BBaddict’s Evening with Gus Fring

Fifty-seven channels and nothing on. . . yeah, that’s what turned the Spiritual Adventuress into a BBaddict. Scrolling past “Breaking Bad,” she thought why watch a show about a meth lab. . . even if it is filmed in Albuquerque. But there’s nothing else on, maybe I’ll just check it out. Two days and twenty-one episodes later, she was as addicted to the story as drug lords are to power, as addicts are to meth – so addicted, that she hooked a friend in California. “Well,” she consoled her now bleary-eyed co-addict, “At least we’re not as bad as they are! Unbelievable!!” Then she shared breaking news about Connecticut viewers so outraged by an ill-timed cable outage during Sunday night’s episode that they called 911, unable to connect with the fix for their habit (fact).*

“We are receiving numerous 911 calls regarding the [Cablevision] outage,” a representative wrote on the [Fairfield Police] Department’s Facebook page. “This is neither an emergency, nor a police-related concern. Please direct your inquiries to Cablevision.” The rep also warned that “misuse of the 911 system may result in arrest.” “Clearly Fairfield PD doesn’t watch Breaking Bad,” one Facebook user replied to the department’s post. Ahhh. Vindication.

Where your attention goes, your energy flows and the result shows. Divine Flow took over in an amazing, synchronistic way with delightful results. You knew this would connect to spiritual practice and principles, didn’t you? But isn’t it an adventure each week to see how? It’s like six degrees of Kevin Bacon. Reading Albuquerque’s weekly independent Alibi on Saturday afternoon, the Spiritual Adventuress noticed a special event that evening at the Kimo Theatre. The very same magical location where, last fall, Zia Pueblo Indians sang “Happy Birthday” to her in their tribal language on the sidewalk in front of the theatre. Presentation of the Robert and Sibylle Redford Creative Achievement Award to Giancarlo Esposito would follow a showing of “The Usual Suspects,” a film in which Esposito portrays a policeman. Giancarlo’s current role is Gus Fring, ruthless drug lord in “Breaking Bad.” The final season, the last eight episodes of a five-year run, would begin the following evening. I went.

A long line of people clutching $21 computer-printout tickets snaked around the corner and down the street. As I approached an event staff person to ask questions, a man on the street asked me, “Do you have a ticket?” “No,” I replied. “Here,” he said, handing me a computer printout. “A friend couldn’t make it.” As I reached for my purse to pay him, he said, “No, he told me to just give it away.” It was second row, center, at a sold-out event. I was literally ten feet away from Robert Redford and his wife and Giancarlo Esposito. But that wasn’t the miracle. The miracle was Giancarlo Esposito, who he is as a person.

In the Q & A following the film, Giancarlo described his thirty-year career and the thinking which informed it. He began on stage, singing and dancing, taught by his African-American, opera-singer mother how to use his voice. He knew he did not want to be limited to being a theater entertainer, so he left to explore other art forms with the clear intention of expressing all creative aspects of himself. Film clips from about twenty of his fifty-eight films disclose very diverse roles. Esposito, whose father was Italian, grew up European. He had “to learn how to be black” for parts in six Spike Lee films. He hung out on the streets of Philadelphia to learn both language and body language. Pursuit of excellence in his craft extended not only to learning to speak Spanish to play Gus, but also to hiring a coach to teach him Spanish with a Chilean accent since the character was from Chile.

Giancarlo shared not only his outer expression, but also his inner expression, woven naturally into the conversation, revealing his beliefs about energy, intention, meditation. Referring to his daily meditation practice, he said, “I listen to the mountains.” It is in meditation he receives guidance. His commitment to doing what he loves with passion and at least one thing each day to move his life vision forward has served him well. He urged audience members to do the same. The description of his first meeting with Robert Redford at Sundance sixteen years ago reveals a great deal about both of them. They were drawn together by, and resonated with, each other’s energy. Seeing beneath the surface of outer appearance into deeply connected spiritual lives was both uplifting and inspirational. Comfortable with themselves, they allowed the essential truth within us all to be revealed.

With great joy and delight, I couldn’t wait to get home to call my California co-addict to say, “Guess where I was? I spent the evening with Gus Fring.” Only another BBaddict can appreciate what that means.

*As reported by Ethan Sacks, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS, Monday, August 19, 2013.