The Future is Pro-Choice

With gas prices on a runaway train and corporations making record profits during a recession, there isn’t really much for voters on the left to get fired up about this next election.

Or, at least, that was the case until the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent reversal of  Roe v. Wade.

Now even Republicans are ready to march in blue.

It’s not going to make me too popular to say this but, as an Independent voter who knows how these games are often played, I’m not too worried about the Roe v. Wade reversal. I see it as an open door to move a woman’s access to reproductive healthcare into this century — rather than relying on the dated, and somewhat problematic, Roe v. Wade case.

Progress is a pendulum. As a society, we rarely get things right out of the gate and it is typical to overcorrect one way – then the other – before we find homeostasis and a communal balance in the middle.

And sensibilities have definitely changed in the decades since Roe v. Wade made history. So have perspectives on what it means to be Pro-Life and Pro-Choice.

Pro-Life & Pro-Choice in the 20th Century

Once upon last century, you could get away with voting “Pro-Life” if you were voting for your own conscience. If you would never get an abortion, it was considered fair to vote accordingly to express your values as part of a community standard.

Back then, if you voted “Pro-Choice,” the social assumption was that you were a person who might want to get an abortion at some point and were voting for your right to do so.

Those standards are gone.

Pro-Life in 2022

Today, if you are “Pro-Life,” you believe that any healthy woman who gets pregnant should be required to carry the baby to term. Full stop.

You believe you have the right to make moral choices for your neighbor.

You argue that a pregnant woman made her choice when she had sex (or had sex forced upon her) – even if:

  • the contraception she used at the time failed
  • she isn’t ready to be a mother
  • the father isn’t one she’d choose for a child
  • she just had a night of fun that didn’t turn out as planned
  • the child has a medical condition that indicates and short, challenging life
  • … whatever

If you are Pro-Life today, the position you must defend is that any woman who finds herself pregnant has lost her right to not be a mother. She must carry the child to term and either raise it herself or grant the child to an agency to sell to someone else through adoption.

She cannot choose to terminate the pregnancy.

If you are Pro-Life, you consider voluntary termination unethical and unnatural, even though the child in her womb might naturally self-abort during any stage of the pregnancy – first trimester … second trimester … third trimester … stillborn.

All of these are outcomes that might be chosen for the mother by natural selection but, if you are Pro-Life, you believe that the mother has no right to make this decision herself.

Only God or nature can terminate a pregnancy. Not her.

That is the ground you must defend if are Pro-Life in 2022: That you’d never do it so neither can anyone else.

By law.

If a woman becomes pregnant and is capable of carrying a baby to term, she must. Period. If she doesn’t, she is a criminal and subject to prosecution.

Pro-Choice in 2022

If you are Pro-Choice, you believe that a woman should have a choice in if she becomes a mother, when, and with whom.

Perhaps you would never personally get an abortion yourself, but you acknowledge that as your choice and allow that the world is a diverse place with people in all types of circumstances.

You understand that women become pregnant under all sorts of scenarios– some desirable and some less desirable. You believe a woman has a right to a “Reset” button when it comes to whether or not she is tied to a man, a child, or a memory for the rest of her life.

You allow for all sorts of scenarios when determining whether it’s the right time for a woman to have a baby. Maybe:

  • she went out for a night of fun and walked away with more than she planned for
  • she’s being abused and doesn’t know how to stop it
  • she tried to break up with a guy and he got her pregnant to lock her in
  • she’s madly in love but not ready for parenthood
  • she already has children and doesn’t have the ability to support more
  • … anything

If you are Pro-Choice in 2022, you believe that a woman has a right to look at her own situation, say, “Not now,” and receive professional, safe, respectful care.

Those are the lines in the sand.

Current Community Standards are Overwhelmingly Pro-Choice

Anyone is welcome to stand wherever they like on the issue but if you imagine that the majority of U.S. citizens don’t believe in a woman’s right to say “Not now” when it comes to having a baby, you are incorrect.

Gen X, Gen Y, and Gen Z are all overwhelmingly Pro-Choice. It is a majority-held cultural value now.

This is why I’m certain that the reversal of Roe v. Wade is simply setting the stage for a massive pendulum swing away from anything that looks like a Handsmaid’s Tale.

