Do I Still Get Excited?

A friend and colleague - a first-time author whom I’d had the privilege of advising - asked me the question.Here’s my reply:

I don’t meditate on my life’s mission anymore, not that I would be limited to where I am today. I wrestled for years in the Hollywood struggle, sending screenplays around town like planes circling the airport but never cleared to land. I worked as a producer of corporate and educational media. I studied screenwriting and directing. I co-wrote books about digital film production in its very early days.

I was jealous of filmmakers in my age group who had been successful. Especially Steven Spielberg, who is a master technician, but I thought his obsessiveness with detail often sapped the emotion from his work.

In a group exercise on a seminar weekend, I was encouraged to project myself forward into the future and drop down into the timeline. I saw myself on the stage of the Directors Guild theater right after a presentation or a screening.

I was dressed in a red velvet dinner jacket.

Steven Spielberg had been in the audience, and he walked up to me. He gripped my hand, smiled, and said, “You know, I really admire your work."

No, I never get tired of seeing what I’ve put out there. And I realize that, as a storyteller, I enjoy more freedom of expression than he does. I can admire his effort and achievement, but I regret my path not at all.

No worries, Mom!

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