“Be truthful, one would say, and the result is bound to be amazingly interesting.” ― Virginia Woolf
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I was born in Queens to parents from the Bronx and Brooklyn. I fell in love with the city early. Maybe it was the giant pretzels and views from atop the Empire State Building. More likely, it was Broadway. Interviewing the cast of 'A Chorus Line' when I was nine. Seeing 'Phantom' with my dad when I was ten. The theme of my Bat Mitzvah was Lindsay's Manhattan Magic. (Yes, we had themes and I still have the cute, black, graphic tee with a skyline and bubble font.) My biggest regret (before the age of 18) was choosing Cornell over Columbia. I still imagine what it would've been like to spend four years as a college student in the city of New York.
I grew up on Long Island and enjoyed days, nights and weekend trips to the city via the LIRR with family and friends. My first job out of college was at New York Magazine, I temped at hedge funds and big law firms while pursuing a life in the arts, and I even worked 2 1/2 years for Rudy Giuliani in private practice before he jumped the shark (more on that another time).
Like many of my fellow New Yorkers, I was part of the city's devastation and rebuild after 9/11, Sandy, and the blackouts. I was also part of things I now regret, like moving into a high rise luxury building in an area of Brooklyn that was subject to rezoning laws + unethical methods to gentrify and displace people of color.
Leading up to and after the election of the fascist who shall not be named, I began to feel the city was losing its magic as rents skyrocketed, theaters became corporatized or went out, artists struggled more and more to survive, and people struggled even harder to make a living. Iconic nightlife venues and restaurants closed. The trifecta of Duane Reade, Starbucks and bank X populated every other corner.
My New York love story took a dramatic turn when I chose to leave in April of 2019. I didn't have an opportunity in LA. Nothing was waiting for me out here besides the promise of relief. Deuces, NYC, we are done! At that point, I was "over it," and the way I summed up my experience was that it was akin to Ross and Rachel. New York and I were going on a break.
Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that the break, a relocation to Los Angeles, would lead to watching my home go through what it is currently enduring. And the enormity of the feelings I would have as I witness it all from afar but feel it like I am still living in my Chelsea studio on 15th and 7th.
I am still here in California, for now, on what feels like something of an extended retreat against the most dystopic backdrop that is 2020. I bike to Venice beach and hike the Santa Monica mountains. Zoom from home. Drive a KIA. Enjoy the empty space noise instead of the city's sounds of subways, shouts + murmurs, music, horns honking, and the cooing of pigeons (yes, I think of them, too) that became my inner soundscape after 22 years.
A lot has and will be said, written, and made on what New York has been through since March. I know many people who have left. Many more who remain. It is a very emotional time. I feel for all of you.
I am shocked I will not be going home to the New York I once knew while I also stand by with the UTMOST faith that the city, thanks to its people, will heal and recovery, and rise again. I think about young artists mounting plays in black boxes, crowds of tourists bumping up against each other in Times Square, executives walking to their office at 7:30am in their sharpest suits, and all the dogs. I see JFK and Laguardia at mass capacity, causing lines and annoyance. I imagine a day in the life and the nightlife. This is where my imagination goes and I can't help it; reality may indicate otherwise but for now, from my little corner of the world it brings me comfort to reflect in this way.
New York, I love you.
My birthday is coming up and the only prezzie I want is this Keet Fluffy Deluxe Dog Bed Sofa (Charcoal, Medium) for Charlie, and photographs of my friends and family to decorate my apartment.
One of my former colleagues who’s also a dear friend got me an 8x10 of us framed, and it brings me so much joy. :)
More printed out photos, please.
I haven’t posted in a few days but I have been writing! I’ve also been LIVING!
My goal to write + share 30 posts in 30 days is now under reconsideration. I think I’ll aim for 30 posts done at the speed at which I want to write………..
LA is clearly having an effect on me.
Slow down, grown woman.
Sips tea.
The sunshine is back after a day of rain that gifted me with a rainbow.
I was out with a guy I met on Hinge at Cafe Literati. The date was a snooze, the cafe he recommended was not. I loved it and stayed behind to read and work and gaze out the window at LA in the rain.
So lovely.
I called (requested? ordered?) my Uber and at the exact moment he (it?) arrived, the rain stopped and the colors in the sky appeared in soft focus.
Heyyyyyy.
Once I stepped onto the sidewalk there it was in technicolor. Gorgeous and brief.
I go around back to where my driver is parked and get in the car. By the time we exit the lot, the rainbow is gone.
I was gifted.
I do not suggest turning everything into a sign but I do believe that when you are open, signs make themselves known to you.
The rain clearing a few short days from my birthday. My 42nd birthday. The first birthday I will ever spend not in New York.
I haven’t felt this serene on a birthday in years.
I mean, technically it’s not my birthday yet but I would say in the hours leading up to it, this is the calmest I’ve felt.
Why?
Because I’ve taken the best care of myself in my life over the last 365. I cleaned up more habits that were harming me, I faced ugliness and said that is not mine. I dug deep. I made connections with more people who matter.
There were accomplishments and I am proud.
I got myself here. I got myself into the sunshine.
I was also carried, of course.
I don’t get anywhere by myself these days.
I am not above needing to be reminded that the rain clears, or that things have a way of working out if you let go and have a little faith.
To anyone who is legit terrified of getting older, allow me to say:
I feel you. I spent a good part of my 30s being terrified of entering my 40s. I spent year 40 in shock and only at 41 did I find my way into my own love revolution.
At the root of my fear was that my desirability was going to disappear and with that my power. I was also in deep shame that I had not accomplished more and thought being single and not a more successful actor made me a total failure.
I could not shake that belief.
In my frustration and occasional self pity, the additional fears I suffered had me feeling like Marty McFly in Back to the Future, imagining where I could go back in time to change or fix something and alter my existence.
Berating myself to forget about having a baby while also realizing maybe I am just fine without children. Giving up on falling in love, getting married, because now I’m in my 40s and fuck.
Last year on my birthday, an eclectic mix of friends and acquaintances showed up to my last minute gathering at an east village bar that allows dogs.
Dress: Flirty cobalt blue.
Hair: 90s ‘Express Yourself’ Madonna blonde.
Mood: I would not let fear govern my life.
I would let go.
I would choose another way.
I would count my blessings more consistently, nurture the good more lovingly, and heal whatever was still keeping me stuck.
Something had to change, and it (me) did.
The last year. The BEST year. Because it got me here.
To do so much that I love in one day…….
I woke up at 5:30am and after meditating, brewed and drank my near-perfect coffee.
Then I went and taught a barre class.
After that I took a dance class.
