Dreams

The only opinion about your dream that really counts is yours.  The negative comments of others merely reflects their limitations not yours.  ~  Cynthia Kersey

I Touch the Sky


I reach to touch the sky

To ever expand my vision

And reach.

I touch the stars

And gently pull a star

To my heart;

Oh! The dreams within me

Become forever imprinted on my heart

I cradle my dreams within

And nurture them;

They can come true because

I touch the sky.


Copyright (c)  2014  Suzannah Wolf Walker   all rights reserved

Attitude

Source:  www.google.com

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.  Attitude, to me, is more important than facts  It is more important the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do.  It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill.  It will make or break a company . . . a church . . .a home.  The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.  We cannon change our past . . . we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way.  We cannot change the inevitable.  The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.  I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.  And so it is with you . . . we are in charge of our Attitudes."

~ Charles Swindell

www.google.com

Copyright (c)  2014  Suzannah Wolf Walker   all rights reserved

Another tribute to Robin Williams

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O Captain! My Captain!

From the film: The Dead Poet's Society

BY WALT WHITMAN

O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,

The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won,

The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,

While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;

                         But O heart! heart! heart!

                            O the bleeding drops of red,

                               Where on the deck my Captain lies,

                                  Fallen cold and dead.

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;

Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills,

For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding,

For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;

                         Here Captain! dear father!

                            This arm beneath your head!

                               It is some dream that on the deck,

                                 You’ve fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still,

My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will,

The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done,

From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;

                         Exult O shores, and ring O bells!

                            But I with mournful tread,

                               Walk the deck my Captain lies,

                                  Fallen cold and dead.

I don't think the death of an artist and performer has ever resonated so much with us  as the the passing of Robin Williams.  I think most Americans felt his passing in their hearts and souls because he made us laugh and he made us think with the dramatic roles he played on the screen.  His photo, articles about him and television news reports about him are everywhere.  Entire magazine editions have been created in his honor.  The last time I remember this much coverage of a death is the death of President John F. Kennedy.  Yes, Robin Williams is of Camelot.  He represents the best of  America.  He represents the best of the gifted and talented.

Probably because I am a teacher, my favorite role of his is as the teacher in "Dead Poet's Society."  His portrayal of the nonconformist teacher who would rather be fired than compromise in his beliefs in his students ability to rise to any heights they wanted to, his strong belief in his unorthodox teaching methods, and his inspiring his students to challenge the notions of what is expected of them, resonated with me as a teacher.

Carpe diem!

Broken Hearts

Source:  www.picshunger.com  

Torn and broken  hearts

within a circle;

Crying out for help.

See me, notice me!

I am human;  I feel

the deep, dark, vacuous vessel

within me more than the light.


Darkness envelops me

as I am clawing, climbing, convulsively

grabbing to reach the light and

propel myself from the dark abyss.

Will it ever happen?


Hearts of shattered glass;

Can they ever really be mended?

Shards of my jagged heart

are scattered about,

I desperately gather them up.

When will I be whole again?

Copyright (c)  Suzannah Wolf Walker  all rights reserved

Robin Williams - Our most favorite and talented clown!

A brilliant star has burned out and the world is the darker for it.  Our favorite clown, Robin Williams, has apparently taken his own life, according to authorities.  He made us laugh, giggle, cry, and howl.  There was no other comedian, past or present, who could tickle our sides quite like Williams did. 

 His performances, because they were definitely great performances, in every movie he made, drew us in to look at the world in a different and unique way and inspired us to look closer for the true meaning and depth of life.  He was not going to let us get away with the superficial meanderings on the road of life.  He forced us to look at love, poetry, romance and laughter in new and creative ways.  He made us aware and mindful of what truly was important in life and did it in such a comedic way, that by laughing at him we were able to laugh at ourselves.

Williams has been described by all as a comedic genius.  And, that he was.  His wit and cleverness hit like lightening and he could improvise on a flash of a moment with anyone he was around.  His brain and thoughts were on overdrive and we could hardly hear fast enough to keep up with his wit.

We know also of his depressive disorder, and his his drug usage to fill the dark hollow vessel within him that he felt, but we knew nothing about.  

The true definition of depression is that each one that suffers from it does so because they have been forced to face reality - sometimes a reality that is sad and painful but real.  They have faced reality up close and personal in a way others have not.  The rest of the world lives happily on in a bubble of illusion, never understanding the hurt and pain in the world, but only a pin prick burst of the bubble away from a reality they might not be able to handle either.

Who is to say, when faced with a brutal reality of life, and the pain of that deep hollow vessel, that the taking of one's life might be the course taken also?

True genius, really, is just a sword's edge or a hanging thread from depression and mental disorders.  If Williams had not had the depressive disorder, would we have had the comedic genius that he was?  Would we be able to have the genius without the depressive disorder?

In true genius and brilliance, are the highs and lows necessary for the genius to be revealed.
And, once revealed, wouldn't  the genius be enough to satisfy Williams?

Robin Williams was a round peg everyone tried to push through a square hole as he was growing up.  Fierce and quick comedic wit is what kept the round peg from being pounded into a square shape.  Williams beat and won out over conformity with his comedic talent.

But, throughout his life and his brilliant career, the deep dark hollow vessel remained deep and empty inside.  He put on the clown's face and never revealed to us his pain time after time.  As he grew older and matured, he did stop to discuss his drug rehab experiences, always assuring us with a joke that he had conquered his demons.

By his sixth decade, Williams was exhausted from the cycle of depression, working through therapy and comedy to briefly conquer it, only to have it return, and the cycle continue.  How much longer would this go on?  

He put on his clown face and had us convinced he was fine - successful and strong.  The mask hid the fear, the terror, the anxiety, and the panic of the deep empty vessel that always rang hollow and seemed to question his talent and confidence.  

Robin Williams was exhausted.  Sixty years of facing life's realities and trying to make fun of it all.  He needed to finally rest from it all.

The song, "Be a clown, be a clown . . ."  echoed through his ears as he pulled the belt strap around his neck, hanging himself, and finally feeling peace flood his body instead of pain.

Update:  August 15, 2014.  When someone takes their own life our first question is always "why?"  Williams' wife has provided a clue as to why.  She has announced Williams was in the early stages of Parkinson's disease.  To a comic who used facial expressions and physical pratfalls as part of his comedy this must have been devastating to him. To know that  he would slowly be turning to stone as Parkinson's disease slowly petrified his body was most likely more than he could bear.  Anyone would be depressed with this diagnosis.  His body eventually would become a hard, empty stone vessel.  That would be a living death to a comedian.   Hopefully, Williams is in a better place and finally at peace.

Copyright (c)  2014  Suzannah Wolf Walker