By Guy Camilleri
A week before my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving, a sense of anxiety fills me. I’m torn between two places, Cocoa Beach, Florida and Oahu, Hawaii. I want to hug (and hang) and be hugged by those I love and love reconnecting with during what for me, is my favorite holiday. Being with these individuals, (family/friends) fills me up with a sense of joy and has a residual effect that lasts for months after.
But now, I find myself yearning to re-experience the experience of being in these two places simultaneously. A swirl of emotions, conversations and sensory overload floods my very being just imagining being in both places. This is self-generated, (I admit), and may not always be the best thing to do, but dang if it (I) don’t feel good while it’s happening!
And yet, a moment later, I am grounded back into the reality staring me in the face this year. The reality is, I am celebrating Thanksgiving right here in Venice, California. Not that this is negative, because it’s not. In fact, I am surrounded by friends that feel like family and I am excited to hang/hug those individuals too. But, (and here lies the rub), my mind still wants what it wants and may continue to wrestle with this fact until the holiday has since passed. So be it.
— In the meantime, I share with you 8 things that I am grateful for:
- My health and that I am of sound body and mind.
- That I have created a life of play/service. In other words, the very thing I love to do feels like play and simultaneously, I have the ability to articulate that experience in a way that is of service to others.
- That I am generating money doing that which I love to do.
- That I am able to live minutes from the ocean and able to surf 300+ days a year.
- My ability to notice and interpret what it means to be me on planet earth. And, that I have learned how to use specific tools to ‘inhibit the modifications of the mind’ so that I don’t become attached to the clutter my mind wants to generate.
- My ability to use language to describe the sensations in my body.
- My ability to find the humor in it all.
- And most importantly, I am loved by the very individual that if I were to dream the dream person to be loved by, this dream is in fact, my reality.
What are you grateful for this Thanksgiving?
Happy Thanksgiving.
Guy Camilleri is a Venice-based actor, acting-life coach, screenwriter and surfer living in Venice Beach, CA. His acting classes are packed on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings at the Electric Lodge with actors, writers, directors and creative people from all walks of life.
His private coaching specializes in building undeniable characters for film, television, stage, auditions, self-taped auditions, original material, solo shows, reels and self-expression in any field of interest. To register or audit a class or to book a coaching session, visit www.rawactingstudio.com. Follow Guy’s column on Yo! Venice and RAW acting studio on Instagram and Facebook.
