Soon after I started to access my
awareness, I started to think twice about the “free meals” I was offered. These free meals would come in various ways,
tempting my senses and different facets of my life. It could be a person, piece of music,
technology, an invite to an event, or even a job. The list goes on and on. I reflected on some of the free meals I have
been offered and how powerful our “word” is and how sometimes just one sentence
can be a free meal that changes the courses of our lives.
…
When
I was going into my last year at NYU film school, I was offered a “free meal”
by a friend. “Paul,” she said. “I can get you permission to shoot a film at
Madison Square Garden.” So I wrote a
film about a guy who sneaks into Madison Square Garden to live out his dreams
of playing on the court. I handed the script to faculty, and they approved the
work under the assumption that I had permission to shoot on the court of
Madison Square Garden. It turned out
that my friend lost her inside connection. There I was with full approval from
the department, equipment, partial funding and without a location.
Trying
to find a resourceful solution to my lost connection, I quickly applied and was
hired to answer questions and rip tickets at the entrance to the arena. I tried
my best to make contacts with whoever passed who happened to work in the front
office, but this angle did not work. I
took a direct approach and was told it would cost $20,000. to shoot on the
court. My fellow employees knew my
dilemma and encouraged me to try and speak to Dave Checkets, the president of
the building. They told me he shows up every year to the employee Christmas
party. The day of the party arrived. I approached him and began to explain my
situation. He seemed a tad bit confused,
but he gave me a name of someone to contact.
I called this person and they asked to see some previous work and the
script I had written. Now, the faculty
was mounting pressure on top of me because there were other projects they
wanted to approve. Finally, the “Garden”
called and said I could get one hour to shoot, but I had to follow all the
building rules. When the day came to shoot,
I had to work fast, and we shot all we could.
The
film turned out “okay.” I mailed a copy to the “Garden” and graduated. In the months to come, I still worked at the
Garden ripping tickets while writing the screenplay play for what I hoped to be
my first feature. I then packed my bags
to move to Hollywood to see if I could get my first film made. Then I received a call from the Knicks.
“Paul, we would like you to come down to talk to us about something.” At first,
I thought I was in trouble, knowing all the building rules I knew I had broken,
so I was not going meet with them. But I
thought, “Let me hear what they have to say.”
I went, and they offered me a job as a director of the camera to shoot
fans and celebrities attending the games.
I accepted, and for the next ten years of my life, the “free meal” that
was offered lead to feeding off a new energy, learning lessons in yet another
school.
…
As
for this past “free meal,” I was blessed that it gave me what I need to grow in
a positive direction. Although as I
headed further into the future, I began to check the needs of whatever is
offered. I would ask myself, “Is it the
right nourishment for me?” In addition,
I looked toward the motivation of the giver as well as myself. Sure at times it was helpful to taste because
sometimes you do not know unless you try.
The more I became in touch with my intuition, the more I was able to
“edit out” a lot of unnecessary free samples.
Many times, I was prey to these situations when I was either in a more
desperate situation or my emotional batteries were running low, and I thought
the free meal presented itself to give me the charge I thought I needed. As a
result, I made some poor choices, as we all do at times. I had to realize and value the fact that this
free meal is going into my mind, body, and spirit, and it is my choice as to
whether I or the ones in my life truly need it or not.
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