Namaste

I got new hair, y'all.  I spent a good amount of my day yesterday at my favorite hair guy's, getting my long locks chopped off, colored and restyled.  I'm loving the way it turned out - a little shorter than I was expecting, a little darker, but it all just works.  I also got some new pajamas for Christmas.  Thanks, Mom.

I'm taking new headshots tomorrow with the talented Chelsey Ball and we are going to have a lot of fun.  I love my headshots that I'm using now and I'll keep using them, but I need some shots that show off my quirky side - the side that was evident on Wheel this week and the sense of humor that is throughout my reel.  We're talking glasses, my new hair and bright fun colors.  I can't wait!

Before we head into the weekend, I wanted to share something that stood out to me in yoga class this week.  We were in the middle of a more difficult pose and the instructor gently said,

If you haven't already, go ahead and float your eyes close.  Sometimes it is easy to get distracted by others' journeys.  Focus inward on your own practice, where you are right now.  

I love how this applies in my everyday life.  I'm always looking around me, comparing my career's progress to my other contemporaries.  It's so easy to do, too - between facebook, twitter and blogs, it is hard to escape a flood of information about how other actors and colleagues are doing.  And I start thinking I should have done this, that and the other by now - I'm behind!  And then suddenly I'm on the hamster wheel again.  When, in reality, I just need to "float my eyes close" a little more often...

I've come a long way and my journey in this career is my own.  And it's not going to look like anyone else's.  And, being an artistic pursuit, "success" is not always the traditional definition of moving up the ladder.  If that happens, that is great.  And it is certainly a goal.  But true artistic success is found just in being here, attempting this pose, breathing a little more easily, feeling confident where I am at and stretching to get further, despite stumbling now and then.

Namaste, right?