Entry date: 2-19-2023 - Better Things - Letters to My Friends

Dear Friends,

I loved the show, Better Things, which was a vehicle for Pamela Adlon to share hilarious and poignant things about life. It's a bummer that it ended, but all good things come to an end. Yesterday was a strange day that started off so brightly, then got super dark, and then morphed into this wonderful adventure and glorious downtime with friends who are really family.

This is what life is about, right? Feeling all the feelings in one day. Experiencing new things and dealing with trauma and loving the people around you. Learning about the world and people and yourself. How could anyone not feel thankful for the opportunity to grow?

I love to learn. I love to teach. Outside of the people who make my life so rich, these are probably my favorite things. Why waste a good lesson? Sometimes these lessons hurt, sure, and we don't want to deal with them, but why not explore the "don't"? Where does it come from?

During the adventure portion of yesterday, I heard a lot about this concept of "don't" or "won't" and some "I don't like..." stuff that was really interesting. I want to know why so badly. I'm being cryptic, I know, but I am stoked on getting to tell what I think is going to be an amazing story. So many rules in a seemingly anarchic way of life. Contradictions and contractions and beauty that is purposefully hidden in scary things.

It's interesting to see someone who beams with light yet doesn't want to realize it themselves. Do we all do that? Maybe. Some people aren't comfortable with how much they shine. I see it in my students all the time. Somebody, somewhere along the way, has convinced them to dim their own light.

I do think we live in a society that wants us to do that. It is such a celebrity driven culture that the undertow drags us down, even when our light deserves to shine. We are constantly comparing ourselves to people who, in many ways, are constructs of a marketing scheme to sell us things. How many truly talented people out there who are successful in the entertainment industry are truly able to present themselves in a completely sincere and authentic way?

How can mere mortals see ourselves reflected in what we are force-fed to believe is greatness? In a retaliatory act, we dim our own lights so that we aren't blinded by our failure to live up to manufactured ideas of success. There is no celebration of people for just being people. Even organized religion succumbs to the idea of exalting ideals rather than ideas, miracles over hard work, and the unexplainable over logic and true triumph of the soul.

I think this is why I loved Better Things so much. Adlon was tackling these types of ideas from the fringe of celebrity. Kudos to her, and those like her, who see through the ridiculousness and shine a light on the real. I have great respect for people who use their art to teach and inspire.

Here's to great things happening around us on this beautiful Arizona Sunday.

See you tomorrow.

Look at this little Bean.