When history looks back on this moment, I feel confident it will say that the Supreme Court Justices actually did the Pro-Choice movement a huge favor. Why?

Because the U.S. Supreme Court just swung the pendulum back to the 1980s in the middle of a generation that was raised by Gen X.

And no one raised in the 1980s wants to go back to those talking points. They’ve seen how they play out and are not interested in a replay.

The course correction on allowing a woman to decide when and if she becomes a mother will be swift. I’d argue that the only thing democrats have to worry about is that it will be so swift that it won’t impact the upcoming elections in the way they prefer.

Not that it should anyway.

Democratic leadership has had more than enough time and opportunities to solidify Roe v. Wade into law over the past half century. But they haven’t – mostly because they still like it as a single-voter-issue bargaining chip.

And their voters know it.

I personally don’t know a single democrat who doesn’t see the Left’s failure of leadership in this area as intentional manipulation of a hot-topic issue. They’ve lost faith in any politician — except maybe AOC — doing anything and are simply ready to make the change themselves.

They’ll do this in many different ways, but one of the ways I’m most interested in watching is how they’re going to start making Jury Nullification a thing.

Because it’s totally going to start being a thing if women and doctors start getting prosecuted in restrictive states.

If you’re unfamiliar with jury nullification, it’s the finding of a jury that a law shouldn’t be a law and, therefore, even if the person on trial is technically guilty of breaking every letter of it, the accused is not in the wrong.

The law is.

Jury nullification puts the law on trial, not the person. And you’d better bet it will become a rampant phenomenon if mothers and doctors start getting prosecuted for terminating pregnancies according to unforgiving state laws.

Today’s generation waits for no politician. They are more than willing to subvert the system themselves. In fact, they’re chomping at the bit to do it.

Change is Coming

So if you are Pro-Life and you’re celebrating, you can stop now. The U.S. Supreme Court did your cause no favors this summer.

The good news is that you still have a right to carry all your pregnancies to term. The bad news is that community standards no longer support you making that decision for your neighbor.

If you are Pro-Choice, congratulations. It may not look like it, but the winds just shifted massively in your favor.

If current, impotent leaders don’t step up, it doesn’t matter. Community standards are on your side and you can rewrite the laws yourself without wasting your time, money, and effort marching for the attention of politicians — only to have them workshop your talking points into rallying speeches intended to draw your support as they continue to avoid taking action.

That old-school merry-go-round is a dying model and the new model is to replace anyone not taking action.

Be bold, or get out.

And a women’s right to choose just might be the issue that gets this new model organized and ready to take on an entitled establishment.

We shall see.

Regardless, the future will be Pro-Choice.

The good news is that anyone can still be Pro-Life – they just can’t make their neighbor be Pro-Life … just like their neighbor can’t force them to be Pro-Choice.

Because who wants their neighbors deciding if they have a baby or an abortion?

No one.

And that’s why the future is Pro-Choice.

Diving Light

Remember,
we are not here to ascend;
we are here to dive like stars
into the abyss of night
until darkness surrounds us
so we can release our light
— unveiling the unknown
and bringing it into sight.

No, we are not here to retreat
to the glory of our former homes
but to transcend the void like adventurers
mapping paths to greater roads.

So, dive, my stars!
Descend to unconquered depths
to plant your beacon
on the path to what’s next.

Sincerely,
Sheralyn

Do You Have a Brand -OR- Are You the Brand?

A few nights ago, a friend issued me a challenge:

“Meditate on what you take for granted; question your assumptions.”

Turns out, this mindset is pretty much a bottomless well for self-assessment.

Because — I don’t know about you — but I’ve developed a lot of assumptions over the years … many of which are long past their expiration date for needing revisiting.

For example, at the beginning of my career, I accepted the argument that:

It is an author’s job to write to a branded experience;
if an author wants to switch audiences or ratings, a pen name is appropriate.

Since that day, I have never challenged the assumption that this was a requirement of me.

But what if I was wrong? 😲

What if I can write anything I want under my own name? 🤯

It seems like such a silly question to type on the screen in front of me because, of course, I can write whatever I want under my own name.

