Shoot Promos on Race, Class, Gender, Etc

"The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well." - Ralph Waldo Emerson Warning: the following blog deals with areas of mental health and suicide ideations that may be triggering. I won't take it personally if you skip this one. Based on the viewership the last few weeks, y'all skipping anyways. So f*ck it. LOL "What is going well in your life?" My therapist RB asks me through the zoom screen. During our last session two weeks ago I shared that my mental health had declined and it felt like I was back at square one. The throbbing headaches returned. And the quality of my sleep had been inconsistent. The suicide ideations returned and whatever progress I had made over the previous six months felt like it was all for naught. And what actual progress had I made? I was still heartbroken. Though I tried to cautiously date since then, every "I...

"It is said that we must take the time to stop and smell the roses. What they don't tell you, is that YOU are the rose that you need to stop for the most. You are the rose that you must stop and love the most, you are that flower." - C. Joybell C. I laid in bed on Monday night with tears streaming through my eyes. I had an amazing weekend where I got to catch up with some of my dear friends: Amy who I hadn't seen in several months, Krista for two outdoor concerts/shows on consecutive nights: Diana Ross at the Hollywood Bowl and Wayne Brady & Christopher Jackson at The Ford LA to support Marissa, and her nonprofit 4C Lab, and the Tupac Wake Me When I'm Free museum with Piper and her children. I returned to work on Sunday afternoon where I completed my tasks early enough that I was able to watch the newest House of the Dragon , the Game of Thrones spinoff series, before I went home. Normally, I would be grateful to have one of those experiences to look forward...

"Resilience is all about being able to overcome the unexpected. The goal of resilience isn't to just survive but thrive." - Jamais Cascio Oh, you thought this Hero's Journey was over? Of course the hero's journey was going to be a trilogy. If it's good enough for The Godfather , Star Wars , and Captain America , then it's good enough for me. The journey for Michael Corleone didn't end with his ascendance to power, nor did it end when Cap found out his best friend Bucky was alive, nor did it end after Luke found out who his father was. I just hope this 3rd installment will be slightly better than The Godfather 3 , which I contend is still quite good.  In pro-wrestling vernacular this is the "false finish", when a wrestler absorbs another finishing move [signature attack] and then manages to escape the pin after the move. My hero's journey didn't conclude nice and neatly after I battled depression and suicide for the third time. I survi...

"On a deeper level you are already complete. When you realize that, there is a playful, joyous energy behind what you do." - Eckhart Tolie "Life is meaningless".  In a room of 150 people (obviously pre-pandemic), I'm sitting among the back rows, toward the aisle, taking copious notes, even though the course instructor encouraged us not to take notes. That "bombshell" produced some looks of bewilderment, some people exhaled deeply like the weight of the world was removed from their shoulders, some began laughing at their own absurdities.  Landmark Worldwide is a personal and professional growth, training, and development company focusing on helping achieving success, fulfillment, and greatness. I signed up for "The Landmark Forum", their introductory course in April of 2018 after I made acquaintances with Juls, a woman I gave a Lyft ride to a month prior. I didn't have the disposable income to pay for the course and Juls offered to pay for...