I went to the San Diego zoo yesterday. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, so I snatched up a couple of Living Social discounts, snatched up a girlfriend of mine, and we headed straight to the “African safari.” (I’ve also always wanted to go on a real safari in Africa. But for now? The zoo.)
Our tram announcer pointed out a few different species of animals that “mimicked their backgrounds,” or blended in with their surroundings in order to protect them from predators. However, one group didn’t appear to blend in very well at all. They were much darker than the sandy terrain where they lived. And that’s when she said that while it didn’t look like the adults were “mimicking” their background, they were, in fact.
What did she meeeean?
Well, when it gets dark at night, they blend right in. She said:
“Because without light there is no color.”
INT. ADAMS FAMILY HOUSEHOLD – KITCHEN – NIGHT
SUZANNE, Meredith’s mom, stands in the kitchen making yet another batch of her secret family recipe frozen cookies. MEREDITH enters the back door after a long day at the office.
SUZANNE
Hey, how was your day?MEREDITH
I think I want to be an actress.SUZANNE
So… not good then?MEREDITH
I can’t sit in a cubicle all day.
It’s physically and mentally
claustrophobic. And freezing. Why
is it so cold? And dark. And did I
mention freezing?SUZANNE
Well if you don’t like advertising,
you could always be a school teacher.
You get weekends and holidays! And
summers!MEREDITH
I want a job where I am doing
something different every day,
meeting new people, being
creative… doing something I’m
passionate about.
(then)
What if I’m assigned to the Meow
Mix account for the next five
years?! I hate cats!SUZANNE
Mer, being an actor is a tough and
unpredictable road. Sometimes a
normal life is nice. A lot of
people would kill for normal.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want normal. Normal is boring. Normal, to me, is dangerous.
I know a lot of people would love to have a nice, routine, predictable life. There’s a lot of struggle in this world. There’s a lot of pain. We don’t have to look far to see it. We don’t even have to look past ourselves. But we can choose to remain in the darkness – to be okay with the status quo, to just get by, to protect ourselves from failure, from heartbreak, you name it. Or we can choose to live in the light – to take our life experiences and make the most of our future, to take a chance, to make a difference.
We don’t get to choose where we come from. But we can choose where we’re going.
I choose adventure. I choose passion. I choose light. Without the light of pursuing my passions, there would be no color in my life. There would only be darkness.
I want to love what I am doing so much that I physically can’t stand to not do it… And that’s how I feel about acting. Acting is my light. It brings out the colors in me.
What brings out your colors? What is your source of light?
Of course I can’t think about light without first thinking of Christ. After all, He is the ultimate source of light. He came to be a light to our dark world. To save us from ourselves, from our sins. To rescue us from darkness. He is certainly my primary source of light.
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” – John 8:12
“For you were once in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.” – Ephesians 5:8
