The Robin Hood legend lives on within us all

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. ~Anne Frank

I have to admit something. I'm a Robin Hood fanatic. Ever since I saw the Errol Flynn version on television, lying in bed, home sick from school, I've been hooked. I went back and discovered the Douglas Fairbanks rendering. Despite poor reviews, I enjoyed the Kevin Costner "Prince of Thieves" (despite the film being dubbed "Robin of North Dakota" by critics, who panned Costner's lack of any kind of an English accent) during the early 1990's. I laughed hysterically, with my children, for Mel Brooks' satire of "Men in Tights". I became an avid watcher of the BBC television series, and loved the newest adaptation of the legend, starring Russell Crowe. Already a fan of Alexandre Dumas' Count of Monte Cristo, and The Three Musketeers, I ravenously read Robin Hood le proscrit. Whether or not Robin Hood is a person based on historical fact, a purely invented character, or a folk hero lying somewhere in between, the ideals, values, romance and inspiration never fail to capture my own imagination. Based on the legend's popularity, I can only fathom that I'm not alone in this fascination.

What is it about the Robin Hood legend that inspires us? Of course, Robin's skill with a bow & arrow, his love for Maid Marian and his loyal band of Merry Men are the stuff of dreams. But, I believe what remains enthralling about the legend is the philosophy of helping those who can't help themselves. The Robin Hood ballads, which became popular in England by the 14th century, had their basis in fact; a time of misery, disease, poverty, starvation and over-taxation to support the Crusades had left England depleted financially, morally and spiritually. That a figure, real or metaphorical, would arise to help isn't surprising. How many people, in modern times, find comfort and excitement with more contemporary superheroes, like Batman or Superman? Just like these comic book champions, Robin Hood bravely protected the weak from the strong, the poor from the greedy, the persecuted from the tormentors. I believe there lies within each us a grand desire to have this kind of loving protection. The thought that there is a person, out there, lurking in the shadows, waiting to spring forward to keep evil at bay, is both comforting and reassuring. We want to know that, even if we don't see our protector, he is out there, simply gazing over our lives and will be called to action if we are being subjected to tyranny.

Of course, there are brave men and women who do just this...in the Armed Forced, as Firefighters, Police Officers and Teachers. And yet, we know, as much as we'd love for there to be a REAL Robin Hood out there in the Sherwood Forests of our daily lives, the chances aren't great that this magical champion will hear our cries and come running if we're in trouble. The fact is, we must all learn to be our own hero or heroine. When life is unfair, when we're filled with doubts and low self-esteem, when we are overwhelmed by fear, we need to tap into our own inner Robin Hoods, draw our bows and shoot the metaphorical arrow into the source of our pain. Does this mean that we'll never be afraid again? Definitely not. We will be frightened, we will be lonely, we will feel burdened, hurt and in anguish. Those feelings will all be valid and understandable. But, true strength lies in knowing that we can experience pain in our lives, and still be able to face our disquieting situations with a 'due sense of right purpose'. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, "A hero is no braver than an ordinary man. But, he is braver five minutes longer."

Can we do this? Can we stand up for our beliefs and not allow the maltreatment of others, or ourselves, for five minutes longer? Can we face down the beastly Sheriff of Nottinghams in our lives with a certain strength in our eyes? I believe we can. I believe that, lying inside each one of us, however dormant, rests a Robin Hood. I rest assured that we can each become empowered to protect others. I place my confidence in the goodness in mankind triumphing over the evil. I maintain that we each contain the tools, the skills and the aptitude for making the world a better place...even if it's only own our small corner.

The Robin Hood legend is fascinating. It's powerfully captivating, it's deliciously romantic and it's strikingly relevant today. But, we must always remember not to wait for Robin to come save us. Conversely, we must take up the mantle and be Robin Hood for others.

Somewhere over the rainbow....

Somewhere over the rainbow, bluebirds fly. Birds fly over the rainbow...why, oh, why can't I?

It has never been a secret that "Somewhere over the rainbow" is one of my favorite songs. Since I was a little girl, curled up on the sofa, watching Dorothy sing in "The Wizard of Oz", as she daydreamed about a place where wishes can come true. Dorothy's impression of that place "over the rainbow" for most of us would be paradise: a place in which she could feel safe from harm, peaceful in heart, loved and protected. Her imaginings led her to believe that that her excursion to "being over the rainbow", would mean that all her troubles would disappear, and where she would be happy forever. Despite the hopeful lyrics of a song that still touches my soul, the irony about Dorothy's fairy tale land was that it didn't exist at all. Yes, Dorothy did fly over the rainbow. She did land in a place completely away from all of her troubles. But, with her voyage came her old nemesis, her old fears and a deep seated homesickness. Dorothy got her wish: she flew over the rainbow. But, in the end, it wasn't the land in which her dreams came true in the way she'd imagined.

