With all the anticipation of a bride in waiting, three baby bears, one momma bear and, yes (though I hang my head in shame as I report this), even one daddy bear sit in quiet glee awaiting that familiar tune to play and the television to come alive on Tuesday night. YES! It?s American Idol! I clap happily and then slowly stop as my family looks on with disturbed and embarrassed looks.
While the contestants and the judges change, the premise remains the same and yet somehow the rapture with which I find myself watching is, indeed, disturbing.
Then in the midst of songs and Ryan Seacrest spewing his fodder came a voice, excited yet calm, Steven Tyler announcing ?He [James Darbin] has a deep vein of inner crazy! I love it!?
Perplexed by the comment, the baby bears ask what that meant. The inherent voice of wisdom in our home looks at me and says, ?You explain to your kids what it means.? And she walks off with the apparent mission of making a coffee. Ahhhhh, how I love to hate her some days.
?Well critters?, I begin ?I believe he meant that guy has a passion or a fire about him. Steven thinks that James is going to succeed in the long run and that they share a common bond. They both have that passion, they both strive to succeed, they both have an,? fingers curled in quotations for effect, ?Inner Crazy.? I believe my explanation is magnificent in simplicity and tone.
A quizzical look ensues.
Mama smirks. I try again, ?Ummmm, they think he?s crazy awesome.?
A satisfied look passes from face to face and they settle back to watch the remainder of the show, but the seed of exploration has been planted and my mind rolls . . .
I have often told my children that the easiest way to get something is to see it, plan it and then do it. Can?t is a matter of opinion, never a statement of fact - if you believe in yourself, you can accomplish anything.
We tell ourselves all the things that are impossible in our day and that we simply ?can?t do?. As I was cruising through some random and useless facts upon the interweb I discovered a child development article about how we hardwire our children for negativity from their earliest days. We set their behaviour by telling them all the things that they shouldn?t do, ?no? or ?don?t do that.?
The belief is that approximately 80 per cent of our thought patterns then view the world from a negative standpoint. For example, ?it?s a beautiful sunny day? is replaced with ?looks like we better watch out for sunburn.? The hardwiring for ?no? continues on into adulthood.
Another great read is The Secret. Quickly put, this book explains the power of positive thought and our innate ability to direct our future by following that positive belief in ourselves. It?s an in-depth read that can?t be given justice in the lines of this article but it contains all the information one truly needs to exact change in your life. The list of success stories from proponents of The Secret is long and illustrious and some of these people have faced incredible challenges on the way to their ultimate goals.
Much like the would-be American Idols, who themselves have taken the chance to stand out and to chase their dreams with fevered abandon - set a goal, believe it?s possible, throw yourself into your dream with all your soul and you can accomplish anything. You may seem the fool to those around you, you may have to ride a horse with a clutzy stride, you may be ?different? or ?unusual? or ?nuts,? but how many times can any of us say that we have dared to set ourselves apart.
So maybe Steven has it right. Maybe we all need to take the time to dance in the rain, to stomp in a puddle, have a food fight at supper, love without fear, finally live our dreams . . .
Maybe, just maybe, we could all use our own Deep Vein of Inner Crazy.
