I first heard about Mastin Kipp a few years ago at a festival in Santa Monica, when he was speaking with Elena Brower. That night, I checked out The Daily Love website for the first time and was so happy to find a place online that was so loving and supportive. And others have discovered the same thing; hundreds of thousands (maybe even millions at this point) of people check out the site or get the email every day! Over the years, I have heard bits and pieces of Mastin's story, so it was really cool to get the whole scoop in his fantastic new book, Daily Love: Growing Into Grace.
One thing that I find so refreshing about Mastin is his honesty; living in Hollywood, most people you run into are big talkers who are very concerned about how they are coming across and will never admit that they have made a mistake. Not so here; Mastin is very open with his struggles in relationships, addiction, and even his weight. The book details his journey from living the high life in the entertainment industry to crashing and burning, recovery, and finally finding his true calling..."Following your bliss," as Joseph Campbell, one of Mastin's heroes, would say.
If you have ever seen someone who is "doing all the right things" when it comes to spirituality but still behaves in a horrible way (that has been me at times), or if you have ever thought that it would be so easy to live a life that feels close to God if you could go to Bali or become a missionary in Africa (that has also been me), I think that Daily Love will resonate with you. In a way that is nonjudgmental and never preachy, Mastin intersperses tons of wisdom with his own path of walking from crisis to Grace. This is a deep read but also an easy one at the same time, and I love how Mastin managed to work in Ariana Huffington, Jesus, Oprah, Tony Robbins, The Empire Strikes Back, and Kim Kardashian along the way!
There were so many things that I bookmarked in Daily Love that I know I will come back to again and again for inspiration, and this was one of my favorites: "Yep, it sometimes takes nothing less than a life-shattering crisis to break up the soil and let Grace unfurl," writes Mastin on page 23. I also loved this, on page 21: "For if we can figure out how to relax, find our power, and learn from our difficulties, we can turn this out-of-control situation called life into something truly wonder-full." I also liked that Mastin does not encourage us to just pretend that pain does not exist, but rather to let it be our teacher and to transcend it. And in the midst of suffering, we can still look for and find those chance encounters in every day that are actually Divine encounters, or what Mastin calls "Godshots."
Whether you are dealing with a crisis or just feel a yearning for something more, read Daily Love. If you feel like the entire universe is against you, read this. If you admire those who use their struggles to help others and want to do the same, read this. Thank you, Mastin, for writing a book that is so transparent and helping the rest of us learn to uncover our gifts and share that with the world.