How many times have we thought to ourselves, "If I just can have this, I'll be happy for the rest of my life?". For some, that dream of "being over the rainbow" might be the perfect job, a date with your dreamy coworker, a bigger house or a newer car. I have a friend who, for years, cut all the things she wanted out of magazines and newspapers. She pasted these pictures in a scrapbook. She'd gaze at the photos of the elegant colonial style mansion, and the luxury SUV longingly. She would "furnish" her imaginary home with designer rooms from "Elegant Homes" magazine. She would glue photos of hairstyles she liked, and celebrities whose appearance she admired. She would clip out designer outfits from "Vogue" and imagine owning a handbag that cost more than her monthly house payment. My friend called this scrapbook her 'wish book', in an homage to the old Sears catalog that used to come out at Christmas time. Her idea was that she would 'check off' each item as she acquired it. The thing is, as the months turned into years, and the years dragged on, my friend became more and more resentful that she was not checking off more items in her wish book. Her marriage suffered. Her self-esteem crumbled. The wish book became, itself, an insurmountable goal. Because she had chosen to make these unattainable items, that she couldn't be happy without, her perfectly lovely life became the wrong side of the fence. Her wish book, like Dorothy's Oz, became a place that wasn't right for her. It wasn't healthy. And, it wasn't home.

Is it wrong of us to have daydreams, then? I don't believe there is anything wrong with daydreaming. I feel that daydreams are an essential part of creativity. Without daydreams and imagination, there would be no artists, no writers, no scientists making new discoveries. Without engaging in the 'possibilities' part of our brains, we would be deprived of essential thinking skills: lateral thinking and problem solving comes from the same area in the brain that dreams (both waking and sleeping) originate from. We would be unable to solve dilemmas we had never faced before. We would not be able to appreciate traveling to new places or enjoying new experiences, since they would be out of the realm of every day experience. Creative thought is extremely helpful to our society as a whole. It's the greatest daydreamers who have given us some of the greatest accomplishments. Hippocrates, Sir Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, Isadora Duncan, Charles Dickens, Vincent Van Gogh and Susan B. Anthony were just some the world's greatest daydreamers....and each one of them made an indelible impression for generations after their lifetimes.

But, what about the rest of us? Since I'm neither a great artist, nor a gifted scientist, does daydreaming have any merit for me...an average woman? Absolutely...having a daydream can give hope to us during difficult times.Daydreams, if we can keep them in check, can be a healthy way to relieve stress. In Yoga, we often use a technique called "Guided Meditation". Also called "Guided Imagery", this is defined as "practice in which your imagination is lead on a particular journey with the purpose of achieving healing and realizations through purposeful contemplation and reflection." For many of us, even during yoga classes, it can be difficult to let go of our working mind. One Yogic school of thought calls this the human "monkey mind", always jumping from tree to tree, never focusing on where one is, but always on what's next to do. A guided imagery meditation might involve gentle music, and a teacher to help lead your thought pattern into a predictable, peaceful and nurturing space. Using our imaginations, we can close our eyes and transform a simple yoga studio into a lush tropical oasis, a breathtaking mountaintop, an illuminated night sky or, simply, the place that most says "comfort" to us. I've had many students tell me that, when I ask them to bring forth the image of the place in which they feel the safest, their grandmother's house is first on the list. Evoking the image of a special place, either real or imaginary, can help restore a panicked breath pattern to normalcy and can aid us in our quest to calm our anxieties. Guided meditation may help relieve suffering for cancer patients, women in labor, those suffering from insomnia and mild depression, as well as those who just need a method to leave 'work' at the office.

When I think about flying over the rainbow, I can't help but smile. Imagining a place in which all my dreams come true is a wonderful image. But, the fact is, we still have daily life to deal with. We still need to live in this world, as it right now, at this very moment. We still need to make practical plans for our future, appreciate the blessings we do have and solve the problems that come our way. Daydreaming about being over the rainbow can be fun and relaxing, but if it begins to interfere with one's daily life, that's when we need to establish a firm grasp on what we're evading. Do we really hate our jobs? Are our children driving us batty? Do we have too little money, and too many bills? These are real issues facing most of us. Daydreaming isn't going to solve our issues. As a matter of fact, if we daydream too much, we may find our problems to seem even more insurmountable...just as Dorothy did, when she felt she had to run away from home to keep Toto safe. By working on creative problem solving techniques to work through these issues, as best as humanly possible, our stress level may also go down. Talking about methods to combat my dilemmas with my friends has been incredibly beneficial to me. In my life, my girlfriends often 'see' answers where I am missing them.

