“When the dog bites, when the bee stings…”
Well thank you Julie Andrews for such enlightening
words, but fortunately I’ve managed to avoid all
biting dogs and all but one vicious bee in my
lifetime. In a literal sense, this classic
Sound of Music song is most certainly one for the
ages. I believe it to be true to everyone — because
let’s face it, shit happens to all of us — but we
must always remember that something, be it a happy
memory, inspirational quote or song lyrics etc., and
use it to help us hold onto our sanity and remind us
of our happiness and importance in the world.
The recent death of comedic genius Robin Williams
hit the world with a force as great as it was abrupt.
Not only has the loss of such an iconic actor and
comedian only just begun to sink in, but it has also
created the beginning ripples of a tsunami of awareness
for how common depression is in contemporary society.
I am on a family vacation down on the tip of the
coast of the Jersey Shore, and was sitting on the balcony
of our hotel when I heard a girl next door exclaim, “Robin
Williams died!” Confused, thinking I had heard it wrong, I
turned to my mother and slowly repeated what I had thought
I had heard, “Robin Williams died?” She leapt out of her
chair and ran back into the room to turn on the TV.
Everyone deals with death and tragedy in different ways.
The last tragic celebrity death that shocked the world was
Michael Jackson’s. I remember exactly where I was when I found
out about his death, as well as where I was when I watched the
entire funeral and memorial on TV. I also know that after my
future children and I spend a day watching Mrs. Doubtfire and
laughing at the hilarious genius on the screen, I will tell them
exactly where I was when I found out about his death — that
balcony —as well as how his pain has started a wave of awareness
throughout the world.
Even the best-humored, free-spirited, most talented people
in the world are dealing with pain that we cannot even begin
to understand. Depression is a hidden snake coiled within so
many of our peers, co-workers, family members and best friends.
Moment by moment it slowly begins to suffocate its victims until
they reach the point where they must find the strength to release
their Ego and ask others for help. To kill this snake, this thick
asphyxiating poison, one must reach inside to their truest essence,
their truest happiest self, and remember the value that they bring
to society, to remember the importance that they have to those
around them as well as the respect that they owe themselves.
The Sound of Music says this well in the song I quoted earlier.
It can sometimes even be the simplest things, “raindrops on roses
and whiskers on kittens…,” smiling at a stranger as we walk by
them, feeling rays of beautiful warm sunshine on our cheeks, that
can bring us back to our roots and remind us of the good that life
has to offer us, as well as the good that each and every one of us
have to offer it. It is the littlest of things that are the most
important, because that is what adds up the quickest. If we each
begin to make small changes in the way we live our lives, how we
treat others and ourselves, we will be making a difference that
goes beyond us and our social circle. We will be joining the wave
for a happier change.
stay classy! xx