Friday, September 7, 2018

Mishegoss And Mixed Signals

I hope everyone had a great summer I know I did... usually during my summer break I manage to put together a few of my future entries  but alas I just enjoyed myself and the season so I'm flying by the seat of my pants this week as we start out on my third year of this project... so it's going to be short and sweet.

Noun. 1. mishegoss - (Yiddish) craziness; senseless behavior or activity. meshugaas, mishegaas. foolery, tomfoolery, lunacy, craziness, folly, indulgence - foolish or senseless behavior.

I can think of no other single word that best sums up the current United States president and his administration...but I'll get back to this later... the word came to my mind as I was thinking about some of my own and others behavior  over the years--- on my part I've said before I used to tend to sugar coat things (sometimes heavily) to make people and situations seem better than they actually were; it was a coping mechanism  for me that started in childhood and I continued to use as a crutch up until about  nine years ago when I started seeing people and situations as they were rather than how I wanted them to be... don't get me wrong a little of this behavior can be quite helpful in a pinch it's helped me endure unpleasant professional and personal situations and people over the years and sometimes wishful thinking was actually the catalyst to helping to change and make things better.  The down side to all of this is that many times I did not say what was on my mind and subsequently carried some unspoken words and actions in my luggage in my journeys and they have bubbled over in anger and resentment a few times... I realized this summer that I can't go back and change the past simply by saying or doing now what I wanted to then... so I examined the issues  and wrote it all down including much of what I should have said and done and pondered mailing the prevalent thoughts to a  few key players from the past and decided to burn the paper and reduce it to ash and I took it down to the river and released it in the wind and hopefully let go of it forever... the memories of the people and situations I will never forget and in a few cases I have not been able to forgive a few people but I'm letting go of the resentment and anger and moving on... from all of this I've learned that if you have something you want to say to someone state your feelings now and don't let them stew for 20 years and if there is something you should do... do it now don't wait for any change,... but with all of this sometimes things that are difficult to say or do are best slept on for a night or two and should be written and choreographed with care and forethought... and finally I finally learned this summer that   tough times don't last...but tough people do... and doing the right thing will always lead you to the right place and people.

It's very important to see yourself, other people and situations and the world for what they are rather than what you want things or people to seem or be; or you are not adequately armed to reason, communicate and problem solve effectively. I realized that over the years I have sent mixed signals and not picked up on what people were trying to tell me usually because I was preoccupied with other issues or simply because I just did not see the forest for the trees in the mishegoss I had created in a false perfect situation or world; as a result of this I often misread or did not understand the signs and symbols other people or the world were giving me but I will say as a side note to this... whenever I'm working, auditioning or socializing  I always have my A game going on and put my best foot forward no matter what.

 As a simple example of misunderstanding and missed signals... when I was younger...

This is very typical of the type of signals I missed when I was young... luckily I matured and became more savvy and sophisticated and now more easily understand the subtleties life throws my way unless I'm being deliberately mislead which leads me back to my feeling about the current political climate in the United States.

Probably the biggest sacrifices I've personally had to make are I will never stay in another hotel owned by Steve Wynn or shop at Home Depot because of the millions of dollars  CEO Bernie Marcus gave to Donald Trumps campaign and inauguration... I don't intend to ever support Sheldon Adlson of Sands Entertainment, Robert Johnson and the NY Jets, Peter Thiel of PayPal or Isaac Perlmutter owner of Marvel Entertainment.... the list goes on and on; Linda Bean of LL Bean is never going to see a single dollar of my hard earned money or Harry & David, Men's Warehouse, Kohl's QVC or any of the products owned by Koch Brothers which include Angel Soft, Brawny, Dixi Cup, Quilted Northern and Sparkle. I won't stay at the Beverly Hills Hotel, shop at Urban Outfitters or eat at Chick-Fil-A...finally I'll be keeping the pillows that I have since Mike Lindell thinks Drubpf is the greatest president ever and he supports Laura Ingraham and is going after Planned Parenthood.  Luckily we have other and often better choices. There are midterm elections coming up in the US in November and what promises to be another contentious presidential elections in two years... If you want to make a difference learn everything you can about  who  you are voting for and where they stand on the issues and exactly how they are planning to enact progressive change but perhaps and maybe equally important know where the money comes from to finance their bid for office because they are contributing money that has strings attached... and keep this in mind...


And in terms of looking back on the good and the bad times sometimes it's difficult to see the differences between them and often you never can because with time the story that is written between the shadow and the act of yesterday and today they can become each other...See you in two weeks... I'll be writing about the Isle of Capri!