2012 was a year full of lessons. I had some accomplishments, but mostly, I learned. I am grateful for those lessons, and I'll tell ya what, I am going to take these lessons and run with them, because God knows it was hard enough to learn them once, I don't want to do it again! 2013 is about enacting the powerful truths I learned through the toils of 2012, so that I can have a more successful and fulfilling life. Sound good? I suggest you do the same! Now I will share some of the most important information I learned this year!
Lesson #1: Honesty is the way:
Only when we are being honest with ourselves and others will we find our way to authenticity, and therefore, happiness. It does not serve our lives or our art to sugar coat our reality. In order to find our way to happiness, we must stay positive, yet, honest. This is a lesson I cherish and will keep with me forever.
Lesson #2 I am an artist:
I know that calling yourself that can sound hoity-toity or asshole-ish, but I want to create, and share my creations, and I have no apologies for that. You shouldn't either. It is a great travesty that it took me 23 years to realize that my eccentric self was screaming to be let out of its cage into some sort of creative achievement. Ever since I have been writing here, writing and performing music, writing comedy, my soul has felt free. I have only just begun! What an exciting Journey!
I spent 23 years trying to fit into the box of Musical theatre and wondering why in the hell it was so hard. BECAUSE MY VOICE IS TOO FULL OF SOUL TO BE CONTAINED BY ANY ONE JASON ROBERT BROWN SONG! It makes so much sense that I have found my voices' full expression in playing and writing music that came from my heart! Shout out to Jordan Leer-I am so grateful for his talent and the fact that we both love music as much as we do! LoJo and The Truth (our Band) is going global in 2013! We are starting a new journey and that's exciting and scary, but I've never felt more strongly about anything in my life.
As for acting, it is still my greatest joy and passion, but I am done with trying to fit into roles the way I think someone wants me to. I am going to bring my unique outlook to it. I've spent too long trying to fit into the box. And also, I am sorry, but if my adoptive mother, Fran Drescher can be a leading lady, then so can I. I will just be an interesting one as opposed to a boring talking stick. You cool with that, Hollywood? I hope so. Because it's happening. In this town "Best friend type" seems to be code for interesting, funny and curvy...Let's change that in 2013 to "Awesome Type". I'm not trying to pretend that cast types don't currently exist in a certain way, but it's my goal while I'm in this town to change the current depiction of them!
Also, Shout out to my girl Casey Shipman-Her and I have some great sketch comedy ideas going and also are starting a weird, awesome and completely US comedy band Called, GrassMan, sure to put out hits that are both disturbing and hilarious in 2013. Check us out! So great to find a fellow kindred spirit who is just as goofy as I am!
Writing is the portal to the soul. When my fingers hit the keyboard or pen hits the paper, I can let out a sigh of relief that whatever was trapped in my heart is no longer in control of me. It feels so great to be able to share what's on my mind and heart and it feels awesome to know that there are so very many of you out there who not only understand what I'm going through, but also, who are on a similar path.
#3 If You Don't Have Your Spirituality, You are going nowhere, especially not down a path of Happiness:
This is my personal thing, not saying it applies to everyone, but the moment I get out of touch with God and my fellow human being, my life goes to shit. Lesson learned. Also your relationship with God, just like any other relationship, is one you have to work on! Do it, LoGrasso!
#4 You Can't Control Anyone But Yourself:
This lesson has been important in dealing with issues with family and friends where I tried to help, but got nothing back. At the time I felt crushed that the people didn't take the advice I had given them, especially since I thought it would better their lives. But it was very egotistical of me to think I knew what was best for them. So I backed off and everyone was happier--sometimes you just need to detach until that person can solve the problem on their own. That's okay, you know? It has to be.
#4.5 It's Okay if Someone Doesn't Like Me:
I am also learning how to be okay with someone not liking me. I find myself to be a rather agreeable person who probably likes people more than the average human being. So when I've been perfectly nice to a person and they don't seem to feel the same way toward me, it's hard to understand. I even had one of my closest friends in LA this year just stop talking to me without any explanation, when I hadn't done anything to them that I knew of. They didn't even respond when I asked them what, if anything, I had done to anger them. It was really hard for me to deal with and I took it pretty personally. But I think their actions say more about them than they do about me. I am learning to let things like this go. This is an on-going lesson, but I'm sure I'll get it! It's hard to love people so much, but it's so very worthwhile in the long-run.
