My New Book Releases on Sunday (my 44th birthday!)
here's the introduction
Friends.
I’m so excited for my new book, it contains some of the most meaningful and personal things I’ve ever put on paper.
And?
It opens with this quote:
I’ve made no secret that I’m exhausted by the “myth of normal” (that’s a great book, btw - you should check it out HERE). Amen? We live in a world where we’re told that it’s normal to be overworked, it’s normal to chase dollars and likes and follows, it’s normal to “other” people who see things differently than we do, it’s normal to “cancel” people, it’s normal to be stressed and tired and angry …
It’s normal.
Back when the 2024 election was heating up, however, something deep within me stood up and shouted, “THERE MUST BE ANOTHER WAY TO LIVE”; and ever since that moment I’ve been on this journey to be …
Less overworked.
Less concerned with dollars and likes and follows.
Less prone to “other” and “cancel”.
Less stressed.
Less tired.
Less angry.
Yes.
In short, I’ve been on a mission to find another way (a “better way”) to live.
And so this book? Oh, this book. It’s a collection of essays or letters consisting of various stories from my life - written and shared from my soul to yours. Each letter or chapter contains a different story from my life or something I’ve been pondering and thinking about on my journey of finding a “better way” to live my life - a life that is less angry, more compassionate, more curious, more inclusive, and not so easily offended.
Some of the letters you’ve read before on the blog while many stories I’ve never shared before. Some things will make you laugh. Some things will make you mad. Some will make you roll your eyes. Some might bring tears to your eyes.
Lots of thoughts.
Lots of stories.
That will evoke lots of different feelings.
I’ll share the link to purchase on Sunday (which is also my 44th birthday!). It will be available on Amazon in print only (no ebook this time) for $14.99. I will also be happy to send you a signed copy for $20 or a signed TRILOGY (all 3 of my books) for $50.
Here’s the full cover:
(*NOTE - I will also send you a book or all 3 books for whatever price works for you, even free. Like everything else - everything I make/write/create is a ‘pay what you can/want’ thing.)
Anyways.
Want to know more? Here’s the intro. The book really doesn’t make much sense apart from it so take a look and pick up a copy on Sunday.
Much love,
Glenn || SUPPORT / ART STUDIO
Friends.
I had this thought the other day.
I was standing in line at Starbucks waiting for my drink and the person in front of me was annoying me to NO END.
You know this kind of Starbucks customer, don’t you?
This lady was huffing and puffing at the Barista who (I guess) was taking “too long” to make her drink (a whole agonizing 3 minutes - the audacity!). The Barista was handling the entire place BY HERSELF (no one was behind the counter with her) and she was doing her very best to ...
Take orders from the people in line.
Handle the mobile orders being printed out on the little machine.
Keep the counter clean and stocked.
Deal with the complaints.
Answer the phone!
Etc.
All the while, mind you, the manager (I think he was a manager?) stood nearby doing (what seemed like) not very much at all - staring into the depths of the pastry case like a zombie, completely zoned out.
And this lady?
This customer?
She looked like she was ready to jump over the counter and start dropping people to the floor.
I wanted to say something. OH. I wanted to say something. I wanted to tell her to grow up; I wanted to ask her what important place her royal highness had to speed away to; I wanted to tell her that she was being ridiculous.
Why?
Listen, my friends - I know she was likely having a hard day and she probably isn’t like that all the time. Maybe someone in her family was sick. Maybe she was on her way to a scary doctor’s appointment or a hard day at work. Maybe her husband handed her divorce papers on her way out the door that morning.
I get it – really, I do.
But ... I used to work at Starbucks (at one time in my life for 4 years and then another for about 3 days - I’ll get to that story at some point, I’m sure) and so I know the pressure of working behind the counter; and whenever I see a Barista in the situation that this particular Barista was in on this particular day with impatient people demanding their drinks get made quicker - I always send a little silent prayer up to the Starbucks gods for them and send some positive energy their way.
And.
Yes.
... I had to bite my tongue so as to not start a riot in the cafe (I did start a bit of a riot one time, though - it ended up with the police coming ... I’ll get to that story too, HA!).
Anyways.
I didn’t say anything, but had this thought; and the thought was this:
“This is what I signed up for. What a lesson!”
Eh? What?
Signed up for what?
What lesson?
What does that even mean?!
I didn’t think much of it at the moment, but when I got my drink, got in my car, and headed off to the school pickup line, I started to think more about it and I had this picture in my head of my soul some 44 years ago thumbing through various opportunities that the Universe had to offer that would help my soul grow, mature, evolve, and become more ...
