...Or Will You Be Crushed?

Yeah, it's 2 something in the morning, but I had to
write. 

When the inspiration comes, you must respond. 
(Remember that.)

I was feeding the horses -- it's not really important
WHY I was feeding the horses after midnight -- and I
saw a meteor shower.

It's a beautiful clear night, and the West Virginia sky
is ... amazing.

I saw the meteor streak silently across the sky (yet my
head added a sound effect of sorts, heh) and I thought...

  - - Okay, bear with me here - -

... I thought, What early man must have thought,
gazing at the sky.  The wonder...the Awe...the Fear

And so, standing there in the dark field in nothing but my
shorts and sneakers, my body feeling very alive in the
chilly air, I was inspired to write.

Because when you see such a sight as a shooting star,
if you just breathe and are silent, you will feel the
wonder and fear at the same time... shades of delight
tinged with the deep understanding that you are so
very very small



 yet here you are




Do you know what that is, when you look in the summer sky?

No, I'm not being metaphorical now.  I'm talking about
when you look into the clear sky (those of you who can
actually see the stars from wherever you are) on a
summer night


and you notice that...that, SMUDGE across the sky.


Know what I'm talking about?


Hey, if you happen to be reading this just moments after
I posted it, go outside and check it out.  This is not an
acting exercise (I'll get to that in a sec); I just want
you to go outside, and wait until your eyes adjust.

Listen.  Whatever sounds are around you, listen.

I hear an amazingly loud chorus of bugs, an unimaginable
variety of insects singing their little buggy hearts out.

Now look up.  Look across the sky...

Do you see the "smudge"?

It cuts right across the dome of the night sky, pretty
much in the middle, pretty much from horizon to horizon.

Raise your hand if you know what that is.

Good, good, some of you do.

At first you might think it's a stream of light, wispy
clouds...or maybe smoke.  But it's not...it's...

stars.

But not just ANY ol' stars.

That band of stars that make up the wispy smudge across
the sky are the gazillions of stars that make up our
Milky Way Galaxy.

Our solar system is positioned on an outer arm of the
multi-armed spiral galaxy...and when you look up on a
clear summer night, YOU ARE LOOKING INTO THE GALAXY'S
CENTER

like when you're on the Ferris Wheel, and you look up
(or down, or over) at the center spindle . . .


Cool, huh?

And then a meteor -- God knows how incredibly small,
most of them -- goes streaking across the sky appearing
larger than a jumbo jet and faster than anything

And you feel so small

 yet inspired

 because you understand that though you are nothing

 you have the power to change humanity

 if you respond to the call within

 because THAT is why the dream was implanted


So will you step up to that challenge and Trust

or will you allow it to crush you, and wither away

    ?

I happened to be in my office this morning, pecking
away at this post, and the phone rang.

It was an actor -- well, an actor's mom, a complete
stranger -- who had an acting question for me.
 
It was a delightful conversation; enjoyable because
she is involved in her daughter's quest, and because,
frankly, I love connecting with you, you Empowered
Actor blog readers. 

My challenge is--well, one of my challenges is--to
keep it real, to stay connected in a meaningful way.

Heh...That's the actor's challenge anyway, right? 
To keep that connection going.

Anyway, she had nice things to say about the blog,
and about my Audition Success ebook, which apparently
her daughter bought some time ago, along with the audio
book, at The Actor's Expo.   

It's scary stepping up to the calling in your life,
so it's nice when you have the support of family. 
I know some of you don't.

It's scary for me, I'll tell you...and thrilling, and
SATISFYING

And I love it.

You must follow your passion.  Why do anything else?
Yes, the road will be rough, so let your passion and
faith and smarts carry you through.  If you knew
all the seemingly insurmountable hurdles coming up,
you wouldn't do it.  That's why the dream was
implanted.  So let's see what you do with it.

When the inspiration comes, you must act on it.

Here's to Your Empowerment

...now make an appointment with yourself to look into
the night sky over these next few nights, and see what
you can see...


Love you, friends.

Later,

--Tom

Copyright © 2010 Tom Brooks and
The Empowered Actor Initiative  All Rights Reserved