by Guy Camilleri
IT needs you.
Act in it, write it, direct it, produce it, edit it, put IT out there. Draw it, play it, compose it, paint it, plant it, cook it, imagine IT. Talk about it, post it, love it, sew it, tear IT up. Hate it, like it, be ambivalent about it, carve it, share IT. Avoid hoarding it, give it up, cut into it, paste it, app it, pass it forward, hold on to IT, lightly. Solve it, mess it up, avoid taking it seriously, and most importantly, play with IT.
Whatever IT is, Nike had it right, “just do it” and preferably, NOW.
Right now, I’m using the Venice Beach boardwalk as my office to write this column. A flood of visuals informs me; people are walking, bicycling, skateboarding, the sound of wind meets a palm tree, music is bouncing in all directions, a group seated on the grass strumming guitars and singing makes me smile as do the blue waters.
The Venice beach vibe stokes the furnace energizing me to tap, tap, tap. I drop into the moment, write a bit, look up, take it all in… a thought comes to me; I tap, tap, tap. I look up and see a man writing with a red pen… he stops and looks up. What’s up with that? Speaking of dropping in, I eavesdrop on conversations every day in Venice, and it never ceases to amaze me as I hear about an idea that is now someone’s reality and may even become a way to generate cash as a result.
Is there a kernel of truth for you in Marsha Sinetar’s quote: “Do what you love, and the money will follow.”
What about this quote from Joseph Campbell:
“Follow your bliss … If you do follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in your field of bliss, and they open doors to you. I say, follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be.”
Both of these quotes are power-packed, and even more so when you follow your IT.
Guy Camilleri is a Venice-based actor, acting coach and poet. He teaches regular classes on Wednesday nights and Monday mornings (starting June 5th) at the Electric Lodge, 1416 Electric Ave. in Venice. To audit, email guy@rawactingstudio.com. Follow Guy on Instagram @guycamilleri and on Facebook.
