Kyle Matthew: A Profound Exchange of Witty Love

We are not only physical beings or just vibrations; we are not just physically focused, but constantly connected to the stream of energy that we often refer to as God, Divine, or Universe. We are the Life-Force that manifests through our physicality, bringing in the balance of steadiness within the movement that includes everything and everyone. This inclusiveness, this process that blends it all together, summons a fuller and fuller love, which is infinite in its nature, and from that perspective—We All Are One.

Everything is interwoven in the Universe. When an idea is born within us, all collaborative components are ready to gather together to crystalize it.  Originally from Dallas, Texas, the artist Kyle Matthew, talks about his experience as an athlete and how it helped him in the co-creative process as an actor. He said, “The collaborative nature of sports and how that carries over to any form of storytelling has greatly contributed to my acting career. I think often, there’s a big misconception about actors that they perform and do everything themselves and that they deserve all of the credit and praise. But in reality, as the cliché goes, it takes a village. And behind every great performance is an incredible cast and crew, incredible ensembles, incredible directors, incredible writers, incredible producers, incredible publicists—all in to make everything that the world sees possible. So, I would say that appreciating the collaborative and team nature of storytelling is a direct result of my time in organized sports growing up.”

Sometimes when we get a bit too overwhelmed, it’s nice to remind ourselves that there is nothing so serious going on, and what could be best than a smile or a good laugh. This will place us towards a softer sense of any situation that will most naturally shift into a solution. Kyle describes himself as “a goofball who loves deep conversations.”

The continual dance through our attention from the physical Self and our God-like non-physical perspective is what brings expansion. All our experiences are beneficial; they all give birth to new clarity, new wanting, and new exciting ways to discover how to bring these desires to life throughout our journey. “So, here’s something about me: I am always aspired to live in adherence to a growth mindset. I’m just beginning, and I have so much to learn. So, as I continue to live the world with a curious and open mind and an open heart, my awareness is and hopefully will always be expanding, realizing that my limited life experience doesn’t encapsulate or speak for all the other lived experiences of the other people that live on this Earth. So, my awareness has definitely continued to grow, learning more about the systemic inequalities for underrepresented communities. I realized how the pandemic has affected our ability to connect with one another and how we wouldn’t have made it this far without the essential workers and incredible people making such waves in health and medicine to help us get back to normalcy, hopefully. Whatever that is, and hopefully, whatever that normal becomes, is normal that is kinder and more inclusive,” Kyle shares.

Inclusiveness starts with oneself. To be kind is easy because it feels much better than being the opposite.

Faith in yourself is the starting point for a joyful discovery of the details of what we desire to accomplish. Kyle says, “I’m a big quote guy. My people around me, my siblings, my friends give me a hard time because I’m like a walking quote book. But I love the proverb that ‘The person who says they can and the person that says I can’t, are both usually right.’ So, I think that having faith in yourself is paramount. One of the greatest gifts of this career path I’ve chosen is that I believe that to be the best storyteller, best performer possible, the exploration of self and the love of oneself positively and healthily is vital in terms of telling authentic stories. Therefore, I believe if you don’t have faith, and don’t have hope, then you don’t have much at all. I think it’s important for any person to have faith in themselves. I know that’s easier said than done but for me personally, 100% having faith in myself is what has kept me on this path and continue to follow my dreams.”

A brilliant inspirational teacher once said, “A belief is just thought that you keep thinking.” Our patterns of thoughts define how we perceive the world. It also fuels our actions and ultimately shapes the story we tell ourselves about our life. The feeling of worrisome is an indication that we are creating in the opposite direction of what we want. To be aware of that is just enough to start gently finding softer thoughts, and we will know that the shift is happening because we will also start to feel better.

