FADE IN: Chicago

I could tell you about the two day, two car caravan with two cats (Cassidy and Sundance) one of whom (Cassidy) kept escaping from the back of my car (Ford Explorer) and interfering with the driver (me), while three other humans (Rebecca, Will, and Luke) swapped sitting with me and driving/riding in our new car (Kia Soul).

I could recount how we limped into our first night’s stop (Athens, Ohio) and enjoyed a surprisingly zesty midnight meal (pizza), then how the next morning I sweated my arse off securing the back cat wall using cardboard, bubble wrap, and a ton of wrapping tape (plus many swear words).

I could detail the seven hour drive across Ohio and Indiana (flat), accompanied by a phalanx of vehicles (mostly truckers), a sudden massive thunderstorm, and hours spent contemplating life’s twist and turns (how did I get here).

But instead, let me share with you this: Hundreds and hundreds of Chicago residents biking, running, and walking on the path next to Lake Shore Drive abutting Lake Michigan.

And my new neighborhood:

And my new hangout Marge’s Still, the oldest continuous tavern in Chicago, located a block and a half from my apartment:

And my new position as assistant professor of screenwriter at the School of Cinematic Arts at DePaul University:

I have one more thing to add to a recent series of celebratory blog items, when we hit 20,000 posts in just a few days, and after that, we are back to our regularly scheduled ‘programming’. But let me just say this…

Follow. Your. Bliss.

I can’t speak to the logic of this mantra, especially so when that which you choose to pursue seems entirely counter to rationality (“You want to become a screenwriter?!?!”). I just know the only chance any of us has to live an authentic, dare I say vibrant life is to dig inside and determine what Joseph Campbell describes as our “rapture”. That thing about who each of us is which is enthralling, involving, and empowering.

For me, it’s movies… stories… storytelling… writing… creativity… and teaching.

What is your bliss? If you can find it, follow it.

It may not be an easy path, but it will be real.

And with only one life to live…

How could we do any less?