The woman dancing behind went out of her way to compliment me, ask me who I am and thanked me for dancing in front of her. I nearly cried, because I made a decision to come back to dance since moving to LA and have been taking two dance classes a week. It has been uncomfortable for me! But the classes have already made a big difference. I’m also taking more barre and even some Pilates.
Love.
I shared my Hakuna Matata tee shirt, semi firm semi fleshy belly, and upbeat Memorial Day feels.
I helped an actress with her self tape.
I made a homemade lunch.
I felt feelings brewing. I jogged to the ocean listening to Beyonce’s HOMECOMING without earbuds.
I stopped at the library because I am going to get a library card.
The ocean greeted me and immediately I am not worthy of this show.
It is too vast. Too good. Too beautiful.
I.
Sat.
Communed.
Asked.
Listened.
Let go.
Posted.
Shared the quotes that resonated.
I reached out to friends and spoke my truth.
I asked for what I wanted.
I sang alone at home.
I shared a song and some music history on Instagram. Happy Birthday, Dulcinea, I am listening to you now.
I took a long, hot shower.
I let the fear wash away.
The fear that distorts reality.
When it washes away,
everything softens.
“Be aware of yourself as you are without judgment. See what is. You have no further problem. The most important thing is self remembering. You have to let yourself wake up. Become liberated.” ~Alan Watts
I came across this verse while listening to DJ Taz Rashid, who samples it in his 2017 yogic house tune Sitting on Wings.
“You must be simply awake and relaxed.”
I’ll take it.
The path to awakening is paved with many options. Between the yoga, the meditation, the life coaches, your workout gurus, therapists, digital courses, “self made” instagram stars, shamans, celebs, TEDx speakers, artists, poets…There are many people to learn from and many paths to becoming.
Many, many, many.
What you sift through and see through, where you put your point of focus in each moment, becomes habitual. When we are patterned we become asleep.
It’s wonderful to break out of routine. To do something that jolts you out of auto pilot.
But what does it mean to be awake? Does it mean you know who you are and why you’re here, your purpose? Does someone who has manifested their dreams, accomplished their goals, created and received what they asked for (either from ego or soul piloting) — does that make them more awake than a person still struggling to leave poverty, find love, or realize their purpose?
“Awake. Be the witness of your thoughts. You are what observes, not what you observe.” ~Buddha
One of my favorite teachers remains Tara Brach. Her meditation/dharma talk podcasts have been part of my digital diet for over a decade.
The reorganization that is happening below the surface since my move to the west coast six weeks ago gives me the good kind of chills. I know that I am transforming and that the letting go process, something of an untangling of old habits, ways, and patterns, is setting my spirit free.
I think that is all I’ve ever really wanted.
One of the biggest gift of my life is that I have a relationship with a Higher Power (HP).
This means that on a daily basis I make conscious contact with HP, letting go of things I can’t control and trusting this Energy to give me strength, insight, wisdom, intuitive hunches, freedom, guidance, support and SO many other gifts.
I wasn’t always this way. I had Spiritual experiences as a child and then a teen, but the most profound spiritual experience happened through my recovery from an eating disorder.
So while having an eating disorder throughout most of my 20s and part of my 30s is not what I would’ve chosen for my life, the fact that it lead me to such a deep connection with HP makes me feel grateful for who I became as a result.
I am proud of who I am today and how I am showing up for myself and for others. I feel grateful that in a world where there is SO MUCH FOCUS ON APPEARANCES, I am tapped into the well beneath the surface.
I believe that the strength to make certain choices comes directly from my HP. For example, last week I could’ve slept with somebody that I used to know (in NY, for a decade) when he was in town last week and chose not to, which was huge for me and a major win.
I could not have done that without HP.
I am making certain choices and moves in my career while experience breakthroughs that feel guided by an invisible hand. I follow certain leads and say Yes or No. I am no longer afraid of Big Asks. I no longer question what I’m worth or spend energy getting pissed off at people who fail to see me for who I am.
I am completely behind myself and my talents.
And I could not have done that without HP.
The synchronicities and alignment that I’ve experienced since moving to LA six weeks ago are completely Higher Powered. I do believe in manifesting and being a co-creator with HP, but I always defer to HP as the final stamp of approval on anything I ask for and work towards.
Most importantly, HP is where I go to express my gratitude and while I have gotten a little away from that mission critical mindset over the last week or so, I woke up today with a surge of it, so much so that all I wanted to do was ride the Thank You wave.
There is a lot to consider now when it comes to mental health. When I write and share and post on social, part of it is to give you a leg up, because trust me, life keeps lifing and you’re going to need to — want to — HAVE TO be strong. I turn 42 in exactly a week and to say I have proven my resilience would be an understatement. After surviving eating disorders, orthopedic surgeries + rehabs, four decades of the single life, a biological clock with an alarm clock not just ticking but like, in full out gong mode (do you hear it?), financial ups and downs, family drama, loss of life, and a career trajectory that while exciting and very fulfilling creatively, has required enormous sacrifice and challenges over the years, what am I most grateful for today is my strength. My ability to keep asking, learning, humbling myself and growing. The hardest experiences that taught me who I am MADE ME who I am, and when I really pause to reflect on my power to rise and rise again, to keep going and live in joy, I am overwhelmed with gratitude.
Thanks, HP.
Types title and waits for coffee to kick in…
It’s 8:12am and I’ve been up since 6am. After a sequence of gray May starts to the day, this morning is clear and sunny.
I am relieved.
If you are new to me, my website, the REFLECTIONS section that is really my blog, Welcome. I am going through a big transition and this is one of the many ways I am choosing to cope (through writing every day for 30 days and sharing it with the world).
The majority of what I’ve written so far says little, at least it feels like it says very little. I am not going very deep or bringing my humor, plunging into vulnerable depths (Mother’s Day post aside) or trying to shape my posts in a particular direction. I’ve written uninhibited, unimpeded, uncensored posts, political rants and brazen shares over the years, both on facebook and my old Lindspiration blog.
I am not there today.
I am in a different place.
It is a different world.
We have migrated to social media, colonizing the online space by hoisting our flags of who we are what we look like and what we say, beliefs, thoughts, feels, brands, social connections and games.
And the more it grows, the more it expands, the more we migrate from here to there and live from our apps, inside a funhouse of filtered reflections, and direct our point of focus outside ourselves in the interest of sharing, the more I want to retreat.
Have I mentioned the birds and the orange tree in my backyard?
None of which takes away from the glorious things happening online - like STAYING IN TOUCH with east coast friends and family, expression, creativity, empowerment, education, laughs, community building, resistance, entrepreneurship, art!
It’s all there, too.
So we’ve got both sides to appreciate and embrace. Perfect as we enter Gemini season tomorrow (5/21).
