“SONIA: What can we do? We must live our lives. [A pause] Yes, we shall live, Uncle Vanya. We shall live through the long procession of days before us, and through the long evenings; we shall patiently bear the trials that fate imposes on us; we shall work for others without rest, both now and when we are old; and when our last hour comes we shall meet it humbly, and there, beyond the grave, we shall say that we have suffered and wept, that our life was bitter, and God will have pity on us. Ah, then dear, dear Uncle, we shall see that bright and beautiful life; we shall rejoice and look back upon our sorrow here; a tender smile—and—we shall rest. I have faith, Uncle, fervent, passionate faith. [SONIA kneels down before her uncle and lays her head on his hands. She speaks in a weary voice] We shall rest. [TELEGIN plays softly on the guitar] We shall rest. We shall hear the angels. We shall see heaven shining like a jewel. We shall see all evil and all our pain sink away in the great compassion that shall enfold the world. Our life will be as peaceful and tender and sweet as a caress. I have faith; I have faith. [She wipes away her tears] My poor, poor Uncle Vanya, you are crying! [Weeping] You have never known what happiness was, but wait, Uncle Vanya, wait! We shall rest. [She embraces him] We shall rest. [The WATCHMAN’S rattle is heard in the garden; TELEGIN plays softly; MME. VOITSKAYA writes something on the margin of her pamphlet; MARINA knits her stocking] We shall rest.” –Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov, New Adaptation by Connor McPherson
Stop trying to prove anything or seek validation. All it does is get in the way. (And you’ll never get the right kind or amount anyway.)
… the inner essence, the all-embracing goal, the objective of all objectives, the concentration of the entire score of the role, of all its major and minor units. The super-objective contains the meaning, the inner sense, of all the subordinate objectives of the play. In carrying out this one super-objective you have arrived at something even more important, superconscious, ineffable, which is the spirit of [the writer] himself, the thing that inspired him to write and which inspires an actor to act. -Constantin Stanislavski, Creating A Role
“We all want to be loved, don’t we? Everyone looks for a way of finding love. It’s a constant search for affection in every walk of life.” -Audrey Hepburn
“Don’t look for Love, look for the one looking for Love.” -Rumi
“If you wish to be loved, love.” -Seneca
We all want to love and be loved.
Let that motivate what you do, say and think about. To yourself and in your dealings with others. It’s the start of empathy and sonder.
And actors…remembering this also works great for your super-objective. Start with the desire to love and be loved. Then drill down with specificity in each beat.
“Human beings dream of life everlasting, that’s the reason! But most of them want it on earth and not in heaven.” – Tennessee Williams, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
“[The play grew] from above all, perhaps, the image of a need greater than hunger or sex or thirst, a need to leave a thumbprint somewhere on the world. A need for immortality, and by admitting it, the knowing that one has carefully inscribed one’s name on a cake of ice on a hot July day.” -Arthur Miller on writing Death Of A Salesman in his Introduction to Collected Plays
“People claim to want to do something that matters, yet they measure themselves against things that don’t, and track their progress not in years but in microseconds. They want to make something timeless, but they focus instead on immediate payoffs and instant gratification.” -Ryan Holiday, The Art Of Making And Marketing Work That Lasts
“When you’re a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you’re not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it. You’ll know it’s there, so you’re going to use a beautiful piece of wood on the back. For you to sleep well at night, the aesthetic, the quality, has to be carried all the way through.” -Steve Jobs
Need a little inspiration today? Want to get back in touch with why you became an artist in the first place?
Go spend time with a classic. It will never let you down. It always delivers and feels as fresh today as it was when it was first created. That’s the power of its resonance.
“Of all the words of mice and men, the saddest are, “It might have been.” -Kurt Vonnegut
“I wanted to tell her everything, maybe if I’d been able to, we could have lived differently, maybe I’d be there with you now instead of here. Maybe… if I’d said, ‘I’m so afraid of losing something I love that I refuse to love anything,’ maybe that would have made the impossible possible. Maybe, but I couldn’t do it, I had buried too much too deeply inside me. And here I am, instead of there.” -Jonathan Safran Foer, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Out of love, No regrets– Though the goodness Be wasted forever.
Out of love, No regrets– Though the return Be never. ― Langston Hughes, Selected Poems
You will never regret doing hard things. Even if things don’t work out the way you originally planned–they rarely do–you’ll gain so much from the experience.
“Everyone sit down. Good. Feel the chair. Feel the floor. Feet. Cushion. Spine. Knees.” –Stand Up If You’re Here Tonight by John Kolvenbach
Feeling overwhelmed? Stressed? Mind racing? Can’t concentrate? Struggling to be present? All of these things and more?
Try this…
First, breathe in and out. Do this a few times.
Next, ask yourself this question, “What am I doing?” “What am I literally doing?” Not what I want or need to do in ten minutes. But what am I doing right now, at this exact moment. Whatever it is, answer and name it for yourself. “I am washing the dishes.” “I am writing a blog post.” “I am walking the dog.”
Then ask yourself “Why am I doing this?” Again,answer it. “I am washing the dishes so that they will be clean. I am walking the dog so that he can get some exercise and fresh air.”…You get the idea.
This simple process grounds you and gets you back into presence. It’s calming and clarifying.
Actors…This also works if you’re struggling in a scene. Pause. (It’s okay. You got time.) Breathe. Ask yourself what you’re literally doing. Look your partner in the eye. Ask yourself what you want from him/her. Connect. Then proceed.
“Last year, foolish monk. This year, no change.” -Ryokan Taigu (Zen Buddhist monk)
“You know when you’re walking in the woods on a dark night…and you see a light shining far off in the distance…and you think to yourself: even though I’m tired and it’s dark and the branches are scratching my face…everything is gonna be okay…because I have that light? And I’ll get there eventually? Well, I work–you know this–I work harder than anyone else in this county. I mean, I’m beaten down, Sonya, I suffer unbearably…but I have no light in the distance. I can’t see anything up ahead. I no longer expect anything of myself and I don’t think I’m capable of really loving people.” -Astrov to Sonya in Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov (translated by Annie Baker)
Anyone who’s tried to lose weight will tell you the most difficult period is when you plateau. The first few weeks on a diet and exercise program, the pounds come flying off. You feel tremendous as you get the positive feedback loop from seeing the fruits of your efforts pay off.
Then the inevitable wall hits. The plateau. You’re sticking to the program, yet you see no change. In some cases, you might even gain back weight. THIS is the hardest part. It’s so tempting to quit. You think you’re doing something wrong.
“Might as well quit and go back to my old ways cuz this sure as shit ain’t working.”
But anyone who’s been through it will say that at some point, if you stick with it through the plateau, if you can remain faithful and diligent, at some point you’ll see another breakthrough. One day you.get on the scale and you’re several pounds lighter. And the next day, more pounds come off. And the next day, again…
Whether it be weight loss, trying to make more money, writing a novel, manifesting a passion project, etc…any kind of goal, the plateau is coming. Depending on the length of time, many plateaus. Can you stick with it when there’s no light in the darkness?
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