Duh.

In fact, I should!

So I’m going to do something different this year: I’m going to challenge my assumption that I’m supposed to create branded experiences and simply create.

Stop trying to be a brand, and simply be.

This may sound simple to some of you from the younger generations, but I’m Gen X — we were raised to find purpose in performing well in a role and got in trouble if we made things uncomfortable for anyone with seniority.

So it’s no wonder that the idea of splitting myself up into branded experiences made sense across the years. I was simply being considerate to the comfort of an audience’s experience … while coming across as completely schizophrenic in the process.

Seriously.

If you’ve been watching me these past two weeks, you’ve seen how I’ve struggled to turn myself into a predictable, branded experience.

I’ve given you 5 headers in 2 weeks as I tested different visions on people around me.

On January 1, 2022, I was the Coach of Champions:

But then I decided I needed to CREATE a character for my coaching and billed myself as the $5 Storyteller.

Then there was the $5 Bard — similar concept, but with an even-more targeted experience.

Then there was Z Bard for a few beats.

Sheralyn Pratt is Z Bard in 2022

No lies, ALL of these tested horribly.

Response the concepts were universally flat. And that was because I was not understanding my own assignment.

All because I had an assumption.

This was the assumption:

I am not a model, but I have the skillsets to build models.

I have believed this for actual decades.

But what if I was wrong this whole time?

So that’s what I will be exploring in 2022 as part of the Main Character Energy journey I am sharing with you.

I’m just going to be me … even if I end up doing things that surprise you.

Because surprising you just might be my brand. And who would ever want to trade that in for a predictable experience?

So … the new header is this:

I am the model and this is my storytime.

And I’m going to follow my heart from here.

The Trick You Need to Succeed in 2022

A good coach knows what moves you need to perform to put yourself on the podium each year.

A coach with online business sense will trade your email address for an industry secret, then engage with you to dive deeper and pay for specific strategies.

Good coaching
+ a solid sales funnel

=
the path to success for many

I’m more one to take the guerilla approach to coaching — starting out wherever I am and practicing what I preach so you can track my success real-time.

My goal in 2022 is to get you to tip me $5 to light up my Yellow Brick Wall.

But we’ll come back to that in a minute.

Right now, I want to talk about how you have an unprecedented opportunity to upgrade your life in 2022.

With just a few adjustments to how you approach social media, you’ll be at your next New Year’s party thinking:

Young backlit local boy standing by the ocean in Tahiti with a golden sunset and a sailboat in the background
You on the last day of 2022

And I’ll be your coach in getting there.

As your online mindset coach, I’m going to do what ANY good coach would do and share a winning move that will get you on the podium in 2022—no matter your field.

Ready?

Finding success in 2022 is all about showing up with strong main character energy (MCE).

You’re going to start seeing this term everywhere — hashtags, comment sections, and demonstrated in nearly every person you follow.

Authentically sharing your life experience from a position of power is your winning formula for shining bright this year.

If you want to upgrade your life in 2022, you need to embrace your authentic story.

The BIG Question: What does your MCE look like?

A key reason main character energy is going to be so big in 2022 is: When properly expressed, MCE looks different on everyone.

PRO TIP:
If 2 people’s MCE is identical,
then 1 of them is mimicking.

And after two years of intermittent quarantines filled with unpredictable highs and lows,

fitting in is OUT
&
standing out is IN

Knowing this, different coaches are going to guide you to stand out in different ways.

As your coach, I’m going to invite you to explore ideas via art, comics, and stories, then ask you to show up in unambiguous ways like lighting up my Yellow Brick Wall.

Why?

Because, in life, we either show up or we don’t.

When we don’t show up, it’s often because something along the line has taught us to be afraid and we’ve convinced ourselves that our fear is greater than we are.

Releasing our side-character/NPC qualities can be a journey — especially if we believe lifting others to be part of our core value.

Yet main characters don’t walk around lifting other people up; they raise others up by modeling how things can be better. Then they meet you as equals when you develop the flex to meet them on the main stage.

So …

PLOT TWIST

… as your coach in 2022, this year is no different for me than for you. I also need to embrace my main character energy, otherwise, what credibility do I have with you?