I think I am grieving. In a way, it feels like I pulled the plug on my New York life and am left to watch it wither against the backdrop of a city coming alive in Spring.
This, while I watch my LA life bloom and feel the joy, expansion, love and promise of the new seeds I am planting.
The life I am creating.
Both.
I am loving LA, which is exactly what most people ask me, “Are you loving LA?”
I am. It is not perfect — there is some weird shit going on here that I will write about a a later date — but overall, it’s a good and welcome change.
What I asked for and wanted are coming to fruition. Abundance.
I am still spending a good deal of time alone, though, and must keep an eye on this — the other side of solitude is loneliness, which is OK (like most things) in moderation but not excess.
Also my health. I was sick for over two weeks and still have lingering congestion affecting my voice.
Today I am not racing towards. I am not running from. I am sitting here with sounds in my hears and words at my fingertips. Visuals for my eyes that still feel tired. All to practice being gratefully alive in my own skin.
I’ve now come to understand that this exercise (30 blog posts in 30 days) is not about the writing. It is about doing something that I said I would do and being true to my word.
I am thinking of getting a pixie cut. A real one. My reference will be too old for most but it’s Demi Moore in Ghost without the bangs (my hair being far too wavy for bangs).
The reason: in the last year of coloring my hair (today’s biggest understatement) it is still extremely damaged, a completely different texture than what I was born with, and falling out at a rate that far exceeds what it ever did bleach entered my life.
I want to start fresh. I hope my mom’s not reading this - she will flip out.
Robing Wright in House of Cards is a better reference.
What ended up happening to my hair has been such a drain on my energy and bank account, it really feels like no solution at this point other than to chop it all off.
I don’t really think I have the face for such a dramatic look, which is a concern. I would have to settle on eyelash extensions for the first time.
When I think about ALL THE THINGS I could be thinking about and feeling, all the emotions that are coming up during my recent NY to LA transition, not to mention everything going on in the world, it’s a wonder that what grabs my serenity out of my soul every single day
is
my
hair.
What I have got to accept is that what’s done is done…and it is NEVER coming back.
Gone.
The Hair Formerly Known as Lindsay’s Dark Brown Full Head of Hair is what I must contend with.
I may affirm it temporarily…take a look and smile…say we’re cool.
All the while on the inside I am doing whatever I can to keep from crying when I look in the mirror. More for the hair loss and texture change than anything else.
Why can’t I just let it grow back?
Oh, because I’m gray.
I’ve been going gray since high school, actually, when boys would notice a bright, unruly strand and tap me on the shoulder to point it out.
Now it is at about 85%.
All gray is another choice. Jamie Lee Curtis — how happy she looks!
Natural, aligned and hiding nothing. Not over identifying with signifiers of youth and womanhood.
The final option, which I am leaning towards, is cutting it very short and color it dark brown. Gradually going darker still and eventually getting back to my regular color (pre gray).
I will keep you posted.
Good Saturday morning!
Here is yesterday’s post:
11:11.
Any No to what you don’t want is a Yes to new possibilities.
Today I issued a strong No in my personal life.
I stopped there :)
I couldn’t write about it yet. Too soon.
Sometimes the best choices, the “wise mind,” decisions, the “contrary action” comes with pain. It might be as simple as the pain of being in unfamiliar territory, with all that kicks up inside. It might be the pain of loss, of grief.
I’ve been reminded lately that it is takes time to grieve the loss of someone.
For many years I frayed a cord that needed to be cut. The image is one of peeling or shaving it to the point at which there are tendrils, but still a connection.
Frayed cords are dangerous.
When you cut a cord and it feels like an emotional power outage, that is also hard but ultimately if you’re disconnecting from a source that is not good for you anymore, soon you start to feel better.
Hope.
I go to the ocean for a connection to Source. It is the most consistent ritual of spiritual connection I’ve had since coming to LA almost six weeks ago. I am grateful that I am no longer at a point in my life where I would want this vast expression of mother nature to swallow me up until I disappear.
I cut the cord to keep my ocean sacred.
What I am offering you here is an opportunity to connect with yourself. I am nudging you gently to dive in and write…for yourself. For others? We share so many common experiences and feelings.
Today, I am praying for a chance to see more healers.
I cut a cord. I have healing to do.
The reiki, massage, breath work, shamanic quests, chakra balancers, therapy, dance, music, Charlie…I am here for it all. We call in the healers we are meant to work with and experience when we’re ready.
My life is so different now. An orange dropped from the tree in my backyard. I delighted in it like a child. My friend was with me and I asked,
Did you see that?!
Yes, you have an orange tree.
Yes!!! I do. Can I eat it?
I’m still not sure. It’s in my fridge. I suppose it’s real.
*
Enjoy my latest meditation playlist published on Spotify.
I am only writing because I said I would, not because I want to…this is a choice to align my actions with my intentions.
Ten reasons I am grateful:
I ran outdoors for almost an hour as the sun was setting and then took a wonderful 75 minute yoga class.
I secured my first LA based copywriting client today. Amazing manifestation story I will share at another time!
I submitted the first draft of a blog post for a NY based copywriting client. Grateful for the work.
I am one day closer to seeing Charlie and bringing him to LA.
I got a callback for an indie feature role I auditioned for two weeks ago.
I did laundry with Tide unscented and my fresh sheets are like clouds. I also have essential oils for my pillows.
The organic frozen blueberries from Whole Foods 365 are next level.
The men in LA are kinder to me than the ones in New York.
The draconian abortion bans in Alabama and Georgia are mobilizing the Democratic base, and waking up pro choice advocates to the reality of the situation.
There is an abundance of quiet. I live in a quiet apartment on a quiet street in a quiet part of town. FOR YEARS, my biggest issue with New York (ok, top 5) was the noise. I couldn’t handle it. I didn’t want to handle it. Now I have near silence and it’s intense. The effect on me is one I can’t yet fully describe, and is probably exacerbated by the fact I don’t have Charlie with me yet (or cable).
Yayyy, I just looked on my weather app and saw it’s going to be 71 and SUNNY in NYC today!! I am so happy to hear this, as I’ve been having Spring guilt here in LA while the tri state area goes through a freakishly cool and gloomy May.
The absence of sunshine and warmth was one reason I left New York. It wasn’t that I couldn’t do it anymore, I just didn’t want to do it anymore.
My life is not one in which I get out of town much during the year — one or two vacations and/or a work related trip is what I averaged — so I knew I needed to live someplace I didn’t want to escape.
