Here's To Life - Get Right Within

#herestolifewithtorireid, #depechemode, #donmiguelruizjr #loveyourselfthroughit, #victoryandnoble

"I will have faith in man / That is hard to understand / Show some humility / You have the ability / Get right with me / Friends, if you've lost your way / You will find it again some day / Come down from your pedestals / And open your mouths that's all / Get right with me"

Depeche Mode, Get Right with Me

My partner at V&N (our storytelling company) is a Depeche Mode aficionado. I love music. So I like to listen to different vibrational frequencies. This one - "Get Right With Me" - is an interesting combination of gospel spirituality mixed with New Age rock guitars and the virtuosity and verve of the lead singer Dave Gahan who sings it like a battle hymnal (written by Depeche Mode's founder Martin Gore). It is, in its own manner, triumphant.

These days, time has slowed down. There isn't much time left to do anything, except to, maybe, do the right thing. Which begs the question, WHAT ON GOD'S EARTH were we doing before? Isn't there, amidst the horrible news reports of COVID 19 related deaths, also a renewal of energy everywhere? Isn't there a refreshing humility? Isn't there a newfound humanity and people caring for one another as no time in recent history? Think about how the toxic political, cultural and business climates have all evolved. That toxicity was steeped in the culture for the past 40 decades. "Nature," as my show guest don Miguel Ruiz Jr. (New York Times Bestselling author with his father) brilliantly observed on this week's show, "is happening and She will always do so." Well, yes, She does. Nature wins. The birds are louder, sky bluer and the vegetation is greener than ever before. Amidst the chaos of life permanently rearranging, there is an ethereal quality to our lives. There is a humanity that is all too uncommon in the "normal" hustle of American life and getting deals done.

So, one of the key assets one can cultivate is simply doing the right thing. Imagine that because that is just real. Survival is no longer a right. Survival is a luxury. So why not be wealthy? And get right within (or as the song says, get right with me). Here are some of my recommendations and observations of "best practices" of myself, family, friends and loved ones from the previous three weeks:

Stretching/Yoga - While you're on the phone or in the middle of managing a project, helping a child stay on course with their homework or taking the dog out for a walk - stretch. Touch your toes. See if you can't touch the sky. And if that doesn't work, just twist gently from side to side. And while you are doing so, see yourself sitting happily at your desk and doing the best business of your life.

Meditation - Why not take time to slow things WAY down and meditate 20 minutes. And, as the saying goes, if you don't have those 20 minutes and are too busy, why not, take an entire hour to sit still. BEING, when so many are falling ill or even more dire, is a priceless commodity.

Breathe - This one seems simple enough but the practice of breathing is also another way of giving honor to the breath that enters our body. It is really, a brilliant meditation, about the greatest gift we will ever receive. The one that you didn't pay a billion dollars to attain. The one that doesn't cost a nickel. The one that has nothing to do with a balance sheet, income statement hedge funds, a 3-movie deal, revenue bond funds, Black Rock or PIMCO... and it is completely free. Your life. Protect it and breathe.

Eat Right- Do your best with vitamins and the nutrition of vegetables and fruits. Fortify your immunity with nutrition - These days, health is wealth. You can be Prince Charles, Idris Elba or Prime Minister Boris Johnson (sorry England - we love you!) and have access to unlimited wealth, resources, power and money. If you don't have your health, you lose it all. So where is the value. What is a commodity? Health is a multi-trillion dollar commodity. If you lose it, you would spend a billion dollars to get it back. Actually, your health is priceless. As one of my favorite spirits, Bob Marley, once said and personally experienced, "Money can't buy life." Fortify with vitamins, nutrition and plenty of water.

Spend Quality Time (in quarantine of course) with folks you haven't spoken to in ages or folks who are dear friends. For Easter Sunday, I listened to the classic gospels of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir and the Shekinah Glory Ministry. I sent texts about the Resurrection and made calls to people who I appreciate - reminding them and myself... how much we need God. These are people who have deeply affected or enhanced my life. People like my good friends Curticurt, Stereo and Kenny. Who are your good people? And what is the good word you have for them? Clifton Taulbert was another friend I reached out to for a recommendation on LinkedIn and he made some other very timely and important connections.