So …

… this is how it’s is going to work …

… in the year 2022, I’m embracing my energy by rebranding myself as:

The $5 Storyteller

I’m choosing this in response to a dare I got on my birthday to stop being such a digital recluse and start genuinely participating online.

My Friend’s Challenge: “Just start showing up and I bet you could get 100,000 people to tip you $5 bucks before your next birthday IF you just do what you do in-person online.”

Is my friend right?

There’s only one way to find out and I’ve never turned down a birthday dare (although I may have to now that the secret is out), so

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!

So that’s what I’ll be doing on the front end of things.

I will be the $5 Storyteller ALL of 2022

But there will be a BTS side of things.

Join the Adventure

Ask anyone who’s ever been coached by me and they’ll tell you I’m not one to gatekeep information.

My approach is to:

  • give you a full picture of what you need to succeed
  • make sure you understand the assignment, and
  • provide information and opportunities that put you in a position to perform, learn, and grow

If this kind of coaching is for you, supporting me on Patreon also might be right for you.

I will process large amounts of information down into bite-sized “high-level” action items anyone can do — often simmering things down to a one-page worksheet, where possible.

I’ll share with you what I’m doing and how I’m doing it while providing you with shortcuts and worksheets to help you expedite the process yourself.

If this sounds like BTS info you can put to use, support me on Patreon.

Otherwise, find me on Twitter and Instagram for Main Character Energy for the rest of the year.

Watch my journey to see how I get 100,000 people to tip me $5 before my next birthday.

You can tip me anytime you like using Venmo:

Tip me anytime to light up bricks on my Yellow Brick Wall

The Yellow Brick Wall will document my engagement and become a visual record of my 2022 Main Character Energy.

So much dark atm BUT a HUGE THANKS to Christine, Elizabeth, and Kelly for getting the glow-up ball rolling! 💜

So let the fun begin and I look forward to meeting you all on the Main Stage!

Ringing In 2022: Year of the IndiGOAT

Do you feel it?

… that feeling in the air that 2022 holds the potential for being your most expansive and memorable year ever?

I feel it.

This is the year for showing up like you never have before. It’s about:

  • unpacking all your unused skills & talents from mental storage
  • revisiting your potential
  • overcoming doubt to unlock new possibilities

2022 is a year for tuning into yourself, releasing that which weighs you down, rediscovering what you’re really made of, and shining on levels you’ve only dreamed of before.

I am committed to having the best year of my life so far, and I’m officially hanging my shingle to help you do the same:

Sheralyn Pratt
LIFE COACH

That’s right. I’m Coach Sheralyn again and I’ll be offering coaching in online posts and digital offerings along with in-person, one-on-one sessions.

How can you connect with me in 2022?

  1. Schedule in-person, 1-on-1 coaching sessions with me (location: Sandy, Utah)
  2. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram to inspire yourself to new heights & challenge “stuck” thinking
  3. Support me on Patreon for unique perks & digital content
  4. Light up the Yellow Brick Wall to document our 2022 journey

Now let’s take a closer look at each of these.

In-person, 1-on-1 Coaching

Treat yourself when you schedule a session with me to strategize your success.

If you have a vision for the future, I am here to assist your transition from dreams to a new reality.

Our theme for 2022:

Rise. Leap. Shine.

And the spirit animal of the year is the indiGOAT

IndiGOAT: The Official Mascot of 2022

If you’ve never heard of an indiGOAT before, that’s understandable. IndiGOATs are creatures of legend in my Z world — a fictional land you will become more familiar with in 2022.

You can read Z LEGEND OF THE indiGOAT here (3-minute read) but, for now, know that indiGOATs are the totem for fearlessly rising into your potential while taking brilliant leaps of faith.

If that sounds like a superpower you want to unlock this year, schedule a session with me.

All of us rise, leap, and shine differently so sit down with me and let’s find your groove.

BONUS: The FIRST 10 people to book will get their session for $10!

Why $10? Because I currently share space at a local business and you pay $10 to them when you book your appointment. This covers their overhead and reserves our room at the date/time you choose & is non-refundable.