For the record, it’s still really cloudy most mornings, then the sunshine cracks through like an egg around 2 or 3p, and down pours the light. Highs are in the 60s by the beach, so it has not been very warm yet and even though I am thoroughly enjoying the crisp fresh feel, I am ready for the 70s.
I like heat.
A few of you have reached out about my ‘Doing Mothers Day’ post with thanks and to say you relate. Thank you! That post reminds me of how I used to write. Skim the surface, skim, dip in and then plunge deep. How I do write, not used to write.
I still write.
I’m in the process of working out my work life here on the west coast. In New York, all the days comprised of teaching fitness classes, writing freelance and working as an actor. The majority of my time and energy went into teaching (14 classes/week) and auditioning. I had two to three writing projects a month. Actual acting bookings were…hmm…scant (“barely sufficient or adequate”).
Not to judge. I’m just saying I auditioned a lot more than I booked, not uncommon. I used to work all the time as an actor, but it was doing mainly low or no pay gigs that COMPLETELY shaped me as a performer and rocked my soul, but no longer felt OK to accept.
Money has been a sticky subject over the years, and I have spent the last few undoing the assumptions we are taught that it is somehow bad form to ask for and receive the money I deserve. Low balling ourselves, under earning, keeping rates lower than what we are worth, doing unpaid work, only accepting clients or working for people who pay low, these are all signs of being out of alignment.
I’m grateful for the support I’ve received to help me level up.
I am grateful for all of the work I do.
Be grateful for the stepping stones and the lily pads.
I am grateful I am still teaching and sharing my freely expressed voice as an advocate and example of empowerment, strength, self love, loving others, and doing the all the fitness things that make your heart sing.
I LOVE my beats.
Today is five weeks in LA.
I am still making sacrifices to become a working actor and creative writer. I am not taking the safe, salaried and benefitted life here in LA either; I am finding enough ample, abundant work to keep me going while I audition and put words to paper.
Ah, even to write that causes me to exhale.
Don’t pull the plug on your dreams.
*
I believe in open doors
I’ve taken off the screen
I’m ready to let the world come inside
And touch my life
I will no longer be defined by
What someone else believes that I am
Now that I have dropped the weight
It’s time to elevate
Lift your eyes
Spread your wings
Prepare to fly
This is the moment
Of your life
Go ahead and fly
I believe in open doors
I’m outside of the box
What did not demolish me
Simply polished me
Now the clearer I can see
I know where I wanna go
~Soulbird Rise by Indie Arie (thanks, Caroline!)
Yesterday was another day where I did show up to the page, but didn’t share. My commitment is to write and post, so I will attempt to do better as I see this self-directed 30-in-30 through!
I will definitely get back to writing in the morning because by now (10:45pm) I am tired and want to go to sleep.
How gloriously normal.
I’ve been doing a lot of normal things lately: shopping for my groceries; cooking instead of ordering in all the time; eating three meals a day; making my coffee at home; sleeping 7-8 hours most nights; going on dates; spending my energy and time on work that gives me life but doesn’t suck me dry; talking on the video phone with friends and family.
Making new friends.
A few times a week I jog to the ocean as the sun is setting. I remain awe struck each time. I have not been living under a rock my whole life. Rather, I have seen places, traveled, vacationed and worked in different cities, slept near the beach…but something about this Pacific ocean at sunset is like a religious experience. I feel completely drawn to and in by its energy. I hear the music in the crashing waves and see the artistry in the colors of not only sky but the mountains, which look different every time. While running I wonder why everyone else isn’t here to watch the sunset, too.
Soon I will be in New York to pick up Charlie and bring him to live with me in LA. I do not suffer from debilitating anxiety, but must admit this particular action is bringing up a lot of it. I am so scared he’s going to be upset on the plane and then upset to live with me again after acclimating to my parents’ house, where he’s been spending a lot of time over the last ten months.
I am scared my dog is mad at me and thinks I abandoned him. :(
I’ve been doing a form of repression where I don’t allow myself to feel it all, bc it would be too upsetting. So instead, I do my best to feel the longing, the tug, the sadness, the wondering if he’s OK, and keep telling myself this is temporary and soon I’ll have my baby back.
I realize now that the reason I blogged so frequently for many years is because I had an urgent need to process things that were floating around my mind and in my heart. I also had issues trusting people, so it felt safer to write the mess in my head down and share it with the world (even as that was also terrifying). It was so cathartic and thrilling, discovering things about myself as I wrote and then taking the next step to be seen from the inside out (I never include pictures in blog posts).
Years later, I am sitting here writing this (part of my 30 in 30, we’ll get to why there was no post yesterday in a minute) and do not feel the need to share anything.
Yesterday, I wrote many, many words about my work life and how it is going since moving here to LA one month ago. It was very revealing and alive with truth, but I did not want to share it. I am so glad the words flowed and equally glad I kept them all for me.
Today, I lived out loud on Instagram: dance videos, pictures of my Mom, of my dog, Charlie, and of course words to accompany some of what I shared. My Mother’s Day statement singing the praises of mother love.
Nothing about being childless and single at 41. Nothing about fertility questions and decisions for me to make, should I ever want to birth a child in this lifetime. Nothing about the sting I feel when people assume I have chosen not to have kids, as if this were some kind of empowered feminist decision (it’s not, it’s an utterly annoying and frustrating life circumstance).
Nothing about how it feels to live in a world that caters to moms, sometimes pathologizes singlehood and (gasp) child-less-ness, and likes to deem motherhood the highest signifier of a successful woman, as if I am supposed to wait to be anointed.
I left out the intense feels around my relationship with my mother. This year, I am across the country from her and we had two phone calls (one old school, one FaceTime). I love her so much, but like many mother-daughter duos our relationship road has been fraught with frustration over the years. I bought her a card but didn’t mail it in time, so I held onto it for a delivery in a few weeks when I go back to New York to pick up my dog…so the ache of this new distance thing that includes temporarily being so far from my little furry baby was also deeply felt.
And yet, I wanted to feel the joy today. I wanted to be out of emo mode on this particular subject of doing Mother’s Day, and I wanted to be happy and grateful to be alive. So I danced, I taught a barre class, I took a kettlebell/vipr class, I walked to Venice and Erewhon (ooh la la, my first time!) for food, I arrived home to meet a soul sister friend who gifted me with furniture for the gem of an apartment I am renting.
I cleaned my home top to bottom while listening to Marianne Williamson on Oprah’s podcast and then Marc Maron’s WTF. All my clothes now away and out of plain view. I message with friends. I voice memo’d and Vox’d.
I sat, I felt, I sang.
I cooked, I ate, I cleaned some more.
I scrolled. I smiled. So much light.
I did not sink because I refuse to sink anymore, even for a day.
