“Don’t be cheap with your love.”

This brilliantly simple Facebook status of Muffinhead Daehniffum, one of New York’s most beloved creatures of the night, really struck a chord with me the other day, as it’s been on my mind. What feelings do we hold back for fear of rejection? Who do we admire in our lives that we don’t fully express it to? When we feel love or extreme excitement, how do we edit our emotions to keep our cool?

I’m doing it right now! Are you? Aren’t we all? Observe how you are in your relationships, the loving truths you hold back, and the false fronts that take their place. What’s at risk? What could be possible if you took that risk? What would the world be like if everyone told each other exactly how much they loved them?

All color background photos – Citizen Chris

If there’s anyone who knows about risk, it’s Muffinhead and his entourage of individuals—like those who show at BANZAI!, his “art and performance mélange.” Co-hosted with Eric Schmalenberger at the Red Lotus Room for the last time on November 16th, it was a smorgasbord of glamorously risky business.

For example… Dolly Dharma, who signed every page of the bible and turned them into paper airplanes….

Amanda Lepore, who risked it all with a sex change at 17…

These kitties, performing one night only for a friend’s birthday…

Tracy Von Becker-Legge, who asserts that sex toys can indeed serve as home decor…

Jessica Lapidos, who has risked it all conjuring up a new mode of dressing. (But tonight, dressed for Muffinhead.)

And Muffin… who spends months bringing a costume or installation concept to vibrant, living, breathing life, who pours gallons of love into all he does, who inspires me with his relentless creation—and also, clearly, his Facebook posts.

But do sartorial and artistic risks give way to emotional risks of the heart?

Change your outfit, change the world… I do believe… YES.