Be Real

Transcript

I was just thinking about what it means to be real, to be authentic with ourselves and others.

I do think that when we are more real with ourselves and others that does allow us to reach greater depths of reality and truth.

I was thinking of this time a few months back when I was in Playa del Carmen. I like to walk along the Quinta Avenida at night, get a gelato and enjoy the strange party atmosphere that is going on there at night.

Maybe you meet some people and as I am going back, on a certain corner or intersection at that time I would notice these women, a lot from Columbia or Venezuela. These are working women, ladies of the night if you will.

I would go talk to them, I am not going to pretend my intentions were entirely pure. These are beautiful women, I like talking to beautiful women.

I go talk to them sometimes and I asked to take a video to put in TikTok. I just want to interview you for a minute to ask about a time when you were happy.

It was quite sad because one of these women said “My friend, its been a long time since I have been happy.”

I thought, whoa, that’s deep. We kept talking a little longer and she was like “Oh well I will give you my number.”

And I thought “I guess that’s fine”

And then she followed it up with “in case you want to do something dirty” or something like that. I don’t remember remember exactly what she said but it was something indicating that I would be one of her clients.

I have very little interest in that and she didn’t fully comprehend what she is doing.

I said “Im not really into that but thank you, have a nice night” And I bid her farewell.

Perhaps she was trying to be vulnerable, perhaps she asked for my number because she liked conversing with me and was curious about what I would have to say to her, some encouragement I might have given to move ahead in her life, move to a happier place and she probably sensed that.

But she had to follow it up with this sales pitch because she was scared to be vulnerable. I think that is what happened, I hope I am not imagining these things.

There’s a possibility that happened and as a result, I decided to not interact with her further.

This can happen in all kinds of ways and at all times through our lives when we don’t have the courage to share a deeper part of ourselves or give some caveat or hook on some extra lines to take back the vulnerability that we offered.

How many times have we experienced some positive emotions with someone and perhaps we even felt like saying that to them.

Instead of saying “You know I am really having a good time with you” or as we say in Mexico or Spanish “¡Me caes bien!”.

A lot of the time we don’t say these things perhaps because we are afraid someone is going to judge us or poke fun at us because we were vulnerable with them.

I know so many times in my past and perhaps many times more in the future I will be trying to attract the attention of a young lady and I would do these ridiculous things. Looking back I see how ridiculous they were like trying to make her jealous or something like that.

Or not saying I liked a woman when I really did thinking that playing a game like that was going to help me. It did not help me. I remember one time in particular I was trying to attract the attention of a woman and she took me aside and said “it seems like you aren’t taking me seriously”

She was giving me this opportunity to say “Yes, I really like you”

But I didn’t have the courage to take it and I regretted that for years later, thinking why couldn’t I have just said what was in my mind and in my heart?

Now I do make it more of a point to say those things, to say how much I appreciate other people.

Many times with my buddy Luis Fernando I will send him a message out of the blue and be like “Its great to have you on my side, it’s great to walk this life with you brother.

And he says similar things back to me and its powerful especially among brothers and male friends.

Sometimes we don’t say those things and we think they are implied and we tease each other. Why not cut that out? Why not get down to the reality of it?

Yes we love our friends and there is nothing at all to be ashamed of about that.

That is something beautiful and we find the beauty every time we speak it.

If it does happen that we speak our deepest truth and we be real with someone and they reject it, or they poke fun at us for being vulnerable or don’t know how to respond.

At least we know we were true to ourselves.