I have gone through too much life at this point and know too much. With so much bullshit to sift through in this world, over most of which we have zero control, the decision to be real with ourselves becomes an act of radical survival.
So I did not deny how I feel on mother’s day. It was there, only, on the shelf.
And of course I am happy for mothers! If you are a mom and reading this, yes, I am happy for you. I absorbed social media with a soft heart and felt the love, the beauty.
These days I am happy for anyone and everyone who is happy with their life, as long as they’re not harming others.
I am also sad, because being a non mom at my age is disconcerting. I sometimes question if, deep down inside, I never really wanted to be one in the first place.
Yeah, no, that’s not the truth.
I will say this: I’ve never met anyone with whom I’ve wanted to have a baby. The sheer suckage of this fact is real. It sucksssss, I will not mince words.
I never wanted to be a single mother and still don’t.
I also never wanted to freeze my eggs. And still don’t.
So, here we are :O)
I don’t know where I fall. Childless by choice? Not exactly. Desperately, yearning to be a mom? Not really that either.
Feeling out of alignment as concerns my biological age, and therefore shocked and awed to be in the dusk of my childbearing years?
Non mom.
It is hard to believe that since getting my period in sleepaway sports camp however many years ago (MANY) I have ovulated and menstruated every month (give or take) and never, despite ample sex, never not ONCE ever conceived a child.
I have never needed to exercise my right to choose.
I know there is still time. If I want it, I can do some sperm shopping. I could still freeze my eggs.
I may still meet the man with whom I actually want to do the thing.
My words are for anyone who is over 30, 35, 40, and wondering how to face their situation. Do it with love and gentleness. Do it with some iota of Faith that what is meant to be truly will be. I was very nice to myself today. I didn’t act out or harm myself, my thoughts were for the most part compassionate. I stayed in my skin. I made sure to stay connected to friends and loved ones. I celebrated women who have mothered me and friends of mine who have children of their own.
I didn’t spend too much time looking at other people’s social media. Babies are really cute but on days like today, social media feels a lot like a snow globe after you shake it, images of families like floating particles dancing in the sky above my head.
So I paid attention to what I needed/wanted to get done today, and where my feet are taking me.
I know it takes INCREDIBLE strength to be a Mom. I also know from experience it takes incredible strength to not be one of the millions of women in every single part of the world who bear a child. When you want to but so far you can’t or haven’t, either because of miscarriages, not having a partner, or whatever reason is yours.
It hurts, and when something hurts you learn to be resilient in the feeling, in the processing. For me, today, the decision and living in my power also meant choosing my life force. It also meant deeply embracing who I am and what I want to be in my life today. That includes my Mom, celebrating her life and greatness, it means my incredible friends, my fur baby Charlie, my job(s), and so much more.
I go to bed so grateful and feeling the best I have on Mother’s Day in a long time.
I am in the process of changing habits, and one of them is morphing from a night owl into a morning person.
There were years where I got up early and had a mind/soul strengthening morning routine. I would teach or take 6:30am fitness classes. I would journal. I would meditate. I grew to love the pre-dawn hours when everything was so quiet and calm, it felt like I had the necessary space to untangle whatever emotions came up in my sleep. I could focus my intentions and objectives for the day.
I left that behind when I was no longer working a traditional 9 to 6pm, and chose a different life -- that of a freelancer, auditioning and working actor, and more frequent fitness instructor. Classes for me were mainly afternoon and evening except for weekends, which were on the early side. I had to roll with auditions popping up and prepping for them into the late night hours, or meeting a writing deadline that may be taking longer than I planned. I lost some of the routine but appreciated how no day ever looked the same.
Now I am marrying the two. I’ve been in LA for a month and am bringing back a very solid morning routine. It is enormously grounding for me and since I do find the nights the hardest, I don’t really need to stay up too late.
The change is so far having such a positive effect. I’m teaching earlier. I am getting work done before 2pm. The energy I vibe on at 6am fills my space -- one of my friends who knew me in New York came over yesterday and observed it has the same energy as my Chelsea apartment, which almost made me cry.
So many things are almost making me cry these days. The tears are stuck, though.
I am spending a lot of time alone. I don’t mind, exactly, it is very refreshing in a way to have this solitude and abundance of space. I have so much on my plate that requires solo time to accomplish, and it feels like a gift.
The time spent teaching or with friends feels even richer.
My job search is the primary focus of each day. Teaching is a very part time thing at the moment, freelance writing is all about building up my base, and I am seeking new legit and commercial representation for LA.
I am in a growth phase and yes, of course I could get into the “I should be …” in a certain place by now, but I refuse to think that way for any sustained period of time. I am doing the best I can and that will always be enough.
I love that we live in a day and age where you can wake up to news that one of your favorite artists dropped something special overnight. When Beyonce released LEMONADE on 4/23/16, for example, it felt like the surprise party I’ve never had (that sounds sad, but it’s not, I know such things take a lot to arrange.). Bey loves me so much, she’ll surprise me with one of the best albums of the decade that should have won the Grammy (and yes, I am still mad it didn’t), I am so grateful for the prezzie, thank you!!
So. Waking up this morning to the news that singer/songwriter/visionary/activist and not-a-pretty-girl, Ani DiFranco released a mixtape entitled “No Walls Mixtape,” which is “for you, like the kind that i would make you on cassette if it was, like, 1993 and I was really into you…” —
Hiiiii!!
I was there in 1993 and REALLY INTO YOU TOO!
It is difficult to convey the triple axel of impact these three albums had on my life:
1990 Ani DiFranco (year I graduated junior high school)
1995 Not a Pretty Girl (year I graduated high school!)
1998 Little Plastic Castle (year I was in the midst of studying at Cornell and listening to LPC on repeat while driving around in my Toyota RAV-4 in the throes of an eating disorder and depression, not really thinking about graduating anything and just wanting to find a way not to want to die which I swear Ani helped me with, thank you)
So for the sake of time and my writing therapy this morning, we’ll cut to album three.
My college years were some of the hardest years of my life. Little Plastic Castle did all the things an album is supposed to do when you’re at your lowest — sings straight to your heart, validates your anger and observations, makes you cry like a baby, makes you feel seen, gives you LIFE. I would give sample songs for each but am on the clock here before my friend picks me up to go hiking #SoLA.
So, if you haven’t listened to any Ani DiFranco and you are reading my post, pleaaaaaaase visit her on Itunes or Spotify or wherever you stream…and if you have and you are joining me in the fandom swoonage on this blessed 2019 morning, yay, it’s Ani Day!!!!
Post #3 of my 30 in 30 happened yesterday while I was in a Beverly Hills outpost of Joe + The Juice. I wrote for about an hour and a half directly into my Squarespace REFLECTIONS page and after hitting “Save + Publish,” watched it stall, crash and disappear.
