Ch-ch-ch-ch Changes – chapter 44

“How’d your father do in there today?”

The security guard at my parents’ condo asked me this as I headed back to my car. He knows I finally got my dad to hit the gym with me three days a week.

“He’s like Schwarzenegger in there,” I said.

We both smiled.

“What about you man, things good?” I asked.

He looked up from his newspaper and said, “Things are good. And if they weren’t, I’d make changes.”

I know I know, it’s not as simple as it sounds.

Or is it?

Like everything else, it all comes down to how you look at things.

I’ll wait here while you put on your special, perspective changing glasses.

Wait, what do you mean you don’t have special, perspective changing glasses?

Fine, here, you can borrow mine.

What makes my glasses so special is that while wearing them, it’s impossible to become overwhelmed by thoughts. Specifically, thoughts pertaining to the obstacles which you may have to overcome in order to make the change you know you need to make.

It’s these exact thoughts which prevent people from taking the first step.

Let’s say you’re tired of lugging around the extra twenty pounds you’ve put on. Without the glasses on, your head could spin with, “Should I go carb free? How about only good carbs? Wait, what the hell’s a carb anyway? Maybe I’ll do cardio for an hour a day. And every other day I’ll work out with weights for an hour as well. But who am I joking? I don’t have that kind of time….”

And before you know it, you’re in front of the T.V. with a bag of chips.

But with my special, perspective changing glasses on, you can’t see past your next decision. So instead of downing a bag of chips, you chomp on some blueberries. With the glasses on, you can’t even speculate about hitting your ideal weight or how you’re ever going to get there. Your vision is limited to one move at a time.

The next day you put the glasses back on. You go for a walk.

At lunch, you opt for brown rice instead of white. No thoughts about the future.

Sooner or later, you know what happens? Breadcrumbs, baby. Breadcrumbs.

Your son gave up on asking you to go to the gym two years ago but out of nowhere, he gives it another shot and you go. And in due time, you’re down a few pounds and continue on from there.

Or maybe you’ve been thinking about changing jobs. With the glasses on, you can’t worry about replacing your income or health benefits or the long commute. All you can see is turning the computer on to update your resume. After that, all you can see is putting the feelers out to your contacts. Next, a Craigslist perusal.

You can keep the glasses.

I got them out of a cereal box anyway.

Because the truth is, it’s impossible to see passed your next next decision anyway. Everything else is just in your mind. Inventions. Fairy tales.

All you can do is make up your mind to make a change, take the first step, and then see what unfolds from there. And if you keep your intentions pure, the best case scenario for all involved is what unfolds. Always.

Live like a fruit fly.

“In Live Like a Fruit Fly, Gabe Berman shares his recipe for living a more joyful,worthwhile, and abundant life in every way. A witty, entertaining, and insightful read.” ~Deepak Chopra

This is a free chapter from the sequel The Fruit Fly Strikes Back. Click here now—>Amazon or B&N to order the original Like A Fruit Fly – The Secret You Already Know

 

Auld Lang Syne – chapter 43

Out of the 525,600 minutes in a year, the first few are my absolute favorite.

The ball in Times Square starts its decent on New Year’s Eve and with ten seconds left, we all count down together.

10..

9..

8..

7..

6..

5..

4..

3..

2..

1..

“HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

Kisses, hugs and handshakes immediately follow and we’re all filled with hope and good wishes for the year to come.

Now here’s my favorite part: we all get on our cellphones and scramble to connect with loved ones scattered throughout this planet of ours. But the cell sites and satellites can’t handle the massive influx of hundreds of millions or even billions of people singularly focused at simultaneously spreading joy. And then we’re forced to redial a couple of times until we finally get through.

God, I love that. I really just love that.

Do you want to be the change you wish to see in the world? Bring this level of openness, hope and joy to the very next person you encounter. Whether it be face to face, on the phone, through a text message or even by carrier pigeon.

And please make no exception. It might not be easy, but everyone, as of this moment, gets a clean slate. Try it with the next person and the person after that and the person after that and… (repeating indefinitely).

Don’t worry if your brother is always in a cranky mood, come to him as if it’s New Year’s Eve. Maybe he’s reading this right now as well and he’ll come to you in the same way. And if not, do it anyway. Love heals. It will heal you both.

This is the resolution of a Fruit Fly and we don’t have time to wait until January 1^st.

