dead_poets_society

So many people go through life thinking they have nothing to say and nothing to contribute; that nothing they might do or say or think is worthwhile or valuable.
The world has a way of knocking the stuffing out of people; of robbing people of their passion and vitality; and unfortunately - the Church can do that too. There was (an apparently genuine) entry in a weekly church bulletin once that proclaimed - "Why let stress slowly kill you: Let the Church help."

There is a fabulous, life-changing, scene in the movie Dead Poet’s Society where Mr. Keating (Robin Williams) draws his class of teenage boys out of their seats and into the aisles of the classroom and opens up to them the beauty of poetry. There are some things that are absolutely necessary to sustain life Mr. Keating explains to his charges - we must work, we must eat and sleep, we must have relationships with various people, with friends, colleagues, family, etc. - but then there are things that we stay alive for; things like beauty, passion, love - and I would add faith! Such things make life worthwhile.

The poem Mr. Keating reads is this one -

O me! O life!
by Walt Whitman.

O me! O life! Of the questions of these recurring.
Of the endless trains of the faithless,
of cities filled with the foolish.
Of myself forever reproaching myself, for who
more foolish than I, and who more faithless?
Of eyes that vainly crave the light, of the objects mean, of the struggle ever renewed.
Of the poor results of all, of the plodding and
sordid crowds I see around me,
Of the empty and useless years of the rest,
with the rest me intertwined.
The question, O me! So sad, recurring –
What good amid these, O me, O life?
Answer: That you are here –
that life exists and identity,
That the powerful play goes on,
and you may contribute a verse.

In one of the first scene’s in the film Mr. Keating exhorts his pupils to "Seize the Day" and "Make your lives extraordinary." The same challenge arises out of the poem above - You, I, We, are extraordinarily and supremely blessed - for we may each contribute a verse to the poem of life. What will your verse be?

God calls each who have come to faith to do great things for the Kingdom. Although many will answer by saying "I don’t know what God has called me to do" or "I haven’t heard a voice from heaven saying Do this or Do that," there is within each one of us there something we love to do, something we are passionate about; a gift, a talent, an ability you have... There is something worthwhile and valuable inside each and every person, something the world needs to hear and see, something that only you can do or say or achieve. In Dead Poet’s Society Todd discovers that very truth through the agency of his mentor and teacher - there was so much more inside of him than he thought - he only needed to overcome his fears and lack of self confidence to realise it.

Seize the Day!
Make your lives extraordinary!
Refuse to let the world squeeze the passion out of you and shape you into its mould.