Month: September 2024

Catch The Greenlights

Lean your elbow out the window and cruise down story lane with Matthew McConaughey—a father, actor, and walking wisdom whisperer.

Greenlights, according to Matthew McConaughey, are an affirmation of our way. They signal go, advance, carry on, continue. They are a shoeless summer and give us what we want. He uses green (street) lights as an affirmative analogy to follow the signals of our universe. 

Persist, pivot, or concede. 

Life is this simple. Sometimes greenlights are all about timing and intuition and the ability to let go and go with the flow. Matthew McConaughey was born to middle-class parents in Uvalde, Texas. His parents fought their own demons, divorced, and remarried twice. His childhood was anything but a greenlight. Yet, he doesn’t reflect on his challenges with grief or guilt, but with a caring almost forgiving optimism. It is an acceptance that he his who is because of his past.  

One memorable story illustrates the value of effort. In high school, McConaughey owned a pick-up truck that he used to take girls muddin’ and make his way to the front row of concerts. He traded it for a shiny red sports car, hoping it would do the work for him. Instead, he found his social life dwindling—realizing that effort, not appearances, makes connections. There are other stories worth recounting. A time when he thought he could wing an acting job only to learn on set that his entire monologue is in Spanish and he hadn’t memorized a single line. Another time when all the jobs he could get were romantic comedies and how he felt stuck in a rut.

McConaughey writes not to remember, but to forget—a practice that explains his ability to stay present and live fully in the moment. Thought is the enemy of flow is an expression to counter procrastination. McConaughey illustrates with Greenlights how we can gain freedom from downloading all our thoughts and ideas and notions and worries and excitements onto paper, shelf them, and allow ourselves to enjoy this life while we get to live it.

First impressions matter, and the hardcover design of Greenlights delivers. From inspirational quotes, self-reflection, and notes from the past to photographs from all stages of his life. It’s an interesting size too, not too big, not too small. Just browsing through it, without reading specific paragraphs, is a boon in and of itself. McConaughey’s writing comes across as authentic, sometimes raw, and it is an entertaining style that makes it hard to put this one down. While he reflects on acting roles, this book is by no means an acting guide nor a 101 to make it in Hollywood.

McConaughey is a walking wisdom whisperer. As such, I believe it only makes sense to close out with much needed wisdom for all of us who are afraid to step into the light:

Time to get rid of the filters. Make my life my favorite. Movie. Live my favorite character. Write my own script. Direct my own story. Be my biography. Make my own documentary, on me. Nonfiction. Live, not recorded. Time to catch the hero I’ve been chasing, see if the sun will melt the wax that holds my wings or if the heat is just a mirage. Live my legacy now. Quit acting like me. Be me. 

A Walk in the Woods with a Side of Politics

Nick Offerman takes us on a journey where nature meets unburdened thoughts. 


Nick Offerman is known for his stoic, anti-government persona Ron Swanson. In the 2021 book “Where the Deer and the Antelope Play: The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside”, he is a staunch advocate for agrarianism. In other words the social and political philosophy that advocates for a return to subsistence agriculture, family farming, widespread property ownership, and political decentralization. I read it with mixed emotions from relatable excitement about the great outdoors to sheer disagreement about historical facts. 

Where the Deer and the Antelope Play is a three part storyline that appears to be loosely connected in time. The first part centers around the great outdoors. The second part is about farming. The third part reminded me a wee bit of John Steinbeck’s “Travels with Charley In Search of America”. Offerman uses a clear and creative voice to lay out his themes which seem to start with the land and concludes in critique of societal and government use of it. While the accounts of getting a group of friends wandering into the wild to reset, rediscover, and enjoy mother nature are truly inspiring, I found it hard to read through the political commentary that weaved like an eel through every other sentence. It is undoubtedly difficult to take a political position when your line of business is entertainment. I admire his openness about his positions, but question his judgment to conflate them with storylines depicted in this book. Perhaps, it would have been more digestible if it were balanced across the political spectrum beyond Democrats and Republicans, because both sides are not a black and white chunk of failed or successful policies and there are more than those two major parties. 

A wonderful feature of this book is by far the longing it ignites to explore a remote location. Even if you can’t afford to travel to Yosemite and hike Glacier Point. Your closest ridge, hill, or mountain will do. Furthermore, Offerman makes insightful points about how we use our resources and what it really means to be a self-sustaining society. Lastly, my favorite part was simply talking shop – the thrill of working with wood; the blessing of boating a body of water; or, simply adoring mother nature and the beauty that we – as Americans of these United States – can find if we dare to venture outside. 

Where the Deer and the Antelope Play is a mixed bag. Although it can delight nature and adventure fans, its preachy moments can feel like being shouted at from a soapbox, leaving an unpleasant residue.

On a side note: the artwork on the dust jacket is beyond beautiful with color, font, and design outcompeting for the spotlight.