#5 Needless Procrastination is Fear Taking Physical Form:
I have found myself delaying contacting important people, putting off going to auditions or taking classes, procrastinating on cleaning my apartment, etc... All of these things would have taken relatively little energy and most of the pain is in the build up. In 2013 I intend to power through the build up and seize the day!
#5.7 As Nike Tells Us, Just Do It:
This is really a reiteration of #5, but if there's something you want to say, say it, if there's something you want to do, do it, if there's a place you want to be, go there. We often say, there's always tomorrow, but honestly, sometimes there isn't. I don't mean that as darkly as it sounds, but it's just that sometimes the window of opportunity closes more quickly than we would like it to. If you see something you want staring you in the face, grab it...Too often we tie our own hands and let our fate pass us by! The truth is if we don't do something now we might lose the chance to do it, ever. I am over the build up, I just want to go for it! 2013, a year of action and achievement, let's go!
#6 In Conclusion:
Though over all this year has been full of ups and downs, for me, and, I know, for many of you out there: the hardships we faced will not go to waste if we take those lessons and turn them into power! Let's be our best selves this year and achieve everything we set our minds to and even more!
I believe in you and me!
LET'S GO!
<3 Lo!
Monday, December 31, 2012
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
The Importance of Acknowledging Darkness
It is a blessing to have a positive outlook, if, and only if, coupled with that you are honest about the emotional state you are in.
I am here to admit something, folks. I’m a positiveaholic. Admitting it is the first step, or so I’m told. In college I learned about something called the “Pollyanna Effect”. The Pollyanna effect, Based off the popular anime cartoon, The Story of Pollyanna, a Girl of Love, is the habit of taking the all occurrences in one’s life and spinning them into something positive.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I am very grateful to be able to see the light in any situation, but never acknowledging darkness can be just as disastrous as an inability to see light.*
In an attempt to be more honest in my life and my work, I am going to share something with you: It has been a tough couple of months. A couple of months filled with confusion, relationship shifts, a car accident, family trauma and on top of that, trying to be a functioning and successful human. It hasn’t been easy, but I’ve managed.
Now in my life, I have, or at least have worked very hard to be, a positive person who brings light and love to the world. It is my belief that every soul has a different intention and I really believe mine is to bring the aforementioned light and love. Everything stems from there: every lesson, every vocation, every relationship. Including the difficult things I have to deal with. A lot of the problems I face are more difficult because I have built a life based upon love: so when the world meets me with a cruel situation, my first instinct is to turn it around and spin it into one of love. Sometimes I’m right, but sometimes it’s wildly contrived and wrong.
I am coming to understand, that this unyielding positive outlook isn’t always a good thing. It does a soul no good to pretend that the bad things you are experiencing aren’t actually happening. On top of making you feel crazy, you are unable to learn, which is our number one goal while in these physical bodies. If you can’t learn, then you can’t grow, which will ultimately inhibit you from being your best self and giving and receiving the purest forms of love. This is because when you close yourself off to what you deem to be negative emotions and situations, by default, this blockage carries over to the positive emotions and situations. So you are really only living a half life. Half lives should only exist in chemistry, and even then, it’s debatable.
Even though I have been trying with all my might to love with the strength and fervor I know I am capable of, I haven’t been able to because I have not been allowing myself to feel the pain that I needed to feel. My new goal is to accept, acknowledge and deal with any and all emotions and situations in my life. Not to judge, deny or control, because these verbs always lead to trouble. I will let life’s unpleasant situations play out, I will acknowledge them, without dwelling on them, and learn from them. I will not forget what got me to the place where I felt that way. I will take the lesson of out it, and I will move on with the peace of mind that I don’t have to experience the same thing again if I make different choices, or, if I do end up in that situation, I’ll know how to deal with it more effectively. Then, I believe, I will experience real-life positivity. I will have a positive outlook with a foundation that makes sense, rather than something that is falsified because that’s how it’s “supposed” to be.
