1. Crying makes people absolutely beautiful
2. The value of a real handshake

On the first, I'm not talking about childish whining or alligator tears (there's a lot of both in the Biz). I'm talking real, raw emotion that strips pretense and image away from a person, so you see a glimpse of the what and why of who they are.

My coach says emotion isn't interesting, but doing something through authentic emotion (kind of like this thing) is interesting, and important, and daring. And brutally hard.

Lately, I've seen a number of people I care about stripped down and emotionally bare, bravely moving forward when they could curl up in a ball and give up.

And they are absolutely gorgeous.

Handshakes, on the other hand (heh), usually annoy me. I don't mind shaking hands with people I know (but not well enough to hug), but handshakes are usually at best a superficial pleasantry, and there's no sincerity there.

Which makes me appreciate an authentic handshake even more.

Again, it's been a hefty week on the life front, so I've gotten an abnormal number of "real" handshakes lately.

But Monday, it was a whole different deal. I found myself grasping a guy's hand, and he was not going to let go. This was one of those, "No, I'm not done -- I want to say thank you for what you've done for me, I want you to know how important this is, and I'm not letting go until you understand that" kind of handshakes.

There was a non-needy desperation in the moment. An importance, a warmth, a camaraderie between what happened before and what was going to happen next that pivoted on that hand clasp. It was a physical touch that transcended cultural and class barriers.

It was a big deal.

And it got me to thinking about handshakes, and relationships, and the importance of depth and importance over superficiality and usury.

I am an introspective fellow lately.

Oh, and don't ever shake a Casting Director's hand unless they offer it to you first. Industry rule. You've been warned.

Labels: biz, inspiration, ramblings