I reached out to Squarespace’s live chat tool and was alerted to the fact there is no Autosave function and if something like the above happens, and it does sometimes (oops!), content is lost forever...lost forever...lost foreeeeveeeerrrrr...
So, I guess yesterday’s lesson was in learning to let go. Also to start writing my posts in Google Drive first, which autosaves, and then posting it onto my blog #backitup
It was a good post! I touched briefly on my LA Confidential Magazine interview with ‘The Vampire Diaries’ star Michael Trevino, which once again reminded me an actor’s life is best lived taking risks and feeling the fear but doing it anyway. Also, that I want to have my own podcast in which I speak to guests for an hour and post the whole thing for the world to hear (note to self: add ‘start a podcast’ to list of goals directly above ‘be a guest on Marc Maron’s WTF’).
After that, I turned to the 2019 Met Gala because besides being riveted, and I do mean RIVETED to the point of artist soul palpitations by the costumes and artistry on display, I was also fascinated with the internet’s wrestling of how to define “camp,” which sent me temporarily down a blissful tunnel of Susan Sontag reflections. I have read most of her work over the years, reviewed ‘Sontag Reborn,” an Off Broadway solo show at New York Theatre Workshop based on her journals, and remain committed to my desire to write and star in a biopic.
And onto today.
Good morning! It is 10:30am PST and I have had such a nourishing last few hours. My morning meditation is back up to 20 minutes and includes chanting. I have a love buzz from that and the strong coffee I brew. And for the first time in 12 days, I did not wake up feeling sick. I feel GREAT! :)
I arrived here on 4/10, which was a Wednesday, so technically this is my fourth week here in LA. I feel more settled. I feel less grief-stricken, which I’ve come to recognize was one of my predominant emotional cycles since leaving New York. There was a lot of loss to process and even as I elected to let go and walk away from my life, the process was/is still ripe with sadness.
Reflecting on the interactions I had every day or weekly, and simply not having them anymore makes me tear up now. I feel like a piece of my heart was yanked out of my chest, so I am allowing that to settle and release. I let go more and more each day by the ocean.
That said, I remain completely and utterly in love with my decision to move to LA. Everything about it feels right, and I have a little tingle up the back of my spine as I write. I feel love every day, moment to-moment love and immense gratitude for all of the support I’ve received from my family and friends. I feel proud of my courage and willingness to finally put myself first, invigorated by the creative process of manifesting my new life. And as I listen + watch a hummingbird dance around a squirrel in the tree to my left, I drop down even deeper into who I am and why l took a leap.
How did I miss that May is Mental Health Awareness month? Seriously, I am a May baby and this designation has been around since 1949, but somehow I only just caught wind of it a few days ago.
The color of the ribbon is green and hashtag is “#breakthestigma."
I suppose I can take the opportunity here to share “my story” as pertains to mental health, and if you’re new to me, spoiler alert: it’s a doozy!
Mostly it’s a drama with comedic moments, plus a hint of fantasy and dose of action/adventure. The hero is me.
I am the hero.
Growing up, I had no real signs foreshadowing what would hit me when I went to college.
Or, I did not see the signs.
I developed an eating disorder that nearly killed and definitely (temporarily) destroyed my life. In an effort to get better I elected to try inpatient treatment (my idea, I wanted to get an A plus in recovery!), outpatient treatment, individual therapy, group therapy, medication, life coaching, 12-step programs…
I was mired in misguided treatments for a decade. Finally in 2005, I looked around at the hospital setting expected to get me well, swallowed a cocktail of psychiatric medications I was being prescribed (let’s add sci-fi to the genre listing because that is what it felt like to be a gerbil in experimental “off label” medication protocols to treat eating disorders) and vowed after getting out of there, I would heal myself and never return again.
Not to oversimplify, but that is kind of what happened.
Over the last 14 years, the only medications I’ve taken have been Oxy and Vicodin for pain after ankle and knee surgeries (seven in total, we’ll save that for another post), plus Advil and very recently Tylenol Cold + Sinus, because of my NY to LA transition congestion.
I have learned through much trial-and-error what works to keep me healthy, not only mentally and physically, but emotionally and spiritually. I’ve never fought harder for anything in my life than I’ve fought for my recovery.
I have shared before that while I do not take medications to support my mental health, I am glad it works for many, many people.
In an attempt to be efficient, I will bust FIVE myths re: mental health right here right now:
Good mental health means waking up feeling great every day. Nope. Most days, I have a jolt of anxiety before my feet hit the ground. There are some aches in my body. My head does not feel ready to take on the world. I want to eat everything or I want to eat nothing. This is why morning rituals are SO important! Waking up early enough to do any number of things like stretch, pray/meditate, journal, read a motivational or spiritual text, hang with a pet all help with getting aligned before leaving the house.
Unless you’re suicidal or curled up on the floor in a fetal position, you’re not depressed. Like most forms of illness, depression exists on a spectrum. When I was in my 20s, my eating disorder and depression were completely debilitating. It helped me to realize I was still contending with a low grade depression well into my 30s, even though it wasn’t as obvious. Then I could take steps every day to help lift my mood, which I did and still do.
If you get upset after going on social media, it means you are weak and if you had better mental health you’d be happy and inspired from it all the time. :) I had to throw this one in there because I am concerned for us all. No matter how secure in yourself, your life and your choices you are it can still trigger “compare and despair,” so I say limit your uses (especially in moments you’re feeling sensitive). Also, be mindful of the illusion that if someone is thin and pretty and outwardly successful they’ve got it together. Influence thyself.
You will feel better only after you get what you want. This was a big one for me. For years I considered myself “situationally depressed” and believed that only when my situations and stations in life improved, I wouldn’t be depressed anymore. This would include but not be limited to: having bigger breaks in my career, meeting the man of my dreams + getting married, making much more money, and losing weight. A huge turning point for me was realizing I had to put much more of an effort into taking care of myself and that self love, healing and growth will happen independent of these things. Feeling like a failure was and continues to be one of my biggest triggers, so I often guard against that by how I choose to define success.
If someone says they are fine, believe them. Of all the masks we wear, the “I’m fine” / “I’m doing great” / “all is well” / “things are good” / “I’ve been busy” / or an impressive social feed should not be taken at face value. We are all magicians, sometimes.
I have been talking about these topics for a long time and I am SO EXCITED more people getting in on the fun. There are so many threads and ways to approach the topic of mental health, to think about and analyze what it means to be human, going behind the veil to expose how we live our lives, and express what goes on below the surface.