I always want to be an optimist, but I think I will be a stronger optimist once I am able to accurately define how I feel and learn from it without having to shield myself or the world from my true emotional life. It will be honest optimism, not optimism masking pain, which is just bullshit. If there’s one thing the world doesn’t need, it’s another liar, so I am vowing to be more honest with myself and with you.
Also, it took a lot of courage to write this down and now to share it, so I am proud of myself. This realization is a huge stride on my slow, yet steady, marathon to self actualization.
Thank you for reading. I hope you can support me on this journey, and know I support you on your path to self, wherever you may be.
Sending you love and light,
Lolo <3
*I decided to bold/italicize the things that I really need to remember, and that might be helpful to you, also :-)
I am here to admit something, folks. I’m a positiveaholic. Admitting it is the first step, or so I’m told. In college I learned about something called the “Pollyanna Effect”. The Pollyanna effect, Based off the popular anime cartoon, The Story of Pollyanna, a Girl of Love, is the habit of taking the all occurrences in one’s life and spinning them into something positive.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I am very grateful to be able to see the light in any situation, but never acknowledging darkness can be just as disastrous as an inability to see light.*
In an attempt to be more honest in my life and my work, I am going to share something with you: It has been a tough couple of months. A couple of months filled with confusion, relationship shifts, a car accident, family trauma and on top of that, trying to be a functioning and successful human. It hasn’t been easy, but I’ve managed.
Now in my life, I have, or at least have worked very hard to be, a positive person who brings light and love to the world. It is my belief that every soul has a different intention and I really believe mine is to bring the aforementioned light and love. Everything stems from there: every lesson, every vocation, every relationship. Including the difficult things I have to deal with. A lot of the problems I face are more difficult because I have built a life based upon love: so when the world meets me with a cruel situation, my first instinct is to turn it around and spin it into one of love. Sometimes I’m right, but sometimes it’s wildly contrived and wrong.
I am coming to understand, that this unyielding positive outlook isn’t always a good thing. It does a soul no good to pretend that the bad things you are experiencing aren’t actually happening. On top of making you feel crazy, you are unable to learn, which is our number one goal while in these physical bodies. If you can’t learn, then you can’t grow, which will ultimately inhibit you from being your best self and giving and receiving the purest forms of love. This is because when you close yourself off to what you deem to be negative emotions and situations, by default, this blockage carries over to the positive emotions and situations. So you are really only living a half life. Half lives should only exist in chemistry, and even then, it’s debatable.
Even though I have been trying with all my might to love with the strength and fervor I know I am capable of, I haven’t been able to because I have not been allowing myself to feel the pain that I needed to feel. My new goal is to accept, acknowledge and deal with any and all emotions and situations in my life. Not to judge, deny or control, because these verbs always lead to trouble. I will let life’s unpleasant situations play out, I will acknowledge them, without dwelling on them, and learn from them. I will not forget what got me to the place where I felt that way. I will take the lesson of out it, and I will move on with the peace of mind that I don’t have to experience the same thing again if I make different choices, or, if I do end up in that situation, I’ll know how to deal with it more effectively. Then, I believe, I will experience real-life positivity. I will have a positive outlook with a foundation that makes sense, rather than something that is falsified because that’s how it’s “supposed” to be.
I always want to be an optimist, but I think I will be a stronger optimist once I am able to accurately define how I feel and learn from it without having to shield myself or the world from my true emotional life. It will be honest optimism, not optimism masking pain, which is just bullshit. If there’s one thing the world doesn’t need, it’s another liar, so I am vowing to be more honest with myself and with you.
Also, it took a lot of courage to write this down and now to share it, so I am proud of myself. This realization is a huge stride on my slow, yet steady, marathon to self actualization.
Thank you for reading. I hope you can support me on this journey, and know I support you on your path to self, wherever you may be.
Sending you love and light,
Lolo <3
*I decided to bold/italicize the things that I really need to remember, and that might be helpful to you, also :-)
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