Whole?
Wholly?
Holy?
God-like?
... Something like that.
And there were SO many opportunities to choose from in this “Soul Evolution Training Options” pamphlet that my soul was thumbing through.
Some opportunities were out in the stars.
Some were around black holes.
Some were in other dimensions.
They all sounded intriguing, sure, but nothing really grabbed my soul, you know? Nothing screamed “THIS IS WHAT YOU NEED TO DO!”; and so my soul kept flipping through the pages looking at opportunity after opportunity after opportunity that all promised to help my soul grow into all my soul was created to be.
“Boring.”
“Lame.”
“Yeah, that’ll work. Not.”
“Ew. Who would EVER want to do THAT?”
And then?
There it was: EARTH SCHOOL.
My soul landed on a full page advertisement for a school called “Earth” where my soul would get to live as a human being, have parents, a childhood, dogs, cats ... and wear human skin with a functioning nervous system and brain that would house memories and feelings and emotions and all sorts of interesting things. A place where my heart would come alive, where my heart would be broken, where I’d get a rush from hearing the roar of the crowd at Yankee Stadium and that sick guitar riff that Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong does during “Know Your Enemy”. I’d get married, we’d have a kid of our own, and I’d get to go to this place called Starbucks where I’d become addicted to their brown sugar syrup and learn how to be more whole or holy or God-like from grumpy people in line.
“This sounds amazing”, my soul said.
I told the other souls around me that this is where I was headed, this is where I was meant to be - I was headed out to meet my mom and my dad, meet my cats and dogs and friends and wife and daughter ... I was headed out to live a life of a bunch of years that would continue to train my soul to become more whole, more wholly, more holy, more God-like.
Those other souls, though? They looked at my soul like it was wildly insane.
“Earth?”, they said. “Why would you want to go there? Haven’t you heard about that place? The sadness that lurks down there? The violence? The hatred? The division? That’s not where souls go to become WHOLE and UNITED, that’s where souls go to become DIVIDED and groomed to HATE.”
“No”, my soul said, as it began to fade away, “I’m going for something else ... I don’t know what right now, but I can feel it. This? This is going to be huge. I’ll see you around.”
And the next voice my soul heard?
My mother’s voice.
(And this is true - this is what she tells me happened 44 years ago the moment I was born).
“Welcome to the world, little buddy”, she said, “you’re going to knock this world off its axis.”
And so this book, these essays? They are writings from my soul that I’m releasing into the world on January 25, 2026 - my 44th birthday, my 44th trip around the sun. It’s a journal of sorts, I suppose - a collection of entries (some long, some short) where I reflect on things I’ve been learning here at Earth School where my soul continues to evolve and grow and expand and become more and more and more of who I am.
The lady at Starbucks? I learned something from her that day about keeping my mouth shut.
The other lady at Starbucks? When the cops came? That day, I learned something about speaking up.
The time I worked at Apple for 11 years? I learned something about diversity.
The time I worked at Starbucks for 3 days? I learned something about following my heart.
The time I was a pastor and the church board fought me until the wee hours of the morning because I wanted a Christmas tree in the pulpit area for Christmas and they didn’t? I learned … something?!?
And …
Being a husband?
A father?
Owning a home?
Capturing 32 mice in my kitchen?
Being a pastor?
The 2024 election?
Random thoughts and ponderings and wonderings?
... yeah; I’ve learned some things over the last 44 years and these essays are my attempt to process some of those things as I continue to become more and more whole, wholly, holy, God-like - as I continue to become more and more in tune with and live from the Divine breath that (I believe) resides deep inside of us all.
Some call that Divine heartbeat our True Self.
Some call it our Intuition.
Some call it the Christ Consciousness.
Some call it The Christ.
Some call it the Buddha Nature.
Whatever it is, whatever name you want to give it - that’s the thing, that’s the energy, that’s the voice, that’s the powerthat (I believe) will help us all (not just me) knock this planet of its axis and keep it from hurtling towards destruction.
Oh, and one note: some of the things I write about (especially if you identify as either a Conservative OR a Progressive – if you find some sort of identity in those words) will likely make you mad.
But.
Keep in mind, this is MY soul’s journey – not yours.
Again, this book is my attempt to (1) process some of what my soul is learning and (2) pass along some of what I’ve learned that may or may not be of help for you on your own journey.
Cool?
Cool.
Buckle up and much love,
Glenn