As I write this underneath a canopy of trees and sunshine, it is hard to believe how far I’ve come even as I also recognize my room for improvement.
Never abandon yourself. xo
There are so many once-upon-a-times running through my mind, origination points of life story threads that I’ve either tangled or left dangling in the thin air of my existence.
This is not a post to sell anything, promote myself or gain visibility for my “brand,” as my strengths lie less in creating a cohesive social media platform than sporadically spitting out mercurial moments unmistakably mine.
At the hardest times in my life, I found solace in a morning ritual of writing. I’ve done it for my own sake and shared with no one. I’ve done it for my own sake and shared with everyone, on a blog, where I built an audience that wanted to hear what I had to say. That support helped me to put my words “out there” even when the “there” was a very loosely defined internet space reached through a platform called Blogger (we are now going back a decade.)
So today I am revisiting doing what I did in the way that brought me blessings. Out of my daily writing commitment, I wove plays, monologues, cathartic diary entries, poems, songs, and insights I never would’ve gleaned from simply talking or thinking. I also gained readers and a sense that my words matter, which always feels good even if the path to sharing them is paved with anxious thoughts.
In recovery from addiction and now more mainstream mental health discussions, you hear the term “hitting bottom.” It means reaching a level of pain so intense the only way out is up (a leaaaaap oooof faiiiith). My communicating Gemini soul hit bottom early this morning at 2am in between coughing spells from my first respiratory illness in a year-and-a-half now going on day ten. It hit bottom in a new city to which I moved all by myself without job security, a new bed that is really comfortable but too big for me without my dog, and with my eyes glued to Instagram stories, my back and nose sunburned.
I felt that overwhelming urge and need to write, and it felt familiar. Ive been here before. The scenery and circumstances may have changed but I have been here before and my Why is because I can’t breathe unless I write. This early morning my throat was literally restricting - I could not breathe. The shortness of breath was something I haven’t felt this in years and it was terrifying.
I sit here now with the door open to my studio, a sage incense burning, listening to birds chirp…and things are starting to open up in my vital passageways. I cannot tell you how much I enjoy waking up to the sounds of birds chirping. It is the most comforting and sweet sound I’ve woken up to in ages.
There is something else that is wonderful about this morning and bringing me back to life after sleeping maybe five hours, my body, soul and spirit completely consumed by this NY-to-LA transition less than a month old: my coffee.
Once I realized I would be teaching a few early morning fitness classes, I bought my own Mr. Coffee pot and on a whim the brand Equal Exchange Organic Love Buzz, which is a “blend of full city & french roasts, dark & velvety smooth.” I got organic half and half, and sugar in the raw.
Now I have the perfect morning cup, and with this cup as my witness I am committing to 30 days of writing here on my REFLECTIONS blog daily.
The sharing part is entirely to keep me accountable. My sense is if I don’t post these entries I will not keep up the discipline. So, thanks for helping me stay committed!
I am on a journey. We all are, of course, we are travelers. I turn 42 in a few weeks and the pain which comes when focusing on the things I lack or lost along the way does not serve me. The fear I will never have certain things in my life that once felt like a sure thing is useless. It only helps to let go. To give it away. I walk to the ocean every day now and give stuff like that away.
Maybe the most important reason for me to arrive here at my blank page is to remember who I am. I love the dimensions and sides I choose to express through Instagram (as I seldom go on Facebook anymore and won’t do Twitter) but it is so clearly only a few facets of my personality. And as I posted last night, if you abandon doing what makes your soul happy, it will express itself through disease (“dis-ease”).
My soul loves to sit in front of a blank page and express herself. She loves this kind of “beauty,” and does not want to worry about outer appearances, which can fast lead to ego driven self-torture. My soul loves the birds. She loves to come out and speak to the physical part of me, who has been through the ringer, and say everything is going to be OK. I love you. You are going to be restored to full health, be patient, you are healing. You are grieving. You have a lot of feelings coming up and you are going to work through them all. You can love it here, you do. Be in the transition. Be gentle. Go to the ocean.
I am writing this from a Culver City coffee shop with a cycling (and superhero?!) theme directly across from the SONY lot and Equinox. It is the first night of Passover. My family is at a Sedar on Long Island and my mom dialed me in for a hot second, which was long enough for me to make a joke.
Shana Tova! Oops, wrong holiday. Just kidding, I wanted to make sure you were all paying attention.
Why this makes me smile I don’t know. First holiday away jitters awkward joke.
It is too noisy and she doesn’t do FaceTime. We hang up and a few minutes later, a text:
Uncle Howard is raving about your Ode to NY! Where is it? He said your writing was beyond. Fantastic!
I have no idea what she’s talking abouuuuoohhhhhh, WAIT!
My Facebook post before I moved?!
Note: I moved to LA from New York nine days ago.
Yes!
Ahh, yes. I wrote something on Facebook. I had not been engaging on Facebook nearly as much as I used to because Trump-Russia (and a host of other factors), so when I did post what I am about to share below, I was breaking a Facebook withholding pattern.
I also had not been writing — or “sharing” — or expressing myself anywhere in long form because Instagram (and a host of other factors) so it felt…different.
So does choosing to move across the country by myself. Definitely “different!”
Without further ado and in its unformatted original Facebook post glory:
Do you remember the episode of 'Friends' when Rachel suggests she and Ross go on a break? (Season 3, Episode 15, original air date 2/13/1997, thanks IMDB.) I love you, New York, and in this scenario you are the Ross to my Rachel. We need a break from each other and yes, it will be good for us both...What happens from now on is entirely informed by my four decades in this big, beautiful state, the last two of which I've spent in New York City. You made me into EVERYTHING I am today, a woman of whom I am SO proud, and for that I have nothing but the deepest gratitude. I found success, happiness, and love in the most surprising places. I was also challenged, leveled, and rocked to my core, decimated emotionally at times in my life, until I learned my only choice was to die or rise (and while you know I love drama, I am not partial to hyperbole, so you can trust that is a fact). Along the way, I strived so hard until I finally learned that life is not about what you achieve, despite the classic NYC "rat race" indoctrination that lures us all in, it is not about measuring up, competing or "winning." It is about finding out who you REALLY are, what and who you LOVE, defining your own excellence + success, discovering the specific way joy, magic and creativity work in you, through you, so who you are becomes what you give and how you spread your Light. My life in New York helped me learn where I belong and where I don't, what is for me and who or what to walk (and in some cases sprint) away from. I took all my chances here, until now. And yes, we can certainly talk about what New York itself has become another time -- my decision to leave is partially informed by some aspects of my home city I can no longer accept or choose to tolerate. So right now (on four hours of sleep bc of yesterday's goodbye festivities and 11th hour packing adventure) I am smiling at my memories, which is a beautiful balance to some of the harder times. And for everyone who considers themself a real New Yorker, I hope today you pause to appreciate that you are surviving in New York F'N CITY, which most would agree is the toughest place in the world. Also if you feel like you are hanging by a thread, please ask for help. Whenever I did, things got better. New Yorkers are like superheroes with invisible capes. Among many other things, I hope to spend the next 40 years of my life writing about the first 40. I've already started on the plane from where I am posting this update :) Until I see you again IRL, we'll have FB and Instagram (lindsaybdavis__). TAKE GOOD CARE OF YOU + EACH OTHER!! Love and epic thanks to you all, LBD
Love that the superhero metaphor comes back to me while I write this now from SUPER DOMESTIC. Also love that I am breaking a five month REFLECTIONS post hiatus.