Live like a fruit fly.

Harry: What does this song mean? My whole life, I don’t know what this song means. I mean, ‘Should old acquaintance be forgot’? Does that mean that we should forget old acquaintances, or does it mean if we happened to forget them, we should remember them, which is not possible because we already forgot?

Sally: Well, maybe it just means that we should remember that we forgot them or something. Anyway, it’s about old friends.

They kiss. (from When Harry Met Sally)

“In Live Like a Fruit Fly, Gabe Berman shares his recipe for living a more joyful,worthwhile, and abundant life in every way. A witty, entertaining, and insightful read.” ~Deepak Chopra

This is a free chapter from the sequel The Fruit Fly Strikes Back. Click here now—>Amazon or B&N to order the original Like A Fruit Fly – The Secret You Already Know

 

WWJD – chapter 42

‘Twas the night before Christmas, so it’s officially time for the ascension of this short chapter which was edited out of the original LLAFF:

I don’t want to get too political here, but be wary of those who claim to be people of “faith” if they pass judgment, lie, steal, kill, refuse to forgive or vote to make the rich richer and the poor poorer.

“How many observes Christ’s birthday! How few his precepts! O! ’tis easier to keep holidays than commandments.” – Benjamin Franklin

Live like a fruit fly.

 

Heliocentric – chapter 41

From the looks of my desk, I was robbed.

Papers scattered everywhere, piles of toppled books and a USB wire that once plugged into a computer which was now missing.

But I wasn’t robbed. I’m just kind of a slob. And my laptop is no longer with us because I was eating cereal the other day while checking email and – well, let’s not cry over spilled milk.

I was sitting on my bed, facing my desk, and in the middle of one of those gut wrenching, text message conversations with a dear friend. Under my desk on the floor, I spied a foam disk the size of a silver dollar. It’s part of the packaging that came with the blank cd’s I bought a few weeks ago. I picked it up and slipped it over my pinkie. I was half pretending it gave me super powers. I may be in a thirty-nine year old body but I still allow myself to be a kid. You start growing old when you give into growing up. But holy shit, thirty-nine.

I shut off my phone after the final text and literally needed a nap to recover from the seriousness of the subject matter. I fell asleep with my magic ring on and when I woke up, I found it resting in the palm of my hand.

I smiled because I felt like such a little boy. It’s something I’ve seen my
seven-year-old nephews do several times. It’s something I used to do with my Luke Skywalker action figure when I was their age. You know the one I’m talking about – the one with the toothpick sized lightsaber that extended from Luke’s wrist. I think Chuckles, my dog and supposed amigo, ate him for some reason. And as far as my Darth Vader is concerned, my cousin Josh gnawed it to death when he was an infant.

I smiled at this scene but it was a bitter sweet smile because I was just seven as well. How did I get here so quickly? I think the earth is revolving around the sun much more quickly than scientists would have us believe.

And now here I am in Starbucks, listening to trancey tunes that could have been in The Matrix, and thankfully typing to you on my iPad (I’m thankful to be typing to you and thankful I have an iPad to type to you on).

There’s an old man sitting, no – not sitting next to me making love to his tonic and gin – but sitting on one of the cushioned chairs on the other side of Starbucks. He’s drinking a small coffee.

He just caught me looking at him. I smiled and he smiled back.

I wonder if he’s thinking, “Holy shit. I was just his age. How did I get here so quickly?”

I know I would be.

I have no regrets as of yet and my goal is to be able to say the same if I’m fortunate enough to make it to his age. By the rate of things, it doesn’t seem too far off into the future.

Maybe you have some regrets. But that’s ok. Really, it’s ok. Because everything in your life has led you to this precise moment. This precise moment in which I share with you what my friend Marty said to me the other night at the bookstore.

Marty is a charming, seventy-six your old man who recently decided he wants to be a cartoonist. I sit with him and he shows me his unfinished sketches and we drink coffee and we laugh.

He said to me, “Boychik (Yiddish for young man), it’s never too late to do what you love and it’s never too late to be a good person.”

Live like a fruit fly.

 

No Regrets – chapter 40

There’s a really good chance this chapter is going to suck.

