In 2000, I hadn’t traveled much for a while and I felt the need to stretch myself. I also felt this unexplainable desire to go to Tibet. A co-worker asked me, “Why, are you a Buddhist?” This was from someone who had been working with me some time. I wasn’t attending church back then, but still, did I seem like a Buddhist? Anyway, I couldn’t explain it myself – it was an impulse. It would have sounded too snippy, but I wanted so badly to say, “Do I need a reason?”
Not long after that I threw myself into my new passion of acting. As usual for me, just the acting wasn’t enough, I explored the career possibilities available. I noticed a large number of people online would say things like “I’ve just gotten into acting, but I’m over 40, can I still have a career?” An acting career over 40 is much like a woman having a baby over 40 – it can be done…by some people…and no one knows for sure who those people are till it happens. But what struck me was: why are people even asking this question, either of the whole world in an online forum or of some acting guru with a webpage? Perhaps they were just being cautious about investing large amounts of money into headshots and acting classes for something that may have no monetary return. But that happens to 20-year-olds too.
Basically, I think they were asking for permission. Permission from people who have no authority over their lives, no say in what they do. Then I started to notice people do this in other areas too. Maybe we think that will lessen the blow if things go badly. We won’t feel that we went out completely on our own, completely against all wisdom. Advice has its place, but don’t let others decide too much of your life for you. And don’t ask permission as an excuse to tell people why you want to do something. Assuming you’re not hurting anyone or starving yourself or your kids, it doesn’t have to be a wise career choice or a religious pilgrimage. Follow that burning desire.