Photo by Carla Cerati / Judith Malina and The Living Theatre performing Antigone in Italy, 1974

I just finished reading 50 years of journal entries by Judith Malina, who I wish I could have known.

My dad got me Full Moon Stages for Christmas, and I read it in two days. It is quite literally a brief journal entry for every full moon from July 1964 to July 2014. I can’t imagine a better way to account for the breakneck pace at which Judith Malina and The Living Theatre created work and performed. The reader experiences this work, the births and deaths of her family and closest friends, her activism, her celebrations, her adventures, her pain and, through it all, her force.

This woman lived the life that she created without apology. She was constantly doing what she loved with people she loved doing it with.

For years it feels like every month she was performing in a different city around the world, protesting injustice everywhere she went, while also preparing for the next show or tour. Just reading some of her recorded itinerary was exhausting! And ultimately inspiring.

Here’s to committing body and soul to always do what you love, and to helping as many people as possible while you do it. (Thanks for the book, dad!)

Closing with a classic that played as I was wrapping up this post.