Pamper Yourself - Make the Zoom call... or better yet, make a conference call and take the call in a mud face mask, right? Or, how about painting your finger and toe nails while closing the big deal. Or, how about this audacious one - take an Epsom salt bath early in the the day by candlelight, and add some lavender. You are the CEO of you. And you are your priceless commodity now. Your well being, harmony and your peace of mind cannot be affixed with a price tag. And these qualities definitely can't be found on MSNBC, CNBC and Bloomberg.

Spiritual Practices - Whether it's singing or smiling... be filled with gratitude and grace. They all seem like simple things. But now? These things are technology. Crack open the Bible, Talmud (Happy Passover!!!), Quran or Bhagavad-Gita that's collecting dust, and read a verse. Or two. Those words are the wisdom of the ages and they are a sedative in troubling times. My favorite practice? Sun gazing. That's when you look directly into the sun during dawn or dusk. I prefer dusk. I pray. I remind myself of who I am, by saying aloud "I am..." - filling in the blanks of all the things I know to be and aspire to be. Like "I am a successful bestselling author and speaker" and "I am loved and love just am I am." It's very powerful. Try it.

"Life is such a short thing / That I cannot comprehend / But if this life were a bought thing / There are ways I know we'd mend / People, take my advice / Already told you once, once or twice / Don't waste your energy / Making apologies / Get right with me" Depeche Mode, Get Right with Me

Excerpt from my forthcoming memoir : "Eager male polar bears will trek more than sixty miles for a date in the springtime. This I learned one Saturday morning watching “Polar Bears Uncovered” on Animal Planet?. That’s like walking from Austin to San Antonio, Texas or from Philadelphia to Newark, New Jersey.

Impressive?

Not really.

Because female polar bears will wander about for more than 3,000 miles.

The female’s trek is fifty times longer than the male’s. That’s farther than a trip from Los Angeles to New York City.

Let me remind you, we’re talking about walking here. Scientists believe it’s because they’re searching for food. Others say their trek is in the name of love. Both reasons are easy to believe because sometimes it feels the same way for us ladies. I know it feels as if I’ve made a similar kind of pilgrimage to find a good guy.

As the program continued, the facts became even uncannier. Males’ primary and only concern is for their own survival." 

Reflection: That excerpt is from chapter 3 of my book and I was making a point about how I felt at that particular time in my life. But that sort of thought about men v. women is part of a larger trend. Over the last 40 years, toxicity in the social, political and business cultures have culminated in "Me Too" and "Times Up" and the incarceration of Harvey Weinstein as a convicted sexual predator - someone who was the culture is now a convicted felon. I'm confident this creates uncomfortable conversations for men and women in their homes, corporate boardrooms and in their bedroom. But aren't we all one? Aren't we all on the same team? Aren't we all in this together? Isn't coming together not only good but profitable? Isn't it the right thing to do?

Forgive past grievances. Forgive others. Forgive yourself. That co-worker who told you looked sexy in that skirt. Or, if you were the co-worker who made that off handed comment, ask for forgiveness. Try reaching out to that person whom you offended to have a reconciliatory conversation. Heal.

Gratitude: I am very grateful to have the opportunity to work as an editor on a forthcoming non-fiction creative book from a New York City's big five publisher Dispatches from the Vanguard. Being a Virgo, I'm just a natural editor. Virgos are natural perfectionists and to have the opportunity to edit a book and use that skill-set to impact the culture for a soon to be published book is an absolute blessing. To have the blessing of silence and be uninterrupted with the backdrop of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir (Psalm 34) with 3 and 4 and then 5 and 6 hours, perfecting work is a reward in and of itself. I am looking forward to working with partners at Penguin Random House, Repeater Books and the Los Angeles Review of Books to get this timely project out into the world. This summer that book will be sold on Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and other sites. If you get the book, you'll see that I am credited as not only one of the 61 personalities profiled but a "special editor" and am featured in the opening essays... which is also a treat for me. It's the third book our young storytelling company has successfully worked on producing.

Here are my two takeaways - the Psalms bible verse that the Brooklyn Tabernacle were singing... and doing an impromptu video promotion for my 2020 podcast:

"When he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he left. I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together."