I’ll do my best, but it’s after midnight and I know my sentence structure is going to suffer because I’m pretty tired. Sorry to sound like a wussy, but I’ve been forcing myself to wake up early in efforts to live more like a fruit fly but I’m still staying up way too late so I’m definitely not getting enough sleep. Dammit, I just read that last sentence back to myself and I’m already rambling like a freshman in English 101. Moral of the story: please let me off the hook this one time. Something happened tonight and although I should wait until I’m feeling fresh enough to write about it in the way you’re accustomed to, I feel completely compelled to get this all down on paper right now. And here I am, blabbering again. Sorry, let me just get to the story…

I wasn’t in the mood to go home after having dinner out tonight…wait…it’s funny that I said, “…after having dinner out tonight.” Please, like I ever have dinner at home. GABE, STOP! Jeez..

Okay, focus Danielson….

I wasn’t in the mood to go home after having dinner out tonight (whatever) so I strolled past the other restaurants, bars and stores in the area. I window shopped, people watched and took pics of palm trees wrapped in Christmas lights.

An older Latin woman, wearing pants and a clunky denim long sleeve shirt, was sitting on the patio of a a trendy coffee hangout. It’s December 9^th and ’tis the season to freeze to death but down here in South Florida, she’s dressed way too warmly. She also had a little suitcase with her. One that would fit in the overhead compartment of an airplane. She had a ring on one finger and her skin, eyes and teeth seemed to be in good shape. Her head was down a little but she looked relatively aware. My thought was that she is newly homeless.

I kept on walking but felt terrible for her because how can you not, right?

I eventually turned around, passed her again, and walked about a mile in the other direction. I long forgot about her by the time I headed back to my car. Per usual, I was thinking about my role in the universe. Postulating about unseen divine energies. Are they really unseen or have we humans invented the god-thing for myriad of reasons (yes, this is actually per usual for me – and yes, I know I’m a weirdo)?

My thought process came to a halt because I saw her walking in my direction. I said hi and she said hello back. And that just killed me.

I say hi and/or offer a smile to everyone I cross paths with because this planet of ours can be a cold place and since we’re all on it together, maybe we can warm it up a little bit by acknowledging each other more often than we do. It’s rare that people say hello back (although I’m sure they would in the Midwest) and it’s made me want to stop being so nice. But if I throw in the towel, I become like “them”. And I can’t have that. It’s like when you let someone merge into traffic and they don’t give you the obligatory wave of gratitude. Then you stop letting people in on principle, because what’s the point, and then you become just another asshole who doesn’t let people merge. Rambling rambling rambling. Stay on target. Stay on target. Almost there…

Anyway…she said hello to me and I knew she was one of the good guys so it made me even feel more awful for her.

I started driving home on the same street I was walking on and I saw her shlepping her pathetic little suitcase in the dark. At the red light my gut said, “You should pull over and see if she needs help.”

But my mind said, “What are you going to do? Give her money that really won’t help in the long run? Take her in for the night? Offer her a ride? C’mon, that’s totally unrealistic.”

And then my gut said, “This is that defining moment. Stop to see if she’s OK. You know you’re not going to be able to live with yourself if you don’t. This is the moment you’re going to regret for the rest of your life if you don’t go out of your way for her right now.”

My mind was quick to point out, “Why her? You’ve passed hundreds of homeless people in your life. Trying to help this one isn’t going to prove anything. Don’t endanger yourself.”

I pulled over on the next block. My mind, acting out of fear, pulls me to the Dark Side. Thankfully, my gut guides me infallibly like the ghostly voice of Ben Kenobi.

If you could have seen a picture of my brain, it would have looked like the inside of an old TV that just had a gallon of Gatorade dumped on it. A mess of wires, sparking and shorting out. I had no idea what the hell I was going to say to her. I was nervous for some reason. Not like she was going to beat me up, but I just didn’t want to come across like a total jerkface.

I had no other choice but to completely stop thinking. Which, thankfully, I was able to do.

When I caught up to her I said, “Sorry, I know this is a little weird but I walked by you before and I see that you’re alone out here so I just wanted to see if you’re OK.”

She smiled. I calmed down.

She said, “Yes, thank you. I missed the last bus and now I have to stay around here for awhile. It’s Ok. I’ve done it before.”

She then gave me a few details about being busy and missing buses.

I didn’t want to offer her a ride but I knew what my gut would say about it so I asked if she needed a lift somewhere. She thanked me and explained that she didn’t want me to drive all the way down to Miami (at least an hour away depending on what part of Miami).

