The Girl Who Learned To Kneel

This Indian fortune teller comes up to me in a parking lot and starts to make predictions about my future. I know there is going to be a catch, but he has caught me in a vulnerable spot…about to shut my car door. Plus he is talking so fast…what’s the name of beautiful smelling flower, pick a number between 1 and 10, April will be your lucky month, there’s a woman in your life who’s no good for you (that part is a little intriguing…). But as soon as it starts to get interesting, he writes three numbers on his little piece of yellow paper and asks me to circle which one I am prepared to pay: $40, $60 or $80. Ah, there’s the rub. Of course he turns nasty when I say I have no money; he is quite prepared to walk me to an ATM. When I insist, with great actor vulnerability, that I have no money and mentally invite more distance between our faces, he calls me a liar and then storms away, leaving me quite disenchanted with….with…fortune tellers.

 And all this after an inspiring acting class, where I feel prepared to take risks and make myself vulnerable, being willing to expose all my personal problems for the sake of my craft. But let me tell you, when you’re sitting in your car with a little Indian man waving his angry hand in your face and spitting curses, vulnerability looks less than attractive. 

On a more positive note, Simon has been listening to podcasts on napping. Now that is good news. Did you know we would all work more effectively if we took naps? And the optimal nap for a creative person is between 40 and 90 minutes. Can you imagine lying down for 90 minutes and not feeling guilty? Perhaps you already allow yourself that freedom. Good for you! You see, I need permission.

Simon, by the way, is becoming a self-help machine. Yesterday, he says as we’re driving: “Someone is selling his entire self-help library on Craig’s List for $100. 140 books! That’s $1.40 a book. What do you think?”