In my last post “Drastic Measures” I wrote about subliminal messages that appear to be supportive if you chose to embrace them. I chose to think of them as serendipitous. They speak softly but carry a big stick. One such message popped up again today.

This morning I updated my status on my Facebook page with this comment: “Leigh believes in change … (And no candidate used that one.)”  I was reflecting on the current risky personal decision I made to test the Louisiana film market to improve my career, with my husband’s loving support.  Just three hours later a young stuntman named Mario Perez replied.  

He quoted King Whitney, Jr., “Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better.”

Holy CR*&^*&#P!  It freaked me out at first.  It seemed as though Mario, whom I’ve never personally met, could read my mind.  The quote he sent not only elaborated on my status update, it hit it out of the park with such clarity and nuance that hadn’t entered my mind — until now.

After brief but thoughtful reflection on the quote, I replied, “No fear. Just “hopeful” for our current global sea change and “confident” about my personal sea change.” A little more thought later, I added, “Well — maybe a small, but healthy amount of fear.”  

Validation comes in many forms. 

Finally, to Mario: “You are one cool dude.”