It's a good thing. Let me explain. You see, living in LA LA land can harden you. There are many more "cons" to living in this town then there are "pros" and without giving you a knock down list of both, rather, I would just like to say that in order to do well here, one has to get away every once in a while.
I have been fortunate enough to be able to do so quite often and every time I do go and come back I am struck with how wonderful the world can be.
What I mean is that LA isn't a rat race, it's a rat cage, and overpopulation here is epidemic. When that happens people tend to lose sight of simple things like curtesy, good manners and a myriad of other human traits most people in other areas of the world take for granted. Top that with LA's very unique demographic (mainly thousands upon thousands of people who have dreams of being a star) , and you get the kind of place where people will say... "It's a great place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there".
There is a certain level of self absorption that occurs when one aspires to become an actor, model or musician. It's necessary. If you are the product you are trying to sell, you better know what it is you are selling... Psychologists have a word for it... Narcissism.
But that's not all...
LA is a prospector's town. Think about the gold rush of the late 1840's. You may have heard this expression before but it bears repeating here to make my point. "The people who made all the money during the gold rush were not the prospectors but those who sold prospecting goods to the miners." So basically, If you wanted to make money, a boatload of it, you would sell pickaxes and pans. The same environment exists here in LA, only the prospectors are the actors, models, etc... and the guys making all the money are those people selling services to the actors... Don't believe me? I challenge you to go out around LA for 1 hour and NOT find some sort of service that markets actors.
To wrap up, LA is a narcissistic miner's town where the gold is scarce, scruples are even scarcer and sanity lives just beyond the city limits. It's a necessity that us artistic folk here are forced to deal with.
I recommend getting out at least once a month for a weekend. More if you can afford to do so. Interaction with "real" people will do wonders for your psyche, your sense of humanity and keep you grounded.
So what blindsided me you ask?
I was simply reminded how peaceful and lovely our world really is when things are quiet. Being still is an essential trait to anyone who works as an actor. Internal stillness is even more important. The desert is a very still place and if you can be still in a still place, the universe will speak to you. I'm not gonna tell you what the universe told me... that's private... but I can tell you that it gave me peace and made me smile.
Much Love and Success to you and thanks for allowing me to share my thoughts with you :)
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