“Are you going to be OK though? Is there anything else I can do?”

She pointed down the road and said, “There’s a pizza place over there that’s open twenty-four hours. But I’m a little short on cash…”

I’m not sure if she kept talking. I couldn’t hear anything anymore. Obi-Wan took over. I reached into my pocket and grabbed my cash. I wasn’t going to nickle and dime her with a few singles, so I gave her the twenty-eight bucks I had folded into my money clip. I decided to give it to her as soon as I pulled my car over and I was relieved that I didn’t have to ask her if she needed any money.

My dad instructed me when I was just a little boy to always keep the small bills on the outside of the larger ones. I’m not sure why though. I guess it’s an old-school Brooklyn thing. She saw the singles, thinking it was only a few singles, and thanked me. I asked her what her name is (which I already forgot – I’m so horrible with names) and shook her hand as I introduced myself.

I said goodbye and got maybe five feet away until she stopped me by saying, “You gave me too much money.”

I said, “No, it’s the perfect amount.”

She thanked me again and I smiled and she smiled back.

It could easily be me out there. And however secure you think you are, it could easily be you as well. So instead of trying to figure out if there’s actually such a thing as unseen divine forces, I decided to be the God I wish to see in the world.

The point of this story isn’t to show you how great I am (although I was pretty great if I must say so myself). The point is to tell you that you can be just as great or greater.

In case you just blew right past that, YOU CAN BE JUST AS GREAT OR GREATER.

Earth can be a pretty cold place and we can warm it up by being the God we want to see in the world. And this has nothing to do with giving your money to people in need because you’ll go broke in days. But it has everything to do with knowing if you’re doing right by a person or not.

I know I would have regretted it if I allowed myself to just drive home and plop into my comfy king-sized bed. Regardless how many fluffy pillows I have, I wouldn’t have been able to sleep. I would have been paralyzed with regret.

And fruit flies know their lives are too short to buzz around with even one regret getting in the way. There’s too much to do. Too many people to smile at. Too many people to say hello to.

Thank you for bearing with me.

Live like a fruit fly.

“In Live Like a Fruit Fly, Gabe Berman shares his recipe for living a more joyful,worthwhile, and abundant life in every way. A witty, entertaining, and insightful read.” ~Deepak Chopra

This is a free chapter from the sequel The Fruit Fly Strikes Back. Click here now—>Amazon or B&N to order the original Like A Fruit Fly – The Secret You Already Know

 

To E Or Not To E – chapter 39

Have you read LLAFF yet?

You’re going to read this one first? Okay that’s cool, but please do yourself a favor and don’t put it off for too long. I’m sure Sheryl and Sam never got around to doing some stuff they really wanted to because they put it off for a later date which never came.

Sheryl and Sam Frankel’s names are on a bench along the Intracoastal Waterway in Boca Raton. It’s a serene location surrounded by towering palm trees and people stop here to sit to watch the boats glide by.

Who are Sheryl and Sam Frankel? You mean, you really don’t know??

They’re two people who have their names on a bench. Where were you two seconds ago?

Ohhh, you mean, who are they other than that? I haven’t the foggiest and that’s the whole point. I just noticed their names today when I took a break from my bike ride to check my email on my phone. Whoever they are, I’m assuming they’re very dead since they have a bench named after them.

But they were just like you and I once. Living out their lives, planning for the future and trying to get through the day with a smile. And now look at them – dead as door nails.

I don’t need to tell you, although I keep doing so, that this dying business is the cards for everything that happens to be respirating as we speak. It totally sucks, and as of yet, I haven’t found a loophole.

Their last name Frankel made me think of Viktor Frankl who was a neurologist, psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor. And just in case you never get around to reading LLAFF, the book that this is the sequel to, I’m going to reprint one my favorite parts for you right now. It’s a quote I used from Victor Frankl’s book Man’s Search For Meaning.

“We who lived in concentration camps can remember those who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a person but the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.“

Please read that again. No, seriously. I’m not messing around with you. You need to really allow that to sink into your cells.

Because now you’re ready for this addition. It’s another quote by Frankl. “Live as if you were living a second time, and as though you acted wrongly the first time.”

In other words, to sample Spike Lee, do the right thing. For yourself and for others.

It’s a choice you’ll always have. Choose it now, right now, before your name ends up on a bench. Because that’s where it’s headed regardless.