“I’ve recently gotten into manifesting myself, and there’s this book that I’m reading. It touches on the idea how our minds don’t know the difference between a truth and a lie. So, whatever we tell ourselves enough times, we’re going to believe. I believe there’s how this can be used in a self-loving, self-caring way. What I mean is that often when we experience anxiety, the anxiety is telling us stories that don’t make us feel good and are not rooted in reality. A lot of times, they’re scenarios that we think might happen or may not happen. So, if we’re going to be listening to untrue realities created by our minds, we might as well tell ourselves stories and make ourselves feel good. So, for as long as we’re not doing it at the expense of others. But I believe it’s important to strive for excellence as if success is inevitable while also having patience and grace. All these things are easier said than done but I believe morals and values aren’t a checklist; they’re more of a compass to aspire to live by,” Kyle speaks about the power of thoughts and imagination.

But what is the success of manifesting your dreams without enjoying every step along the way?

Kyle is currently filming Disney’s Bunk’d. Although he couldn’t reveal much about this project, this is how he describes his emotional state of being in connection to booking this role, “I feel so incredibly fortunate to have cast in such a notable show as Disney’s Bunk’d and to have had the opportunity to work with such incredibly talented and kind artists both in front of and behind the camera. So, I would say my emotional state is gratitude. Unfortunately, I can’t discuss much of the specifics of the room, but I am totally comfortable saying that I had such an amazing time filming it and working with everyone, and it was so much fun, and I’m very excited for everyone to see it when it’s released.”

Playing the role of someone else is not just fun, but also beneficial to personal growth. Exploring so many different characters is the privilege that actors have to understand others and expand their sense of compassion. “I would say, another gift that being an artist forces you to develop is a sense of empathy. In order to authentically try to portray someone else’s experience that’s different from yours, you have to understand who they are with an empathetic, open, and non-judgmental mind. Because people often say, and it’s true, we’re all protagonists of our own story, and people see the world through that lens. So, I believe that evolving as an artist occurs in tandem with, and is influenced by evolving as a person and as an empath,” says Kyle.

Like many other talents, Kyle also loves to be involved in other creative disciplines such as writing and producing, which becomes an added valuable acting experience. “First of all, my limited experience of writing and producing has only strengthened my respect and admiration for people who write and produce. It’s such an incredibly challenging but rewarding job that is often underappreciated. So, shout out to all the writers and producers. And then, in terms of how it’s contributed to my skills as an actor, I believe, first and foremost, it constantly reminds me that the number one priority is the story. And that actors are there to serve the story as long as ever, in addition to everyone else on the production. So, in the kindest way possible, it reminded me that it’s not about me; it’s about the story and everyone involved. And that I’m just there to serve a role; a piece of the puzzle, as well, to help that story come to life.”

Kyle is continually creating opportunities for himself. He is also excited about another project. He says it is “a feature film that I got to act in. It’s another project in which I’m not allowed to expose its details or specifics, but what I can say is, it was another opportunity where I was able to work with some incredibly talented artists, and I’m very excited and grateful to have been in their company. I’m very much looking forward to when that’s coming out. And there also were a few other things that are on the rise that I can’t talk about, but I will be excited to share with everyone as they’re released.”

Curiosity is in the essence of discovering more about yourself and, by extension, the world around us. Kyle recognizes that “The part about myself that I’m most proud of is my curiosity, and my desire to continue to evolve and grow even though it’s not always easy. You know, I’m in therapy. I’m a big, big proponent of therapy, which is a luxury that I’m lucky enough to partake in. And I believe that self-love is the greatest gift we can give ourselves. Though, it’s something that I’m constantly working on. And that’s why I say you have to show up for yourself before you show up for others. I’m really proud of the fact that I feel like I’ve started doing that more and more in my life. And I appreciate that part of myself.”

We cannot but love ourselves. We can be aware or not that we are born with innate love and worthiness; however, we can’t help but be that love—it’s our essence. Kyle comments that, “I think that’s beautiful. I like to think that it is true we are at our innate form, we’re born with the feeling that we are enough, and we are worthy of great things and of love. And that is kind of often stripped away from us as a result of some of our experiences.”

There is nothing to prove to anyone; we don’t have to earn our worthiness as we are naturally born with it. Recognizing that we are love, knowing that it’s always available to us, is what we give to ourselves, and it is what we can also offer to others.

Photography // Ben Cope

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