Googly Eyes for Nipples

If you saw a man on the beach with googly eyes for nipples, you'd probably

think one of three things:

1. Ha! Nice.

2. Does this go against my religion?

3. If he were a woman, how would she milk her young?

The answer? Through the tear ducts. And, no! It doesn't go against your religion.

Also, the picture I'm using since I couldn't find anyone with googly eyes on their nipples? Ridiculous. Who throws sand for an ascetic? Disgusting.

If you saw this in real time, you might be inclined to look away. Why is that? Because it's something that doesn't make sense to you? Because you don't how to respond ? Or maybe you'd stare (I feel like this would be the general response) and laugh because seeing a man with googly eyes stuck to his nipples would be super funny.

However, I have noticed a trend amongst people that when something they are unfamiliar with happens, instead of addressing it, they push it away.

There is an age-old acting term called, "letting it land." It means that whatever you are given in a scene, you must listen to and accept. The same applies to improv, only they call it, "Yes, and." Meaning, whatever choice your friend makes on stage, you must accept and respond to. So, if they tell you you're a kangaroo, you're a kangaroo.

These rules also apply to life. The situations you go through, good and bad, you have to let them land. If you never let yourself respond to what is affecting you, you will... Well, you'll see what will happen.

I've been working on a video project (that shall remain, for the moment, a "half-secret." Meaning, if you ask me what I'm doing in private, I'll tell you, but I'm not ready to broadcast it to the world yet.) The project involves capturing people's stories. I've been mulling over names, and today, during one of the interviews, it clicked. I'm going to call it (at least until I change my mind, which I have been known to do on occasion) Face to Face.

When you see someone with googly eyes for nipples, there's no avoiding that. You can't get that image out of your head. Once you see an 80-year-old man running down the beach with googly eyes stuck to his nipples, you can't unsee that. (You're welcome.)

When you have a positive or negative experience with someone or with yourself, you can't avoid that. You can't "unexperience" it.

You have to let it land before you can let it go.

One of life's gifts is the ability to feel. You can't feel joy without feeling pain and acceptance doesn't necessarily mean you're okay emotionally, it only means you're willing to deal with whatever you're going through.

Face to face.

Moving on is not a "one size fits all" scenario. I cannot tell you how to process or express your emotions. I can only tell you that your feelings are valid and that looking within yourself to understand where your insecurities are stemming from is a good first step toward facing yourself.

My only hope is that after reading this you will choose to feel what you're feeling instead of pushing it away. Because you're still going to have to deal with it at some point. You know that, right? You either deal with it now, or you deal with it later.

Your problems don't go away because you push them away. They always come back, like roaches or kids on Halloween if you're giving away homemade brownies. Unresolved insecurities are like moles. They may be buried deep, but you'll always be able to see where they've been. You can tell how they've affected you and your decision making.

The only way to figure yourself out is by

listening.

To be more specific, listening to what your body is telling you you're feeling. If you don't listen to what you're feeling, how will you know how to make decisions? I'm not saying you should make every decision based off a whim of emotion. I'm saying that you need to be aware of what you're feeling in order to make rational decisions.

At the end of the day, it all goes back to character-driven plot. (Feel free to start a drinking game where you take a shot every time I say "character-driven plot" because it is a term I will be using a lot over the next few weeks.) Every decision you make stems from insecurities you haven't addressed, insecurities you're working to fix, or love that already exists. These decisions create the world you live in and affect your "outer story." The only way you'll find out how you are choosing to make the decisions you make is by "letting it land." Whatever you're feeling, explore that and see if you can figure out why you're feeling that way.

By eliminating the fear of feeling, I think you'll find that you aren't that scary and neither are other people. They're just like you, trying to do their best with what they know.

So next time you're sitting on the beach and you see someone with googly eyes for nipples, don't look away, let it land. It's kind of a beautiful thing.