My Travel JOURNAL

How DAYS’s Thaao Penghlis (ex-Tony/Andre) learned the concept of “the arrogance of a loser” during a trip to Greece

When I left my home on a journey to Europe, I knew that when I returned through that same door, something about me would have changed.

I discovered that crossing large bodies of water was the best way to objectively see where life has taken you so far. Being at a distance helps reveal what you cannot see developing inside the womb within your own walls. I believe that when a transformation is taking place, this practice demands willpower. If you allow your thoughts to flow without adjustment, you can easily spin into areas you’d prefer to avoid, especially when dealing with other people’s unrealized junk.

What came to mind was an incident that took place a few years ago when a veteran actor in a Saturday morning workshop completed a chosen scene to slight applause. As he sat at the edge of the stage, he began expressing — with an attitude — the reasons behind the choices he made that ended up failing his dramatic piece. The room fell silent. Our teacher, Milton, just stared back at the actor but after assessing the thespian’s remarks, without even a blink he simply responded, “You have the arrogance of a loser.”

The actor was stunned, so was the class. What did it mean? The answer seemed to have gone missing.