Live like a fruit fly.

“In Live Like a Fruit Fly, Gabe Berman shares his recipe for living a more joyful,worthwhile, and abundant life in every way. A witty, entertaining, and insightful read.” ~Deepak Chopra

This is a free chapter from the sequel The Fruit Fly Strikes Back. Click here now—>Amazon or B&N to order the original Like A Fruit Fly – The Secret You Already Know

 

And The Oscar Goes To – chapter 38

Woody Allen’s Manhattan opens on a black & white wide shot of the city’s skyline accompanied by the unmistakable fluttering clarinet of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.

Woody voices over, “Chapter One. He adored New York city. He idolized it all out of proportion.”

One of the most magnificent and memorable moments in movie history.

I was just watching this at home. Not the movie itself, but a documentary on Woody Allen. When it ended I clicked toYouTube.com and watched the opening scene of Manhattan, all three minutes and forty-three seconds of it, over and over and over and over and over again.

So here I now sit, in Starbucks, with Rhapsody in Blue flowing through my headphones. I’d like to add a bit of magnificence to the world before the end of yet another day.

It’s Saturday night and many of the tables are filled with adolescent aged guys and girls because even with the best of fake I.D’s, they’re still too young to make it beyond the bouncer at a bar.

I can’t hear them well because of the Gershwin in my ears but I look past my laptop and see the scene cinematically. It’s a wide shot. I switch to black & white in my mind. I hit the back-button in iTunes to restart the song and the unmistakable fluttering clarinet of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue flawlessly accompanies the first frame of my movie.

They’re drinking coffee and sharing cookies and are full of smiles and inaudible chatter.

I voice over, “Even to this day, with all of the girls I’ve dated and with the remarkable metaphysical distances I’ve traveled, the ‘why not me’ feelings that once overwhelmed me as a kid are still lingering near the horizon and can quickly roll up to crash over me in residual waves of envy.”

The camera pivots and zooms into my face for a tight shot. I’m caught in the moment, expressionless. But my eyes soften, I slightly smile and I take a deep breath. Only three minutes and forty-three seconds have passed but just like in Manhattan, the momentous conclusion of the nearly seventeen minute Rhapsody is heard.

I type:

It all worked out the way it had to. I wouldn’t be who I am today if it weren’t for who I once was. How can I now be anything but grateful?

Feel free to feel the pain of your youth. But you’re now in a position to make it up to the kid you once were. Regardless of everything, you can still be magnificent. You can still add magnificence to the world.

Today is your day.

All you have to do is take the first step and the next steps will take you.

End scene.

Live like a fruit fly.

“In Live Like a Fruit Fly, Gabe Berman shares his recipe for living a more joyful,worthwhile, and abundant life in every way. A witty, entertaining, and insightful read.” ~Deepak Chopra

This is a free chapter from the sequel The Fruit Fly Strikes Back. Click here now—>Amazon or B&N to order the original Like A Fruit Fly – The Secret You Already Know

 

Don’t Process The Process- chapter 37

I serendipitously stumbled upon an outdoor art show yesterday and I overheard one of the artists say to a prospective costumer, “When I first used the jawbone I was like, ‘Who’s gonna ever buy something like this?’ But I’ve sold them all.”

The sound of fruit flies. Music to my ears. I had no choice but to wriggle my way into the conversation.

“Did you just say jawbone?” I asked.

The artsy looking, fifty-ish year old woman with scarlet colored hair smiled and pointed to one of her pottery pieces which was adorned with a jawbone. It wasn’t in a horror film type of way. More like a southwestern look. Either way, as a vegetarian, the last thing I wanted to know about was where the jawbones…

——————————————————————————————

I’m in a Starbucks and the guy behind the counter just asked me, “Hey, you’re a writer, right?”

I nodded in affirmation. It would’ve been pretty cool if he recognized me from my mugshot in the back of LLAFF but alas, he knows me from the other Starbucks I usually hang out in.

He told me about an idea for a book and asked me how he should start it. I said, “Just start it.”

I could tell from his blank stare that he wasn’t satisfied with my answer. So I expanded by saying, “You know, just start it and see what happens.”

That didn’t win him over either. I guess I’d want more of an answer than that as well. But what do you want from me man? The process of writing a book is what writes the book. It’s not about the planning or the literary agents or what type of font you should use, it’s about turning on your computer and seeing what happens.

