Terri told you that I was a little slammed, but although deep into directing a little testimonial spot, I nevertheless get the opportunity to meet a new stranger turned friend, the insightful, thoughtful and very talented sound technician Paul.
I’m still deep in production and with a pressing schedule, I’ll get right to the point in letting Paul’s philosophic words drive this entry.
“Uncertainty is not such an enemy.
That’s not from me…” Paul set’s up his narration, “’…that’s from years of going through my own crap and anxiety over things…
…Uncertainty is one of the most normal things that’s going to happen… learn to live with that.
We always want to know the answer. We are more comfortable when we know something is certain, even if it is bad… so hold on… It might be alright.
Let uncertainty happen.
I had a big ego when I was growing up, grew up in a nice area, and now, knocked down to learning how to really follow others; I accept that I don’t know everything, and the more that I grow… I realize the less that I know. And, I feel the less I know about the future.
But if there is anything that has been shown over the last ten years that shows me evidence towards the future, it is that it feels like we are growing more and more separated from each other. And regarding the self-esteem generation who feel like, ‘don’t tell me what to do… I’m so awesome…’ all that stuff. We’ve been telling everyone they’re so awesome, that they don’t know how to collaborate. That is going to explode into so many more levels of narcissism; and, sociopaths will be lifted up. These people will continue to prevail as they have throughout history, but even more so in the year to come and the You-Tube generation is going to explode even more spastically.
But I predict there will be a renaissance to a point where we will all come back together…? I think people are starving for connections and that will happen on micro levels… and those micro levels will share with each other. But as we do this electronically, we are still not going to have the tactile experience. The challenge is, ‘Can we have tactile relationships?’ I’m not sure yet?
Five, ten, twenty years, politically, we probably will not know the difference. You can sit in a box for twenty years and you won’t know the difference. Everybody thinks you can… I don’t think you can. Maybe there are a few things.’”
I ask Paul to summarize his thoughts on the few things that we can do.
“’You have to care! That’s all it takes! And you have to fight against the urge to trend towards compromise over quality!
You have to remember every that time you got an easier something; there has been a compromise towards the earning of that thing.
There’s a thing spoken of called ‘The Bread of Shame.’ Every religion has it. Just remember, you can’t have fulfillment unless you earn it. I don’t care if you win the lottery… It’s not going to feel the same as if you earned it.
You have to care and you have to earn it!’”
Paul tells me of a trademark he lives his life by, an inspiration that he encourages us all to adapt into our lives, “Go on and do great things.”
Thanks Paul, we’ll do our best.