A lot has changed, a lot has “happened” in a life that does not resemble what it was when I last posted (Nov 2018). A lot has changed, a lot has happened in my life that does not resemble what it was five days ago.
I think out of necessity I will be writing more here even though I find the topic of writing (or more specifically, my relationship to my Writer) very upsetting. What has bothered me to no end is that I have not done more with the words I’ve written over the years, and then sat for additional YEARS on the stories inside me waiting to be told.
I let myself down.
So in my own special way, this post is about picking myself up and licking my wounds.
Thanks, Mom and Uncle Howard! :)
I only want to write EXACTLY what I need to write and let what flows out of me find someone who needs to hear my words.
These are not brand-building posts but if that changes I will let you know.
As far as how LA is going so far for this New Yorker, the answer is very well! I feel the relief of being out of NYC and welcome of a new land to see with fresh eyes. I appreciate the warmth (comparatively speaking, though it has been mostly in the high 60s since I got here). I appreciate the space. I appreciate how much sky I can see and I appreciate how the Pacific ocean feels like a horseshoe capable of pulling out my magnet filings of stress + worry whenever I walk along the coast. I am reuniting with old friends and making new ones.
I am getting what I need and feeling closer to Source energy that I have felt in months.
“For song, as taught by you, is not desire, not wooing of something finally attained. Song is existence.” ~Rilke
You know you’re a writer when it feels like a homecoming.
Last night’s post felt boring and for the most part uneventful.
But it felt like home :)
This morning I write from a coffee shop in Greenpoint. A man misidentifies the playlist choice as Neil Diamond. I promptly correct him. ‘Making Love Out of Nothing at All’ is Air Supply and for a second I want to say I was there when Air Supply was there and it was amazing, but instead I keep typing. Then a song by Phil Collins comes on and after that, Scorpions’ Dust in the Wind.
Now it’s Hungry Eyes and I am complete.
I am also in between apartments. In between decisions. In between coasts, mentally at least. I have learned that at 41 it is possible to be somewhat untethered, but not a failure.
The untethering happened somehow by accident. A move from Chelsea to the UES exactly two years ago that resulted in — surprise! — a bug and rodent infested apartment building. My swift lawyering up and exodus. A subsequent series of sublets. Hi Chelsea, hi LES, hi Downtown Brooklyn, and then…hi Mom and Dad…wow.
Now, Hi Greenpoint…next month Hi Two Bridges … and then TBD.
More instability from a living standpoint in two years than in the last ten.
Unemployed? No. Never. Although I did leave a salaried position in management at a luxury gym one year ago to pursue my actor + writer career more fully. With zero savings for the leap I leapt and had a vision. I saw the vision! I wrote the vision, was ready to manifest that shit, read all the quotes, did all the things, believed, dreamed, felt it, went after it, took the actions I could afford to take and one year later, I can’t really say I’ve done anything in this last year that I couldn’t have done were I still a salaried employee at a luxury gym.
I am still glad I left. It had been almost four years as a manager. I am glad I left the same way I am glad I left my executive assistant position at BBC America after five years.
You are allowed to leave. You have your reasons. You don’t even have to know why you’re leaving or if what is coming will be better. It will be different. You can leave one thing and commit to something else. Maybe your soul craves change and that is enough to honor.
My presence in this world has gone through so many incarnations, and the way I feel best and most needed is still to be determined. Better title forthcoming. I am so shocked by the way things have changed through the social media explosion. If I was there for Air Supply, I was also there for the internet emerging while I was a college freshman, for flip phones and MySpace, Friendster and what is this EMAIL thing you want me to use to send you my paper?! To going on BlogTalk Radio and writing on Blogspot dot Com and why exactly are you putting your cats on this YouTube thing and what exactly is OTT because I was down with OPP and the rest becomes the rest.
I still work in the fitness industry as an instructor. My first class was 2009, so I am approaching a decade now (with breaks along the way to deal with an eating disorder and number of ankle and knee surgeries). The last four years teaching cycling, booty, barre and dance workouts have been pretty stellar. To anyone who knows me, manages me or takes my classes, the success I have in the room is irrefutable and I am very proud. I have put my body, heart and soul into this work without ever planning on having this work in the first place. Part of the magical mystery tour of life, I guess.
Have I leveraged this to a massive social or digital or promotional or commercial or influencer status presence? No, not really, nope. I teach twelve classes a week and do my thing on Instagram, knowing that my work is happening in the room to powerful and positive effect, and some people also enjoy what I share on social media. Dayenu.
So this is a nod, one I did not plan on writing, to my fellow teachers and humans who do excellent work in the world without necessarily having a huge Instagram following. You exist. You matter. You are special.
You are valuable!
The world has gotten very glossy again. I’m going way back here but in the 90s, we rejected the wall street-moneyed up-slicked back-madison avenue-early trump-fantasy culture of the 80s. We went grunge.
Reality Bites.
Nirvana.
And a cold November Rain.
These days we really like things to be pretty. Does it all make us feel better, to be looking at pretty people and pretty things on apps? I’m not just asking because I don’t fit into that mold and never did. I am not asking because I remember the John Berger (author of “Ways of Seeing,” excellent book if you like to think about pop culture) quote that stuck, “The definition of glamour is happiness being envied.”
I am asking because I am curious. Is it because there is so much ugliness right now? Is the filtered beauty we are consuming helping us cope with decay? I know I need something to ease my soul after seeing a baby tear gassed by US troops, innocent migrants put in cages, voter suppression, massive gun violence, and a country that elects racists and white supremacists to high offices. I need something to ease my anger, emotion against he that will not be named, something to mollify or pacify or convert my hateful energy to hope. That one day hatred will dissipate and he who rose to become leader of the free world will be gone, poof. Orange haze.
Maybe we all just need to look away sometimes. To feel better.
“The best part of beauty is that which no picture can express.” ~Francis Bacon