Life is so short.
I’m reminded of this repeatedly, especially as I celebrated another birthday last week.
This is why I repeatedly talk about chasing dreams.
Any time I have the honor of talking to a crowd or a member of the media about my work, I’m shameless with a message of hope: you can do what you love and earn a living doing it. Start now. Take a baby step. Then continue.
In fact, by doing what you love, you’re actually doing your part in making the world a better place.
Chasing your dreams can make you really happy. You’ll learn to face your demons, short comings, and failures head on – which can make you a better person. It’ll make you more confident, resilient, humble, and supportive of others.
It’s not easy, of course, but it’s absolutely worthwhile to feel the joy and peace that come with living a life you actually love. (And that’s true no matter your age, income, or any other excuses you’re hanging on to right now.)
Sometimes it feels like a radical act to actually be calm, peaceful, available, present, and happy. Which is kind of sad, right? Our world is filled with such pain, discrimination, fear, and hurt. We can be so cruel to one another. We have a lot of healing and forgiving to do, don’t we.
Throughout the week and weekend, I kept feeling this familiar little nudge:
Live life to the fullest.
And, my friends, that’s sincerely my deepest wish for you.
Our lives are meant to be lived. We are meant to be happy, doing work that brings us joy. My deepest hope is that you’ll make more room for that in your life. Fight for it until you find it.
Now, in other news, here’s how I celebrated my birthday this year.
1. Spent quality time with friends and family.
This is has been one of my biggest dreams, goals, and missions since I started making movies. I’m so thankful this year that I got to spend time with loved ones. I hope to do more and more of that.
Because I have always worked a full time job to pay the bills, I’ve always had to squeeze as much as I could into nights and weekends. Any free time I had defaulted to making movies, which has been wildly unfair to my loved ones. They’ve been understanding and supportive, but it’s high time I start to show up again.
Last fall I became a full time filmmaker. Since then I’ve been working hard to reclaim my nights and weekends, be more present when I’m with family and friends, and have a schedule that’s not quite so maddening.
Spending quality time with the people I love and adore is one of my greatest victories in recent months.
It’s good for my soul. It’s crucial.
2. Attended the SDF artist convening.
Last weekend I spent three days focused on documentary filmmaking, thanks to the Southern Documentary Fund artist convening. It was wonderful. I’m still processing and catching up, but I plan to share key take-aways with members of the TriFilm Society as soon as I can.
3. Relaxed in my garden, did housework, and gave my dog a bath.
These may seem trivial. I get that.
But those things are actually a source of joy. Because I feel incredibly lucky to have a garden, home, and dog that need attention it actually makes me so happy to tend to them.
(No, that doesn’t mean I love washing dishes. It means I’m thankful I have food in the fridge, dishes to wash, and someone to share my life with, ya know? Huge difference.)
THANK YOU.
On that note, thank you for following along.
It’s always a pleasure to know you’re here, checking in, and looking forward to the next movie I make. It sincerely means so much to have you sitting shotgun on this filmmaking journey. Thank you!
There are a lot of things happening behind the scenes on these two new movies. I can’t wait to share more details with you all very soon.
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