—————————————————————————————–

Either way, as a vegetarian, the last thing I wanted to know about was where the jawbones come from so I moved the conversation over to her art. She explained that the idea for adding the jawbone just appeared in her head out of nowhere so she went with it. She didn’t think anyone would ever buy it but she made it anyway. As it turns out, she’s been selling out of this piece for the last twenty-five years.

I introduced myself and told her about LLAFF and this sequel. She said, “You know you’re blessed to be able to write like that.”

I nodded and said, “Yes. I know. Thanks.”

I swear I wasn’t being cocky or conceited. I’m just aware of what I can do and I’m so grateful for it.

Am I special? Yes. But not an ounce more special than you.

You’re just as blessed to be able to do what you do. So go do it.

How?

Okay, I’ll share my secret with you:

Just start it and see what happens.

If this leaves you feeling ripped-off like the guy from Starbucks, I completely understand. But the only reason why he knows me as a writer is because one day, believe it or not, I just started writing. And here I am now, endorsed by Deepak Chopra and talking to you (tears almost came out there).

Live like a fruit fly.

“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.” – Joseph Campbell

“In Live Like a Fruit Fly, Gabe Berman shares his recipe for living a more joyful,worthwhile, and abundant life in every way. A witty, entertaining, and insightful read.” ~Deepak Chopra

This is a free chapter from the sequel The Fruit Fly Strikes Back. Click here now—>Amazon or B&N to order the original Like A Fruit Fly – The Secret You Already Know

 

Double The Man I Used To Be – Part 2 – Chapter 36

Sorry about that.

I was going to say something like, “Well, I don’t have to be envious anymore because I also received divine inspiration when I woke up this morning.” But as I was humming Yesterday to myself, I didn’t think my story could compare with Sir Paul’s so I threw in the towel.

But that’s silly isn’t it? Divine inspiration is divine inspiration. It comes from the same source. One isn’t better than the other.

So just in case you turned to this page randomly in the bookstore and you have no idea what the hell we’re talking about, I’m going to start over:

I’ve always been pretty envious of Paul McCartney. Because of his fame and fortune?

No.

Okay, yes. C’mon, who wouldn’t be? He’s a mutli-billionaire and that surely doesn’t suck.

But the money really isn’t the reason why I’m so envious, it’s what led him to all of it: Divinely inspired talent.

Back when he was a Beatle, he awoke one morning from his golden slumber and the entire melody of Yesterday was fully formed in his head. Are you freakin kidding me? One of the most beautiful songs of all time and all he had to do was wipe the sleep out of his eyes. Totally ridiculous.

But here’s something just as ridiculous: Yesterday, a sentence was waiting patiently for me to wake up. After opening my eyes, I shifted my head on the pillow and noticed a few rays of sunshine sliding through the window blinds. Simultaneously, these words made themselves known to me, “I love all I feel because it reminds me I’m alive.”

I questioned the concept right away.

Do I actually love the anxiety I feel at times? Do I love how annoyed I sometimes get with people on the phone? Or the anger I’m overwhelmed with when I hear greedy politicians yack about protecting their so-called Christian nation? Or the rage that boils my blood when I try to get a few more minutes of shuteye but the incessant roar of leaf-blowers are making it impossible to do so? Dammit guys, this is South Florida. We barely have leaves on the ground let alone anything that would necessitate hours of leaf blowing.

No, obviously, I don’t love it. I hate it. HATE IT!

Well, I hated it. These eleven words were given to me for a reason so I allowed them to marinate.

I love all I feel because it reminds me I’m alive.

I love all I feel because it reminds me I’m alive.

I love all I feel because it reminds me I’m alive.

I’m alive.

I’m alive.

Hmmm..

Alive. Not dead.

Not dead!

That’s it. That’s the holy grail right there. I love all I feel because it reminds me I’m alive. Anger, anxiety, irritation, guilt, embarrassment, worry, fear, doubt, stress, shame, sadness, loneliness etc etc etc.

How much time have we dedicated to these? But the better question is this, how much more time are we going to continue to dedicate to them?

They’re going to keep popping up whether we want them to or not but we can decide, right this second, to turn from their dark side. They can become our allies. And yes, we can actually love them.

Because here’s the thing, we’re dying.

