Zen Hustler lessons from the ‘A Store Is Born’ film

Have you seen Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga in the new adaption film of A Star Is Born? Here’s the trailer… if nothing else just go see this film in theaters, the music in incredible.

Film synopsis: In the film, Bradley Cooper (also directs) and Lady Gaga fuse their considerable talents to depict the raw and passionate tale of Jack and Ally, two artistic souls coming together, on stage and in life. Theirs is a complex journey through the beauty and the heartbreak of a relationship struggling to survive.*

In addition to playing Ally in the film, Lady Gaga—performs original songs in the film with Cooper, which they wrote with a handful of artists, including Lukas Nelson (Willie Nelson’s son), Jason Isbell and Mark Ronson. The music is original and all vocals for the movie were recorded live during filming, some at live real concerts. It is a bold new original film that is truly instills many of the Zen Hustlers ethos we also believe in here.

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While seeing the film is really important to understanding the background meaning and depth to some of their new lyrics, we do feel they resound even without watching the dramatic musical film. Lady Gaga’s journey in the film, is all about keeping going, yet almost losing her dream of becoming a singer… she is a hustler for sure (mirroring her real journey to stardom). Early on we get to see her singing the french classic, La Vie En Rose, in a small lounge filled with cross-dressing male singers. She is flawless, raw and powerful.

Cooper’s character, Jack an aging rockstar randomly walks into her bar for yet another drink and luckily catches her french set… he is floored. Gaga plays full-out on this tiny stage, even laying over the bar at one point… she is surely not holding back. From there the well-paced film moves around and we get to start to see the hard work it takes to go from a struggling artist transforming into a music star in the modern context including; record deals, studio recordings, album creation, artist branding, then onto live concerts. This is the work of the talented modern artist/entrepreneur hustler. In the film she has support from her soon to be husband, Cooper and then Rez, her new music agent rep. Her journey is one she mirrors in real life and has taken her around the world and back.

When Cooper’s, Jack is not drunk he actually lives quite zen… he can articulate poignant moments offering people to trust in him. He is a true musical artist and understands he has to BE present and ‘be here’ with his fans to connect with them. Thus he resists new hearing aids so he can be more in tune with the fans at his concerts… he’s seeking connection with people.

“Listen to what you are saying, people want to hear what you have to say, that’s the stuff right there. Hey hey... take it in!”

— Bradley Cooper's - Jack

Jack’s dark side is when he to turns to ‘the drink’ and pain pills to deal with the hurt of his memories, he is surely way out of balance, often destroying relationships, moments and much more. Again, it’s a tragic reminder of the real crisis we’re now under with stars struggling with mental illness and then suicide in our modern life… intense overwhelm, stress, anxiety, pain and inner suffering. He’s a reminder to quickly regain our balance in this short precious life to appreciate the gifts we have right in front of us. Also, reminding us how so many wealthy and surface successful people out there seem to have it all together, but behind the curtains are breaths away from their last. We never really know what people are dealing with, we only see a tiny piece of their humanity puzzle, often a manipulated version for the public.

One new song sung by Bradley Cooper, really reminds us to let our old ways die, acting as a reminder of parts of ourselves we can surely choose to let go.

Maybe It’s Time - partial lyrics from the epic new song by Bradley Cooper.

Maybe it is time to let the old ways die…

Takes a lot to change a man, hell, it takes a lot to try

Maybe it’s time to let the old ways die

Nobody knows what waits for the dead

Some folks just believe in the things they’ve heard and the things they’ve read…

Nobody knows what waits for the dead…

It takes a lot to change your plans, hell, a train to change your mind

Maybe it’s time to let the old ways die

If we look at this one original song, we receive guidance to alter the past, change it… yet we can choose to also reframe in order to learn from it. Wise sages through the ages have reminded us to learn from our past, but for most of us we are doomed to either repeat it or even worse carry it’s heavy burden into our today, then into our futures. If we can truly let our old ways die; our old habits, thoughts, patterns, stories and modes… then we can open ourselves up to new growth. If we can’t let our old ways die we’re bound to cling to them, resulting in more repetition of our ‘old selves.'

None of us can truly evolve and transform if we are still living in dead man’s clothes (the past), we literally have to shed them off to put on new ones, otherwise we are literally trying to add the new over the old… creating bulk, burden and weight. It does not mean however, that we have to forget our life experiences and inner traits within that have helped shaped who we are now. At the end of the day, who we were is all just past, we are so much more than that. If we’re trapped by our past we can not truly break free or expect to evolve. Imagine your past is a snake skin… can you shed yours? The snake is still the same snake, but it realizes it is time to shed the old to make room for the new skin.

So be the snake, move through your life and trust your intuition when to let your old ways die.

What old ways can you shed?
What new meaning can you make out of the past?
How can you see yourself anew each day?

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* Read more at: astarisbornmovie.com

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