The 10 people who claim $10 sessions must:

  • book by December 31, 2021
  • set an appointment in the month of January 2022

In lieu of payment, I will ask these 10 people to write a quick testimonial of their coaching experience and the benefits they think I provide.

I’ve been terrible at collecting testimonials from people across the years, so this is the perfect chance to benefit from my oversight.

The regular price for sessions is $75/hr and you can check the pinned tweet on my Twitter to see if FREE spots are still available before you book.

Follow Me on Twitter & Instagram (& #ComingSoon: TikTok)

Social media is the perfect place to follow me if you want free micro-coaching throughout 2022.

Follow my Twitter account if you want links to resources and ongoing updates for what’s new the moment it happens.

Follow me!

Follow my Instagram account if you want daily thoughts designed to help you imagine things in new ways.

Follow me!

I haven’t gone all-in on TikTok yet, but the plan is to use it as more dynamic, interactive space where I will answer questions, go LIVE, and get over my aversion to cameras:

It’s gonna be fun!

Support Me On Patreon

I know, I know. I’m like a decade late to this party but that doesn’t mean I’m not a great host.

My Patreon donors light up bricks on the Yellow Brick Wall each month (read more on that in the next section) and vote to make projects happen.

Image of Pimpernel series covers
For example: You could vote for Book 4

This is a great option for anyone who wants to influence what projects and do/don’t work on in 2022.

  • Want podcasts from me?
  • Want me to finish a story like Trick Six?
  • Want the 4th Pimpernel book?
  • Want me to create tutorials on certain topics?
  • Want to pitch a pet project all your own?

This is where you start the dominoes falling and fund projects that are already in the works.

Patreon supporters can suggest & vote for what I work on. Different tiers also give you FREE access to content that everyone else will pay retail for.

Check out my Patreon page to see which tier is right for you!

Light Up the Yellow Brick Wall

Last but not least: It’s time to light up the Yellow Brick Wall.

What is the Yellow Brick Wall?

The Yellow Brick Wall is a fictional art installation in a story I made up that I’ve decided to bring into the real world.

In fiction, everyone who visits Z Labyrinth (a novella I’ll release later this year) passes along the Yellow Brick Wall.

The stones of the Yellow Brick Wall are actually gold, but visitors can paint over the gold with any images or words they want. Nothing is forbidden, but there is one catch:

The only colors accepted are black and white. No greys, no colors.

“The Black-and-White on the Yellow Brick Wall” then becomes an immortal record of the mindset of visitors who find their way to Z Labyrinth in different times and locations.

In fiction, you need to make a pretty epic journey to find the wall and paint on it, but I will be lighting up bricks to create a digital reflection of the journey we take together across the year.

HERE’S HOW IT WORKS:

This is a close-up of how the bricks look before you light them up:

Each $5 lights up a brick with your name on it:

Your first $5 gets your name (first name, last initial) on a brick in the far-right column of the wall.

sample panel of the yellow brick wall

Additional bricks are best sponsored in groups of three (because their pattern is woven in groups of three) and unlock your ability to add custom text or images over the bricks in black-and-white.

Unlock the ability to post custom black-and-white text/images when you sponsor 60 or more bricks. (Minimize size requirements exist in an effort to make sure your image/text is visible on different sizes of screens. See image above.)

Post any image you like on 60 (or more) bricks, including:

  • Your logo
  • Signed personal art
  • An advertisement
  • A promo offer good for the year of 2022
  • Any thought or idea you want on record in a time capsule
  • & MORE

The Yellow Brick Wall is going to be featured on the landing page of my website ALL YEAR, so keep that in mind as you choose what to feature and how to use the bricks you paint on.

IMPORTANT NOTE: All posts are final.

  • No edits
  • No re-touching
  • No altering images in any way after they are posted

Your imagination is the limit!

NOTE: Technically speaking, explicit and objectionable content is allowed, but I will exercise judgment of what shows on the landing page of my website, considering all ages are welcome.

If you’re confused as to how the wall works, the concept will make more sense as you watch it light up.

For now, simply know that it’s fulfilling its purpose when it evolves into a graffiti wall that you enjoy visiting across the year.

