Amen, amen! Your post reminds me of Saint Augustine's "My weight is my love."
"Weight goes not downward only, but to its own place. Fire tends upwards, a stone downwards. They are propelled by their own weights, they seek their own places. Oil poured under the water is raised above the water; water poured upon oil sinks under the oil. They are propelled by their own weights, they seek their own places. Out of order, they are restless; restored to order, they are at rest. My weight is my love; by it am I borne wherever I am borne."
Well said. Your beautifully articulated recipe is the only way to survive. But I don't think this can be learned, it's an inborn gift or a sickness, whichever way you chose to see it. Wishing you all good things...
Thank you! This is gorgeous. To consider our work as a devotional practice, as being of service is not only a way to stay sane in this clown house of an industry but also a way to cultivate joy and meaning and purpose in the process of doing the work. As Ram Dass said: ““you can do it like it's a great weight on you, or you can do it like it's part of the dance”. I prefer dancing.
“She Comes In Colors” (Arthur Lee and LOVE cover) by THE MAD SCENE produced by yours truly in my Hoboken apartment in 1994 and released on Where All Normal And We Want Our Freedom - A Tribute To Arthur Lee and Love on the Independent Alias/Never Shake A Baby Records Label.
Love this Ted. Your words mirror some of my recovery story. Thank you. Although I must say it has not been a shitty year for me. I got married at 65. Love and devotion reigns ❤️
Oh wow! Ted! This was gorgeous and so very needed right now. Thank you for these wonderful words. I want to print this out and put it above my desk. In fact, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
Balancing the dreamer within the realist is the toughest skill for filmmakers to learn. But I believe it is essential to success. Recognizing the "soft no," inside the being kind reply that really means this door is closed. Dampening the enthusiastic relief when someone glimmers hope in your eyes through unexpected praise. It's nice to hear the words, but, the remaining task is still a hard one and nice words alone don't make things any easier. In fact, they can be a distraction and make the next rejection sting even harder. We need constant reality checks even while stoking the dream engine to keep burning. There are no miracles on the horizon to make everything easier. But there is a horizon, and putting in the hard work can eventually get you there. Remember, no one can cause you to fail. Unless you stop yourself from trying.
So yeah, it takes love of what you do, what you're striving for, to keep the motivation going forward when everything seems against you. It takes love to keep moving forward even when you get a few pats on the back saying, "Way to go!" Keep on keeping on even when the laurels are thrown. There's still some distance to the finish line. The work still needs to get done to get there. You've got to love it. All of it. And when you're done, after quite short a time, there'll be another one calling to you for love and attention again. And you'll set off once more, loving every grueling minute of it all.
But LOVE is the THE THING. The horizon keeps moving. There is always another finish line. We may finish the film but we are still on the journey. It will always be this hard or even worse, but if we love the love we have for the thing that we are doing, it is always well worth it. We are so fortunate.
Amen, amen! Your post reminds me of Saint Augustine's "My weight is my love."
"Weight goes not downward only, but to its own place. Fire tends upwards, a stone downwards. They are propelled by their own weights, they seek their own places. Oil poured under the water is raised above the water; water poured upon oil sinks under the oil. They are propelled by their own weights, they seek their own places. Out of order, they are restless; restored to order, they are at rest. My weight is my love; by it am I borne wherever I am borne."
Well said. Your beautifully articulated recipe is the only way to survive. But I don't think this can be learned, it's an inborn gift or a sickness, whichever way you chose to see it. Wishing you all good things...
Thank you! This is gorgeous. To consider our work as a devotional practice, as being of service is not only a way to stay sane in this clown house of an industry but also a way to cultivate joy and meaning and purpose in the process of doing the work. As Ram Dass said: ““you can do it like it's a great weight on you, or you can do it like it's part of the dance”. I prefer dancing.
I was also reading it well to the ballad of the thin man.
Wow. That sincerely rocks. So clean. Elegant so many other things.
Bravo! Grateful for this.
Thank you, as ever. Beautiful and touching.
I cannot love the post enough.
“She Comes In Colors” (Arthur Lee and LOVE cover) by THE MAD SCENE produced by yours truly in my Hoboken apartment in 1994 and released on Where All Normal And We Want Our Freedom - A Tribute To Arthur Lee and Love on the Independent Alias/Never Shake A Baby Records Label.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Kme8at3sJWc
Love this Ted. Your words mirror some of my recovery story. Thank you. Although I must say it has not been a shitty year for me. I got married at 65. Love and devotion reigns ❤️
Oh wow! Ted! This was gorgeous and so very needed right now. Thank you for these wonderful words. I want to print this out and put it above my desk. In fact, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
Thank you Ted for this wonderful reminder of all the good (and the bad) and why we can’t stop and shouldn’t stop doing this :)
Wow, this was what I needed to read this morning. Thanks.
Thank you. Yes, love it in spite of knowing of how challenging it will be.
This is the heart of it. Thank you for the reminder, so beautifully written.
Balancing the dreamer within the realist is the toughest skill for filmmakers to learn. But I believe it is essential to success. Recognizing the "soft no," inside the being kind reply that really means this door is closed. Dampening the enthusiastic relief when someone glimmers hope in your eyes through unexpected praise. It's nice to hear the words, but, the remaining task is still a hard one and nice words alone don't make things any easier. In fact, they can be a distraction and make the next rejection sting even harder. We need constant reality checks even while stoking the dream engine to keep burning. There are no miracles on the horizon to make everything easier. But there is a horizon, and putting in the hard work can eventually get you there. Remember, no one can cause you to fail. Unless you stop yourself from trying.
So yeah, it takes love of what you do, what you're striving for, to keep the motivation going forward when everything seems against you. It takes love to keep moving forward even when you get a few pats on the back saying, "Way to go!" Keep on keeping on even when the laurels are thrown. There's still some distance to the finish line. The work still needs to get done to get there. You've got to love it. All of it. And when you're done, after quite short a time, there'll be another one calling to you for love and attention again. And you'll set off once more, loving every grueling minute of it all.
But LOVE is the THE THING. The horizon keeps moving. There is always another finish line. We may finish the film but we are still on the journey. It will always be this hard or even worse, but if we love the love we have for the thing that we are doing, it is always well worth it. We are so fortunate.