By Guy Camilleri
Sitting in my car in Venice Beach, with an unobstructed view of the ocean, I listen to the raindrops dance on the hood and root for the droplets as they race down my windshield, congratulating the winner!
I also wait for a single drop of inspiration to rain down upon me in the form of banging out today’s Yo! Venice column.
The rain continues, as does the wait. Minutes later, I find myself leaning toward the reminder that tomorrow, Thursday, February 14j is Valentine’s Day. Perhaps there is something in this yearly event I could explore today. I lead myself to ask the question, I’ve yet to ask this year; How will I express my love to that someone special in my life tomorrow?
Will it be a night of intimacy including, but not limited too; flowers, (a variety of colored roses), a candlelight dinner with wine, a smattering of desert… and then more even more intimacy in the form being physically intimate with someone you feel love for, or may be in love with?
Is this what this one day of expressing the word love to one or more individuals is about? With curiosity in hand, I look up the definition of romance and am shocked, not surprised, mind you, but shocked as I think… Is this the image of someone who is not realistic or practical as defined by Merriam Webster Dictionary?
I admit freely and honestly, I am a romantic at heart. Yet, when I read the definition of the word, I think… wait a minute that doesn’t sound like me at all! I am Virgo, as practical and realistic as the next person and yet, there is a romantic living deep down inside me.
And wait just a rose-colored moment, how can a single word like romance, (that which elicits highly charged images, sensations and thoughts of people, places, things and events in my life) also be defined as having an idealized view of reality!
Well, if this be true, then I say: Give me romance or give me the dull life! For if not to have an idealized view of reality or to be utterly impractical at least once a year, what then makes life worth living?
The rain clears for a beat or two…, and on that beat, I commit once again to being completely and thoroughly impractical and unrealistic for at least this one day. And, if it feels right to you, go ahead and paint the most idealized version of reality you can this year.
And then, I encourage you to express yourself freely in the form of being with the person your heart shares a beat with.
And finally, on Valentine’s Day, (or any other day for that matter), revel in the act of throwing caution to the wind and say (without apology) the three most powerful words ever spoken; I love you.
Happy Valentine’s Day, 2019.
Guy Camilleri is a Venice-based actor, acting coach, and poet. He teaches on-going classes at his studio, RAW acting studio on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at the Electric Lodge, in Venice. His private coaching specializes in audition preparation, self-taped auditions, original reels, and career consultation. To audit a class, enroll in a course or book a coaching session, visit www.guycamilleri.com. Follow Guy on Instagram @guycamilleri, @raw_actingstudio and on Facebook.
