Your Potential

I have only made little steps here and there in terms of advancing my mission of saving the world through my unique understanding of the role performance must and will play in the advancement of world civilization: collaborations here and there that have ended in me teaching a class to some acting students in a university, setting up but never finishing a co-production of an original play, and a short original performance with a few friends in front of a small audience. These don't at all meet the hopes I had for what I might be doing by now in China.

So I was listening to some Saul Williams, and I just started going crazy, feeling so intensely that I need to make bigger steps in reaching my goals and liberating my dormant potential. This really worried Lillian, because when I came home that evening, I did a really poor job at explaining my state of mind, and she worried that I was getting depressed and feeling down - which was not the case! I just felt a greater sense of urgency.

Sometimes, this world and my life seem to redirect my steps in an unexpected direction, where it becomes harder to envision the correct path to service and greatness. But then I think of the lives of great people - particularly 'Abdu'l-Baha, Who spent most of His life in prison, aiding those who were near Him, and changing the lives of a few, whom He could directly assist and support (ok, maybe more than "a few"...). Not until later in life was He able to travel abroad and speak to large audiences of various countries and walks of life - until His loving words and encouragement deeply touched the hearts of millions!

So I just need to remember to try the best I can, and God will give me the appropriate opportunities, according to the most perfect path for my life. Trust. Peace. Contentment. Wonderment.

Fish with frog's eyes: creation is perfect.

Robbie and I love and frequently recall the above quote from an almost obscure poem. Upon recalling this quote, Robbie might look like this:

Smoothies, Tea and Coffee

I guess Lillian and I have it made now: bought a blender a few weeks ago, we've received plenty of great tea from friends, and just got a coffee maker a few days ago from a gift card we got at our wedding reception.

I adore all of those drinks, and so does my wife - specifically, we're both extreme fruit lovers.

Long Jing, or "Dragon Well", was my favorite tea since Jason and I had bought a can back during college winter vacation 2000. That was the time we got to wake up slow, peacefully walking around the woods of Alaska Pacific University... the time when he asked me mid-morning, in an unexplainable tortured voice, "Are we gonna eat today?"

Mr. Falconer said to me on the phone, in response to the news that we had bought a coffee maker, "Finally, someone with some sense!"

Otherwise, the wedding reception was great, although I barely got to visit with my friends... About 65 came, and our program included meeting people, listening to family speeches (including my parents' recorded voices), viewing our wedding pics from Guilin on a big screen, eating cake, singing, acting, etc. all on a big boat floating on the Huang Pu River in the middle of Shanghai's nighttime skyline.

You can check out the pictures from our trip to Hangzhou - my third time there! Lillian's parents will be in town until Monday, at which point we'll miss them a lot - especially mom's daily double-delicious drool-drawing delicacies (she's been cooking every meal for us, that is...)




PS: Cirque du Soleil is coming to Shanghai this month!