Saw a great movie last light – “Searching for Debra Winger“. It was made by Rosanna Arquette and consisted of interviews with many different female movie stars mostly discussing what it is like to be a woman in Hollywood. Although there was a political message to the movie (regarding both society’s pre-occupation with young and beautiful women and how women must choose between family life and professional life in Hollywood) the most interesting part of the movie for me was the descriptions of the creative process of acting (Jane Fonda’s description in particular). She described the “big moment” of shooting a critical scene in a movie and all the pressure and stress of that process. She concluded that when she really got scene like that just right that it was like no other high in any part of her life (and she believed it only happened about 8 times out of her 49 movies). She described the feeling of truly being in the moment in such a pressurized

For me, the film was about the choice between professional and family life and how to balance those. At its core this balance is about using both family and professional life as a guide to what you are really passionate about. Meta and I talked after the film about how life can easily become imbalanced between either area – work can seem trivial in comparison to raising a family but raising a family can be burdensome in comparison to the excitement and rewards of professional life. The lessons come from finding those moments in both family and professional life where one can really be present. Whether it is hanging out with the kids on the trampoline or giving a great presentation to a customer, the sense of being in the moment is the same – that is the lesson for me. Buddhist monks strive to have that presence in EVERY moment, but for me (and I suspect most living in the Western World) it is fleeting. Using those moments in family and professional life as a guide to the actions and feelings of being present is valuable to me.

I highly recommend the film and the message it delivers.