks terrified about something!
This guy is obviously a character...