Just because you’re twenty-two years old and you just got back from a spinning class and you’re in tip-top shape and you’re texting your girlfriends about grabbing a couple of cocktails later and you got a new job and all the guys adore you and congrats, you’re still dying. You’re dying just as the eighty-three year-olds are. You’re dying just as the eight year-olds are. You’re dying just like we all are. Once you’re born, as you know, the clock springs into motion and starts ticking. And it seems to tick faster and louder the older we get. If you haven’t experienced this as of yet, you will. I guarantee you will.

Depressing? Totally.

And trust me when I tell you that I didn’t love that feeling until now.

————————————BREAK IN THE ACTION————————————————

—————————————MANY HOURS PASS————————————————-

———————–THE ZAMBONI RE-SMOOTHIFIES THE ICE———————————–

I had to stop writing after, “And trust me when I tell you that I didn’t love that feeling until now.”

Actually, I didn’t stop writing. It’s more accurate to say that the writing stopped. I sat there and waited and waited for the next words to appear but they just wouldn’t.

I toyed with a couple of ideas and even finagled them into sentences but I knew deep in my gut that it was crap. Sheep in wolf suits. No bite. Just fluff. Out of respect for you and how far we’ve come together, I deleted it all. This is far too important to force into being. LLAFF came from my soul, not from my head, and I won’t allow for shortcuts or the easy way out.

I eventually folded up my laptop and hightailed it out of Starbucks. Like everything else of value, the answer would be revealed in due time.

I went to visit my buddy in the hospital. He’s the one who had that crazy hip surgery. It’s been three months since the operation and he’s still not home.

I grabbed a drink from one of the vending machines in the waiting room. It was late so no one was in there but Oprah was on TV. Queue up serendipity.

She said, “You don’t need things to be perfect to go after what you want. You start where you are.”

Answer revealed.

So, once again, you’re dying just like we all are. Once you’re born, as you know, the clock springs into motion and starts ticking. And it seems to tick faster and louder the older we get. If you haven’t experienced this as of yet, you will. I guarantee you will.

Depressing? Totally.

And trust me when I tell you that I didn’t love that feeling until now.

Am I honestly telling you that from now on I’m going to love when I get depressed about dying?

A Fruit Fly wouldn’t have a choice other than doing just that.

Because I couldn’t have this feeling if I wasn’t still here to feel it and if I’m still here to feel it, there’s still time to move forward and go after what I want. And things don’t have to be perfect to go after what I want. I can start right where I am. I don’t have to wait until I’m feeling at peace or feeling secure or feeling happy. I can start where I am. And from experience I know the sooner I start, the sooner I’ll feel at peace or secure or happy.

So Paul, I love you man, but I don’t believe in yesterday. I only believe in right now. Because I can only receive divine inspiration right now. Because I can only really feel right now. And I love all I feel because it reminds me I’m alive.

I will not dwell on the negative.

I will move forward.

I will always have this choice because I choose to give it to myself.

Live like a fruit fly.

“In Live Like a Fruit Fly, Gabe Berman shares his recipe for living a more joyful,worthwhile, and abundant life in every way. A witty, entertaining, and insightful read.” ~Deepak Chopra

This is a free chapter from the sequel The Fruit Fly Strikes Back. Click here now—>Amazon or B&N to order the original Like A Fruit Fly – The Secret You Already Know

 

Double The Man I Used To Be – chapter 35

I’ve always been pretty envious of Paul McCartney. Because of his fame and fortune?

No.

Okay, yes. C’mon, who wouldn’t be? He’s a mutli-billionaire and that surely doesn’t suck.

But the money really isn’t the reason why I’m so envious, it’s what led him to all of it: Divinely inspired talent.

Back when he was a Beatle, he awoke one morning from a golden slumber and the entire melody of Yesterday was fully formed in his head. Are you freakin kidding me? One of the most beautiful songs of all time and all he had to do was wipe the sleep out of his eyes. Totally ridiculous.

You know what, forget it. I quit.

You guys are on your own.

Peace.

“In Live Like a Fruit Fly, Gabe Berman shares his recipe for living a more joyful,worthwhile, and abundant life in every way. A witty, entertaining, and insightful read.” ~Deepak Chopra

This is a free chapter from the sequel The Fruit Fly Strikes Back. Click here now—>Amazon or B&N to order the original Like A Fruit Fly – The Secret You Already Know