Radical acceptance is cool and all, but what about acting on what you've accepted?

That's something I struggle with. I like to think I don't, but I do.

I'm driving and listening to Simon Sinek and Rob Lowe talk about how authenticity's become this major buzzword. And despite everyone saying they want it and how important it is, it's sort of lost its meaning. There's construction on the highway so I'm on the backroad between exits. The foliage seems like it's gone full-throttle over night. Maybe it's the fluctuating temps. Today's cooler and the rain/fog is adding a whole lot of contrast to the swath of trees framing the road. It's like someone sponge-painted the hillside with a rusted, golden lather and then let it dry in clumps.

It's raining hard enough to need the wipers but light enough that leaving them on makes them squeak every time they drag themselves across the windshield. And the truck in front of me is going fast enough that passing doesn't make sense but slow enough to be annoying. I don't even know why I care—it's not like I'm in a rush.

Apparently this episode of A Bit Of Optimism, Simon's podcast, is a rerun because his team's taking a break for a few weeks. I think that's pretty cool. Maybe I should do that with some older essays every now and again for Unobstructed...

Anyway—

I don't know much about Rob Lowe other than that he's sober. And I've enjoyed some of his characters over the years; particularly Sam Seaborn from The West Wing.

"This is it for me"

Um, whoa.

Simon asked Rob what he'd be doing if not acting. And he didn't hesitate before responding that he hasn't considered other options. Rob's rattling off a bunch of "lives" he's been able to lead by virtue of playing different characters throughout his career, and it's really cool to hear him describe some of the skills he's picked up along the way, too. Apparently he's known to swim against the current. He went from starring in movies to doing TV at a time when that just... wasn't done. He wrote a memoir after being strongly advised not to, and it became a New York Times bestseller and landed him on the cover of Vanity Fair with high praise. I guess he was told that memoirs are typically seen as either a money-grab or a post-career farewell. That seems silly, though... aren't people obsessed with behind the scenes stuff? Wouldn't they want more, not less?

The flatbed in front of me spritzes the windshield.

I squeak the wipers into action. Shifting in my seat, I press pause and then slide my hand to about 9 o'clock on the steering wheel. My elbow finds a perch on the door frame against the window. Coming back to authenticity, Rob said he hit a breaking point years ago where he just lost the energy to self-edit.

"I've got good instincts" he said, then added a piece about not feeling the need to question them or correct them.

Welp...

Shit.

* * *

Do you go with the flow or against it?

onward.

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