As the summer wraps up, at least according to the calendar this Sunday (though I’d give it a few more weeks before we’re in the clear from the next heat wave), I’m finding how ready I am for the change in seasons. Of course, sunshine is never too far away in L.A., but I’m terrified to see my next electric bill after a pretty consistent relationship with my air-conditioner at home over the last month.

This so-called last week of summer found me on a complete roller coaster.

Professionally, it’s been a pretty chaotic, but very productive work week – juggling many different projects happening worldwide; along with a happy highlight of spending some time on-set this week supervising the on-camera interviews we’re filming for a series of short documentaries. I’m finding that I love the diversity of the projects happening right now and I’m even more in love with the fact that my responsibilities are changing in a way that feels like growth (uber important to me at this time in my life when it comes my career).

Personally, since my laptop broke up with me last weekend, much of this week was filled with stressing out over researching my next move. It’s been a long time since I’ve had to get up to speed on the laptop market in a way that actually matters and, as expected, I’m overwhelmed with the thousands of options out there. Do I go Mac Book Pro or stick with a sleek and more affordable PC? What are my deal-breakers? (I’m just now catching on to how rare it is for a laptop to have an optical drive which I had in the deal breaker column…until yesterday – go figure). And more specifically, what do I need to do financially to shift around expenses to accommodate this unexpected break-up? I have a plan and everything will be okay in the end. While I know my last post spoke of this great revelation in a new perspective on stress – it still bugs me to have to deal with this right now, and therefore, still causes short spurts of it. (I know, I know.)

So I guess the universe decided to send me yet another message.

On Wednesday night after a much-needed yoga class – I sauntered home tired, thinking about computers, scrambling eggs for dinner, and mentally going through what I could watch in my Netflix queue to unwind some. Interestingly, nothing in my queue appealed to me so I started browsing and literally stumbled across the most life-affirming and moving documentary I’ve seen in a while – with a message that perhaps I needed to hear again, in another form, and even more intensely.

What drew me to the film was the unusual title, 65_RedRoses, and once I read the synopsis something pulled me to put it on among the thousands of other options in front of me.

65_RedRoses follows Eva Markvoort, an instantly lovable and highly spirited 23-year-old, whose lungs are failing from cystic fibrosis. The film enters her life during her difficult journey as she waits for a lung transplant, next on the donor list. Watching her struggle with simply breathing, something many of us take for granted, couldn’t be a more powerful way to shift perspective – not only in living life to the fullest, but in the importance of organ donation.

I had no idea how affected I would be by this film and by Eva’s story.

As soon as the film ended, I literally felt myself opening up and relaxing into a mixture of sadness and gratitude. The trivial stuff that I’d been allowing myself to be bothered by from work issues of the day to laptop worries seemed completely unnecessary, and in the grand scheme of things were and are completely fixable – therefore, unimportant.

What I’ve been thinking as I write these words is whether or not it’s a coincidence that the Oprah Winfrey Network logo was at the beginning of the documentary? I mean, twice in one week I’ve come across these messages (granted this type of stuff is very “Oprah”) that I can’t help but somehow interpret as the universe speaking to me, getting me to just relax and change my thinking and my approach.

Since this seems to be a recurring theme this week, I encourage you to see the film if you can. It’s streaming on Netflix and is available on Amazon Instant Video.

I was saddened to hear of Eva’s story, but I was grateful to have heard it. The tagline of the documentary I later found out is simple, yet profound; particularly because it’s literally true: Every breath counts.

With that, I’m entering the weekend with Eva and the universe’s message on my mind, my laptop worries a very distant second.

#4Eva

Have a wonderful weekend.
Candice