Albert Schweitzer, physician, musician, theologian, philosopher and Nobel Peace Prize winner, captured my childhood imagination. Instead of thinking big thoughts in an ivory tower, Schweitzer healed others in his hospital in French Equatorial Africa (now Gabon). Plus, he wrote music. If he had played guitar, I might I have run off with him to Africa and offered myself as an indentured servant. Schweitzer's sense of adventure surpassed my other childhood heroes: Davy Crockett, Annie Oakley and Captain Kirk. Schweitzer lacked a TV show or action figure, but he ranked at the top of my cool list. Yes, I was considered terminally odd by my friends.
Here's a sample of Schweitzer that fired my wide-eyed optimism:
"I do not believe that we can put into anyone ideas which are not in him already. As a rule there are in everyone all sorts of good ideas, ready like tinder. But much of this tinder catches fire, or catches it successfully, only when it meets some flame or spark from outside i.e., from another person."
Albert Schweitzer, The Light Within Us
On tour for my book Struck by Living, I am constantly sparked by others. Maxene Obenschain Kleier, long time mental health advocate and author of Possessed Mentalities, stole the show at my Harrisonburg book signing in August. She's 91, wrote her book at 86 AND crashed MY post-booksigning party. Maxene endured perhaps the worst catastrophe I could imagine, the murder of one of her children by her other child. A tragedy earlier in her life gave Maxene the strength to endure. She shared in her memoir that if pause is taken to look back and then look beyond the immediate moments, comfort is found. There is a future beyond the horror being experienced and a past that offers soothing comfort. Maxene gave me another arrow for my survival quiver. Being "in the now" works for positive moments, but sometimes transcending the now is equally as important. Survival depends on our ability to understand horror is temporary. We feed from positive moments to live through the bad ones.
Maxene also confirms a long-held belief of mine: the importance of exercise in mental health. She starts everyday with her stretches and a workout. Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain by John J. Ratey and Eric Hagerman, backs this idea with scientific evidence. Ratey cites findings from Dr. Mudhakar Trivedi (UT Southwestern) and others that confirms that exercise is good for the brain, not just for overcoming depression, but for all brain function. In layperson terms, exercise stimulates brain cell creation and allows a means to disperse the stress of modern life (and the release of cortisol). If you get up off the couch and exercise regularly, not only do you thwart obesity, you may be building resistance to Alzheimer's, ADHD and addiction while improving your memory.
Ratey's book title made me rummage through some old paper files to find the quote above from Schweitzer's The Light Within Us. I'm not sure it's still in print, but it should be. Maybe if there is enough demand, we can get Amazon to sell them as a spark package set, along with my book Struck by Living, of course!
Headed to Houston on 9/30 for a visit to the Menninger Clinic and a 6 pm talk at the Barnes and Noble River Oaks, 2030 West Gray Houston, TX 77019. Hope to see some readers there.
For my other speaking events please check out my website: http://struckbyliving.com/content/events/.
