This week on Trickster Talks, we explore fear — and what it means to practice fearless gratitude. But what I really want to share with you is what happened behind the scenes.
I was recently in the Bay Area and got to see one of my older brothers. We have different moms in different states so growing up meant we were apart more than together, but he got excited when he heard I was making a video series with Monkey King (MK). We both were raised loving the tales of the Monkey King. Mischievous, magical, and always one step ahead of authority. My brother immediately lit up and said:
"Can I do the voice of MK?"
Now, he’s not just my big brother — he’s a professionally trained actor who even was in a movie with Robin Williams. And I’d never collaborated with him on a project before.
I said yes. And it was fun.
Like, legit heartwarming, trickster-is-real kind of fun.
He gave feedback. He re-recorded lines. More importantly, we played…in ways that we never got to as kids.
There’s this memory from college that came back to me last week.
It was Christmas Eve. My mom and I were visiting family in the Bay Area. We were sitting on the carpet in the living room, and I had my head in her lap.
I was deep in that existential angst:
“What’s my gift? What’s my tool?”
I said, “Carpenters have their hammers, artists have their paintbrushes... What’s mine?”
I didn’t have an answer then.
But just last week, a friend shared a cartoon with me:
Summer Camp Island.
There’s a character named Oscar. All his friends have magical gifts — except him.
He feels left out. Ordinary. Unsure.
So he goes to a shark therapist (obviously) who gives him memory goggles.
Through them, he sees: he’s been swimming in magic this whole time.
In fact, his friends’ gifts shine brighter when they’re around him.
That moment hit me.
Because honestly?
I think my magic is that: I create spaces for joy and creativity to come alive.
Not always alone. But with others. Through play.
And this, maybe, is the real lesson of fear.
Not to fight it.
Not to suppress it.
But to face it with friends.
With a little irreverence.
With a Monkey King smirk.
And a reminder that the gifts we bring are often invisible… until someone reflects them back.
So thank you to my brother.
To MK.
To Oscar and the shark therapist.
And to all of you—
co-creators of the world we want to live in.
Enjoy this week’s episode.
And tell me:
What courage do you need today?
🌀🐒✨
p.s. for peak nostalgia, my mom found this photo of me dressed up as MK when we lived in Canada.
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