Join the Fun

2022 is the year of unlimited potential and new self-expression. And I’m here for you whether you need a sherpa on the path or a Yellow Brick Wall to advertise on.

Make this year amazing by choosing to:

Rise. Leap. Shine.

… while knowing I’m right there with you, coaching and showing up real-time.

Z Legend of the IndiGOAT

IndiGOAT definition:

a one-horned goat; a mythical creature similar to a unicorn, except it’s a mighty mountain goat with an ever-revolving Mobius strip serving as its single horn.

Z Legend of the IndiGOAT

THE LEGEND

Once upon this one time, there was an indiGOAT. 

​And this indiGOAT did what all indiGOATs do: It traveled the world seeking sheer cliffs and towering peaks as it climbed and it leaped on its star-shaped hoofed feet.

For just as squirrels gather nuts and bees build a hive, indiGOATs jump and climb every day they’re alive. 

It’s what they live for and how they are built. They jump and they climb, and they leap and they rise, until they reach a chasm that makes them pause and think twice.

For some peaks have puzzles where there should be a plane, and it’s an indiGOAT’s purpose is to make the leap all the same.

One day, as the indiGOAT lept along, it felt the earth shake, followed by an avalanche of earth that left no doubt the landscape had changed.

Following instinct, the indiGOAT changed course to investigate.

What the indiGOAT found was a glorious sight: a new peak—sheer as death—that had formed overnight! 

In all its days, the indiGOAT had never seen a puzzle so daunting, and stopped in its tracks to keep its sure feet from faulting. 

At first glance, reaching this new summit seemed an impossible feat, yet indiGOATs are born knowing what “i’m possible” means. 

So the indiGOAT found a clear spot with some grass and a view before taking a quick nap to dream up what it could do. Yet the dreams didn’t help and it awoke with no clue.

Once again, the indiGOAT gazed at the peak up ahead. Then a squirrel came along, shaking its head.

“Can you believe it?” the squirrel gawked. “Have you ever seen such a peak? Even birds who approach it have yet to land on their feet.”

And as the indiGOAT gazed up at the summit with its compass-shaped eyes, it understood how a bird might get lost in its flight. For the formation was a bit mystical—like a tunnel into the sky.

At last, a true challenge, the indiGOAT beamed, entertaining impossible thoughts. For it knew there must be a way to land securely on top.

“Wolves and scavengers are gathering at the bottom,” the squirrel said. “It’s quite a buffet where the climbers’ bodies plummet.”

Sure enough, the indiGOAT saw vultures and ravens circling near the base on the new mountain, and knew four-footed creatures must also be there in abundance.

And it knew the longer it waited, the more creatures would die. For it was an indiGOAT’s purpose to mark the path of great heights. 

Yet it couldn’t jump until it saw the plane of a path, so it settled on eating a breakfast of grass.

“It can’t be done,” a hawk said from high in the sky. “It’s like an abyss with no bottom in sight.”

And the indiGOAT saw what the hawk meant, even as it knew that could not be true. For no peak was topless—as a jump would soon prove.

So the indiGOAT spent the day hopping around, seeking a spot that would be good starting ground.

​“It’s hopeless,” an ibex said as it made its way down. “There is no way to go over. We all must go around.”

Next came the humans, with their spikes and their ropes, and those who didn’t fall packed their bags and went home.

“It can’t be done; move along,” a doe said at the dawn of a new day. “There’s a lush, relaxing valley just beyond the horizon. Follow me! I know the way.”

Yet the indiGOAT declined to join the doe on its path to smooth green, for valleys of bounty are not an indiGOAT’s thing. 

Instead, it climbed and it climbed with its eyes trained on the summit in the sky.

“Turn around,” the hawk said, banking east in its flight. “This peak cannot be touched. Trust me, I have tried.”

Yet the indiGOAT climbed and it lept until it came to a spot where the peak came into focus on the ledge of a precipice. 

​“Scavengers await!” the tenacious squirrel said. “All who have jumped have ended up dead.”​

Yet the path was now clear, even if the incline was steep. It would require the bravest of hearts and the longest of leaps.

“I’ve never feasted on indiGOAT before,” a vulture said, flying by. “Today is my day to watch one drop from the sky!”

