And What Might Be in Your Basket?

People who know me roll their eyes at my not-so-secret fear of the world ending in December of 2012. I can't watch movies about Armageddon, the Apocalypse, or anything that has to do with life after people. I've been mentally preparing myself for this end of the world for a long time, and even my planner says, for December 22nd, 2012, "Faux Christmas...or the end of the world." (What better way to go than with the Faux Christmas crew?) My biggest bucket-list goal was to make sure I got back to Disneyworld one more time before the world ceased to exist, and we did that in December, so, honestly, if it happens, I’m really all set. I’ve done a lot of things in life, and I guess my biggest disappointment would really be never finding out how Ted met the Mother.

I don’t think that’s going to happen, though. More and more, I have come to feel that the end of 2012, and everything that will follow, is part of Malcom Gladwell’s Tipping Point. (This basically says that in every kind of trend or social change, there is a "moment" when it goes one way or another. Spreads like a virus. The point at which "everyone" is suddenly on Facebook, or wearing Uggs, or eating Greek yogurt. It is sometimes a slow build, but eventually *something* happens to tip it to being trend-worthy, or viral.) So much thought and energy has been focused on this big time, and I feel like the world is on the cusp of changing… for the better. I feel like 2012, and 2013, will be a giant step forward in positivity, joy, open spirituality, and a release from fear for many people. I know that I am the proverbial Cockeyed Optimist, but I can’t help but think that there are so many more people out there like me, doing their tiny things to better the world in their little spheres, and that eventually, maybe sooner than later, it’s going to have resonance for everyone. I think it has to, vibrationally speaking. And I feel like I’m a part of that. I have spent nearly 20 years in a unique position to connect with kids and encourage them to find their own best, uncharted, unique paths inspired by authenticity and a sense of responsibility for not only their own happiness and success, but others’ as well. I have learned that as a teacher and director – I’m only “good” if THEY are. Their success is the only measure of mine. And I really, really like it that way.

So, from the introduction of my new favorite book that I haven’t even read yet, (by Martha Beck) called Finding Your Way in a Wild New World: Reclaim Your True Nature to Create the Life You Want:

Find a new way. A better way. Your way. The unknown, uncharted path through this wild new world that allows you—yourself, in your uniqueness—to reclaim the full measure of your true nature.

Can you accept this challenge? If you can’t, I hope that you’re comfortable living in your cage—and seeing it smashed by a tidal wave of escalating change. If you can, congratulations. Your future will be filled with adventures and excitement. It will also find you charting your course in a new peer group. The decision to heal your own true nature, by definition, makes you one of nature’s healers. And as it happens, healers play a unique, powerful, perhaps unprecedented role in the wild new world.

She goes on to talk about how “Healers” are really just people who are living their true natures, and just by doing that, they help/encourage/teach others to do the same. Well, I guess there’s a whole book full of how that works, which I will be reading toot sweet. She calls these people “The Team,” and essentially, if you are reading, and if you’re wondering if you are, in fact, on the Team, then you are. I didn’t have to wonder that. I totally know I am, and have been for a long time. It’s caused me to feel pressured, sometimes, but I have recognized it and taken responsibility for it. (Totally bet you are too.)

She says that members of the Team often share some qualities, among them:

• High creativity; passion for music, poetry, performance, or visual arts.

• Difficult early life, often with a history of abuse or childhood trauma.

• Intense connection to certain types of natural environments, such as the ocean, mountains, or forest.

• Resistance to orthodox religiosity, paradoxically accompanied by a strong sense of
either spiritual purpose or spiritual yearning.

• Sense of intense connection with certain cultures, languages, or geographic regions.

• Disability, often brain-centered (dyslexia, retardation, autism) in oneself or a loved one. Fascination with people who have intellectual disabilities or mental illness.

• Apparently gregarious personality contrasting with deep need for periods of solitude; a sense of being drained by social contact and withdrawing to “power up” again. (This is a major hallmark of my character.)

• Daydreams (or night dreams) about healing damaged people, creatures, or places.

So, yeah. Kind of freaky. This book can not get delivered soon enough for me to learn what to do to heal the world. I’m pretty sure it’s going to tell me that I have to start with myself, first. Maybe that’s all part of my journey through the woods. This book will certainly be in my basket.

I will venturing through this snow-covered morning to paint scenery, carefully lettering the “Storybooks” that will be part of our pre-set, opening to reveal the homes of three of the main characters. I like that sort of work, though I don’t enjoy being up on a ladder. I am not the best set-helper, keeping that in the hands of my very capable tech-designer and team-mate, Brooks, but I try to always do a little something to contribute. This is my contribution this time. Or one of them. Then rehearsal, then probably more painting. All in all, not a bad way to spend a Sunday.