You guys know, I am not "up" on popular culture. I like to hike, read, travel, but chasing fashion or current movies is not my cup of tea. What I knew of Matthew McConaughey was a faint memory of him from Contact, which is still to this day one of my favorite movies, and my husband and I watched The Lincoln Lawyer a few weeks back on Netflix. I thought it was well done, fun, and entertaining. That's it; I had zero preconceived ideas on his identity.
I have been reading heavy philosophy, theology, and anatomy; my brain was tired of technical language. My soul was also tired of the endless gloom and doom of current events. As a small business owner, I was a bit, shall we say, deflated in spirit.
I was staring at my computer, pretending to work, when my audible alerted me about my monthly credit's recent arrival with recommended listens. Greenlights just popped up. I took a deep breath, looked at the cover; it was a headshot of Matthew, yes, all handsome with just the right amount of wrinkles and a heavy five o'clock shadow to make any woman pause, but that was not why I clicked. There was something soulful in his gaze. I wanted to know what those eyes have witnessed, what his spirit has to say. I read the reviews, and they all celebrated his zest for living. That was enough; I clicked purchase. During these Covid days, I yearn for vitality, life, daring, energy. I wanted back the bounce in my steps.
I was hooked from the first chapter and listened to the audiobook twice back to back. No kidding, just when the book ended, I just hit play again. After the second listen, I dove back again and again to the bookmarks that made my heart smile. I laughed out loud, cried a few tears, held my breath; I enjoyed every minute of this audiobook.
You see, Mr. McConaughey and I grew up different, live differently, but I was right to sense a soul resonance from his gaze. His book is not only great storytelling with a dash of poetry and rhythm; it is a guidebook to values, the SAME VALUES that I teach at Spira, and the same concepts that I hammer away during 40 Days of Introspection.
Yes, we sure have arrived to our value-driven life principles walking different journeys. I am an immigrant from Eastern Europe. My parents are first-generation academics; my grandparents are peasants and factory workers. We could not have had more different paths, but we do share values. We are the same in spirit, that I have with Matthew, and I bet I have that with all of you…
We can all celebrate our humanity through our spirits and values! We have way more in common than what we think. We just need to listen to each other's stories, that's all, just sit and listen.
What are some of these values?
Discipline
Truth
Hard Work
Your right to let your freak fly
Authenticity
That unconditional love survives conflict and bumps in the road because it is unconditional love. That love does not hold grudges; it does not make the other wrong; it does not blame. It holds through and becomes stronger through adversity.
To take responsibility for our actions. Own your mistakes.
That a handshake means more than a contract.
Looking a person in the eye is the absolute minimum that we can do.
That we don't have to agree to respect one and other, there is no right and wrong, but we should listen to each other to understand each other better.
That we need adversity to grow
That we attract what we energetically put out into the word
·That we all need a spiritual component in our life to keep us steady
If you like good storytelling, if your soul needs a pick me up. If you feel you need to get your bum into gear and face life head-on again. Give Greenlight a green light.
Dora – owner of Spira Power Yoga, Yoga and Mindfulness Teacher, Business Owner, Writer, Wife, and Friend – all of which I try to balance the best I can.
Thank you @MatthewMcConaughey for the stories...