The indiGOAT made no reply—it just kept its eye on the path and lept out of sight.

Then nailed the landing on the needlepoint of a peak on the other side. 

Below, all the creatures seemed to share a collective gasp.

And for a few serene moments, the indiGOAT took in the sublime view.

Then it grew impatient to move on.

For now that it had ascended, there was the whole issue of getting back down, and on the sheer face below footholds were few to be found.

“I can’t believe it,” said the hawk as it circle around. “You made it! And now I see how it can be done.”

Soon the hawk was joined by other fowls and, as they made their loops, the indiGOAT spotted a path down. 

So it made its descent then bounded on to the next mountain.

Movie Review: Matrix Resurrections – A Compelling Evolution of a Rich Canon

If there was a positive review to send me in the days leading up to the release of Matrix Resurrections, Google didn’t find it. I’ll bet I got close to two dozen push notifications of negative reviews, one neutral headline, and not a single positive one.

So this review goes out to all those who want to read a review from someone who didn’t get up on the wrong side of the bed the day they saw Matrix Resurrections.

Matrix Resurrections might be the most indulgent-yet-cerebral love story I’ve ever seen on a screen.

It’s a story of hearts having to pass through the weaponized illusion of the mind to find the truth buried deep in their soul. From there, everyone has the same decision: Trust your mind, or follow your heart?

It’s deep waters.

If you’re a writer like me, the integrity of the Wachowski canon is a wonder that weaves its characters and plotlines together like a spider web.

Matrix Resurrections is brilliant filmmaking and I dare say that the only people on this planet who have the right to say otherwise are people like the Nolan brothers, Stephen Spielberg, and other greats who have succeeded at the same level.

The plot is tight.

The conflict is real.

The music is an evolution—combining traditional instruments with digital sounds to create a signature symphony that will still be recognizable a century from now.

The characters are solid — including the additions:

Brilliant. All of them. Including Bugs, not pictured.

The story evolves and leaves the characters on a new stage with new goals—albeit in a way that sets up anyone but the Wachowskis to make a total stinker of a follow-up.

This is their baby—periodt—even if only one of them is directing and writing, like Lana did with this installment.

By way of critique, I will say that there is one fight scene that is distractingly bad in its choreography, costuming, and filming angles.

I don’t know why, since these are all things the Wachowskis excel at. All I can say is that one thing we don’t talk about enough with the first movie is the quiet brilliance with which Lawrence Fishburne pulled off the physicality of Morpheus.

Fishburne left serious shoes to fill and they weren’t filled for the fight scenes of this movie.

Another critique I’ll add is there are about 5-10 minutes of this movie where the narrative and exposition seem to intentionally break the fourth wall and get really meta with the audience. It’s like Lana Wachowski is whispering behind her hand to you in your seat and, in that space, she drops a lot of lines that are likely to trigger different types of people.

I would need to watch the movie again to count how many types of people have triggers waiting for them in that window of the movie, but it’s pretty equal-opportunity in its pushing the audience to get defensive enough to flip off characters on the screen like Neo did in that one screen when he was talking to the Architect in the second movie.

Neo channeling you during this part of the movie

It feels intentional—flagrant, even—and I’m guessing it’s why so many reviewers summed up their experience like they’d just been forced to sit through a 2-hour dirty diaper.

My advice is this: If you are severely triggered in the first half of the movie, based on dialog you feel is a personal attack, let it go. Don’t let the Matrix have you.

Keep going and watch the genesis of a bold, new love story told to the soundtrack of an evolving symphony that is a character unto itself.

The Wachowskis are geniuses. And geniuses don’t care if you like them or not. They can’t. Part of being a pioneer is leaving others behind and letting them catch up in their own time.

In my opinion, Matrix Resurrections is a brilliant reboot with an interesting story to tell that 99.99% of anyone would screw up. But everything the Wachowskis have done in the past tells me they—together, or apart—can build where they left off, and I can’t wait to see where the story goes.

My opinion: Matrix Resurrections is going to age well.

Reviewers who crapped on it are going to eat their words over time and multiple viewings.

It is a love story for nerds and an epic of soulmates.

And this viewer loved every layer of it and looks forward to watching it again soon.