“I used to say I lived my life a quarter mile at a time
Now…I think that’s why we were brothers…
Because you did too!”
“No matter where you are….whether its a quarter mile away, or half way across the world…You will always be with me….and you will always be my brother…….”
~~ Dominic Toretto (THE FUROUS 7)
[letter to Stark] “Tony, I'm glad you're back at the compound. I don't like the idea of you rattling around a mansion by yourself. We all need family. The Avengers are yours, maybe more so than mine. I've been on my own since I was 18. I never really fit in anywhere, even in the army. My faith's in people, I guess. Individuals. And I'm happy to say that, for the most part, they haven't let me down. Which is why I can't let them down either. Locks can be replaced, but maybe they shouldn't. I know I hurt you, Tony. I guess I thought by not telling you about your parents I was sparing you, but I can see now that I was really sparing myself, and I'm sorry. Hopefully one day you can understand. I wish we agreed on the Accords, I really do. I know you're doing what you believe in, and that's all any of us can do. That's all any of us should... So no matter what, I promise you, if you need us - if you need me - I'll be there.”
[Tony looks at a flip phone Steve sent him]
~~ Steve Rogers AKA Captain America (CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR)
“ We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, "O me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless... of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?" Answer. That you are here - that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play *goes on* and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?”
~~ John Keating (THE DEAD POETS SOCIETY)_______________________________________________________
When I was just starting out living through my teenage years, I had a small group of friends that all lived in my community and it was perhaps the first time I understood the importance of having a tribe. Looking back in retrospect, it's quite amazing how many powerful spiritual lessons were engrained within me during this often awkward and precarious time of life. Events that were perhaps the initial birthing place of my passion for self growth and transformation. Fond memories that have now become stories I still share with myself and others that have lasting life lessons.
Growing up on the East Coast, the winter snow was always a welcomed relief from the daily stress of school. And since both of my parents were teachers, we were the first to get phoned the night before of school closings the next day. SNOW DAYS were the ‘Holy Grail’ of childhood blessings and brought with them an unending opportunity for fun and freedom. Our group was perhaps the first incarnation of TV's current ‘BIG BANG THEORY’. We were, for the most part, a cadre of nerds who shared our intense passions for video games, movies, mythology, and especially board games.
We were all competitive as hell and took losing relatively tough. Then again we were still pups in the relative scope of our emotional development. And on one particular snowy afternoon those many years ago, we all got together for an afternoon of winner takes all MONOPOLY! Little did I realize then, what a powerful metaphor for life was about to be displayed during that day's battle royal with the dice..........
One friend in our group we referred to as ‘Alex P. Keaton’, after the character Michael J. Fox perfected on the TV show ‘FAMILY TIES.’ Like the character Alex, he was obsessed with Wall Street, money, was small in nature, and had a relatively sharp temper. All games played with him were intense, but he played Monopoly with a fervor that was unmatched by anyone else I had ever met. He was wickedly smart and he certainly won his fair share of games. But not on this day!
An hour or so into the game, I found myself on a Vegas worthy lucky streak and started collecting houses and hotels all around the Monopoly board! As I looked around the table, I noticed ‘Alex’ was just about out of money. One more unlucky roll of the dice, causing him to land on one of my stockpiled board spaces, and he was done! And he knew it. His brows began to furrow and his lips were parsed. I handed him the dice which he grabbed from my hands in obvious disgust. He shook the dice for an unusually long time and then threw them down across the board. He counted out the steps with his game piece and landed right SMACK in the middle of the Boardwalk space I owned.........
In what seemed like an instant, he grabbed the board game from each side, and flipped it high into the air. Sending pieces of plastic and fake paper money flying all over the room in what felt like perpetually slow motion! Not to mention ruining the game for the those of us who were still participating. The group sat in awkward silence for what felt like an eternity. Unfortunately, the game was obviously over and the rest of us began collecting the various game pieces that had been flung in every other direction with ‘Alex's’ display of utter dismay.
Of course we were furious, but at that point in our lives, we were not comfortable with heated confrontations, so not much was said until days later. And looking back, I'm glad I handled the situation in the manner that I did. Because whether we knew it or not at the time, ‘Alex’ had just taught us a Gi-normous life lesson that I still share to this day. Rather than simply playing the game for the joy, laughter, and fun it can provide, he allowed the ILLUSION of the game to become HIS REALITY.
Admittedly, this tremendously powerful metaphor didn't solidify itself for me until many years later. But do you see how we all do this very same thing in our own lives. We allow the ILLUSION of this world to become our REALITY. Just as ‘Alex’ did! And when we do, we become disconnected from SPIRIT and the calling we came here to accomplish. And that's very often when depression, anxiety, loneliness, and separation from SOURCE sits in and stays for a while. Or unfortunately for some, never leaves.
We live in a Matrix of energy that was designed as a creative space for our souls to experience the Greatest Version of the Grandest Vision we have ever held of ourselves. So much of what we see and experience is an ILLUSION to give us the very opportunities we desire to feel. I know it can seem SO completely real at times, and it was set up that way. How else could we have such transcendent experiences unless the GAME we were playing felt so tangibly realistic. I like to believe that the masters on this planet have slowly learned to “tip their toe” in the universal life-force that surrounds us. Just enough to enjoy the game and experience it for what it was meant to be, but never “jumping in” completely, thus allowing the ILLUSION to become their REALITY.
As Eckert Tolle says in ‘A New Earth’, “ All we can perceive, experience, think about, is the surface layer of reality. Less than the tip of an iceberg. Underneath the surface appearance, everything is not only connected to everything else, but also with the SOURCE of all life from which it came.” Essentially we are all ONE. The illusion is that we are all separate. But we could not have all the juicy, delectable experiences we desire, if we did not have the illusion of separation.
My intention for you today, is to Re-member this story the next time you feel yourself allowing the ILLUSION of life to become your REALITY. And even better than that, share this Re-membrance with others who may have lost their way. We all do at some point. That's why, as they say, “It takes a Village!”
BE SUPER HEROIC!
Nerdmaste,
Jeffrey Louis Martinez
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