the waiting place

A friend of mine, who is older and much wiser, became a Christian just two years ago. Way later in life than most. But somehow he has a childlike faith. This doesn’t surprise me though. After all, Jesus said in Matthew 18:2-4, 

“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

My friend is an actor as well and shares the same struggles I have been experience with this business of acting. The day to day ups and downs can be exhausting, exciting, boring, hopeless, hopeful. But what I’ve come to realize is that each day is what you make it. You can choose to turn a boring, hopeless day into one that is filled with drive, motivation, and potential. One with hope for what lies ahead. The exciting that about the entertainment industry is that you never know what tomorrow will bring. This is the golden land of opportunity. I could find myself on a tv set tomorrow. Stranger things have happened.

But the very thing that makes acting exciting also makes is incredibly hard. I look at my roommates who are in law school, and a small part of my envies them. (A really tiny, minuscule part – they study a lot from textbooks that are comically large.) They are going to graduate and get a job as a lawyer and make “x” amount of money. I, on the other hand, could be working at this for who knows how many more years before I ever see a legitimate paycheck. But I could also book the lead in a series next pilot season and be making in a week what my college-grad friends are making in a year. Let’s hope that’s the case!

Anyway, back to my wise friend who is young at heart. He is also incredibly humble, just like in that verse from Matthew. When I recently thanked him for his endless encouragement and inspiring quotes and Bible verses he shares, He gave God the credit. He was all, “Oh, well thank you, but that’s all God just using me to say what He wants to share” or something along those lines. And then he proceeded to encourage me beyond what I could think possible by Dr. Seuss. He said, “You, like me, are in what Dr. Seuss called  ‘The Waiting Place.’ That doesn't mean we sit around and do nothing (which makes us crazy), but decide to move a few mountains (Hey!  What else have we to do?!?!).” And then he attached Dr. Seuss’ Oh, The Places You’ll Go. I never thought reading Dr. Seuss would make my cry, but today it did. Today, it is just what I needed to hear to encourage me to take heart and persevere - through the dry spells, through the unknown, through the abyss. Today, it is exactly what I needed to hear to bring light and hope to this rare rainy LA day ;)

Oh, The Places You'll Go!

By Dr. Seuss

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.

And you may not find any
you'll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you'll head straight out of town.

It's opener there
in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.

And then things start to happen,
don't worry. Don't stew.
Just go right along.
You'll start happening too.

OH!
THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!

You'll be on your way up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.

You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.
You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you'll be best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don't.
Because, sometimes, you won't.

I'm sorry to say so
but, sadly, it's true
that Bang-ups
and Hang-ups
can happen to you.

You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You'll be left in a Lurch.

You'll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you'll be in a Slump.

And when you're in a Slump,
you're not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they're darked.
A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And IF you go in, should you turn left or right...
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused
that you'll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles cross weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place...

...for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or the waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for the wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.

NO!
That's not for you!

Somehow you'll escape
all that waiting and staying
You'll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.

With banner flip-flapping,
once more you'll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you're that kind of a guy!

Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. There are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame! You'll be as famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.

Except when they don't
Because, sometimes they won't.

I'm afraid that some times
you'll play lonely games too.
Games you can't win
'cause you'll play against you.

All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you'll be quite a lot.

And when you're alone, there's a very good chance
you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.

But on you will go
though the weather be foul.
On you will go
though your enemies prowl.
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl.
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.

On and on you will hike,
And I know you'll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.

You'll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You'll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life's
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never foget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

So...
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
You're off the Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!