The simple fact is, daydreaming is healthy, beautiful and wonderful. It's part of the human experience. Yet, when it comes right down to it, 'there's no place home'...even if home means a busted water heater and an unstable economy. Home can still be two things at once: our sanctuary from harm and a place that holds mountains of laundry to be washed. If we can reconcile these two places within ourselves, we can live fully in reality, but with a creative imagination.

Namaste.

(And for further inspiration, click on the TITLE..."Somewhere over the Rainbow" at the top of this post, to listen to a beautiful rendition of the song...)

Beauty and the Beast

People often say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But, I say that the most liberating thing about beauty is realizing that you *are* the beholder. This empowers us to find beauty in places where others have dared not to look, including inside ourselves. ~ Salma Hayek

In college, I was assigned an essay to write, expounding upon the dangers that fairy tales play to young girls, and the development of their self-esteem. I began this paper with trepidation. The fact was, and is, that I truly enjoyed fairy tales growing up. When I daydreamed about having children of my own someday, I looked forward to sharing fairy tales with them, reading aloud in a cozy chair in front of a roaring fire. I stared at my typewriter (as these were the days before computers) and the words simply didn't come to me, as they had so effortlessly in every previous assignment. I reread the tale of Grimm's Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Rapunzel. I picked up Hans Christian Anderssen's The Little Mermaid, The Princess & the Pea, The Ugly Duckling and the Little Match Girl for another reading. I translated "La Belle et la Bête" by Mme. Gabrielle-Suzanee Barbot de Villeneuve, the original French tale of Beauty and the Beast. In the end, I learned several important points, despite my inherent love for fairy tales:

1. Youth is considered the only beauty, and older willing are willing to kill for it.
2. Women should be willing to trade everything they possess for a man to solve their problems.
3. Youthful beauty is the only tool in which to ensnare these men.

Thankfully, my professor was incredibly creative, and she allowed me to rewrite several famous fairy tales, bringing about a more realistic and empowering story to young girls, rather than simply drafting yet another 'rage against the machine'. In her own way, my professor was able to empower me to do just what she had hoped the heroines in the stories would do: find their own solutions to the problems facing them, in a creative and alternative manner.

Needless to say, I did not ban fairy tales from my home, when I became a mother. But, this course, taken years earlier, did teach me the inherent dangers that do lie in exposing our daughters to too much of an onslaught to their self-esteem. As I began to grow older myself, I began to wonder "Am I still attractive?", "Do I still feel beautiful? and "What does beauty really mean?". Feeling lovely, inside and out, is very important to most women. A healthy dose of self-esteem in one's appearance can boost morale, which can boost confidence in work and in life. A women who feels beautiful can also feel that she has the chutzpah to ask her boss for a raise, to feel confident in taking that vacation she's always dreamed of, or even to start her own business. Feeling beautiful doesn't mean looking like a Super model. How many of us are 6' tall and weigh 115 pounds? Not many. And, yet, feeling beautiful in how you appear to others, and most important, what you see when you look in the mirror, can be extremely important. How we feel on the outside can reflect how we feel on the inside....and the converse is also true. How many times have you met a woman, who may not look like Christie Brinkley, but who exudes such loveliness, she radiates?

Two of the women who, I believe, most exemplify this idea are Dame Judi Dench and Queen Latifah. It is my humble opinion that they are two of the most beautiful women I can imagine. Dame Judi Dench has the most wonderful style. She is not afraid of her age. She embraces it and uses her wisdom, her wit, her courage and her vast intelligence to her advantage. No "Wicked Aging Queen" for her! She is the epitome of a stylish, savvy and exceptional one. And, a very beautiful one at that. Dame Judi Dench has made over 40 extremely chic. She has helped to redefine youth not being the measuring stick of beauty.

Additionally, Queen Latifah has broken down so many barriers. She is not the first African American Cover Girl, but she certainly is the first plus size one. Do her curves detract from her undeniable allure? Absolutely not! They enhance her aura of glamour. Queen Latifah's talent is evident in every syllable she utters, on every red carpet she walks, and in her beautiful laugh. In her performance in "Chicago', she was appearing with two stunning female co-stars, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renee Zellwegger. All three women had very different styles and all three gave amazing performances. Yet, Queen Latifah's curves, and comfort within those curves, gave me a sense of such dynamic beauty that defied the conventional definition.

As I've grown older and wiser, the story of "Beauty and the Beast" has become clearer to me, in my own understanding. I can take the fairy tale at face value. Or, I can dig deeper to see that, for many of us, the Beast is not a monster that will turn into a Handsome Prince, if we only kiss him. The Beast can also be what lies within us....our own foibles, our own fears, the blockages we put in to sabotage our own self-esteem. The Beast, in my case, can be looking in the mirror and only seeing my thighs. The Beast, for others, could be seeing a different face than the one we viewed twenty years ago. The Beast can be everything we don't like about ourselves, inside and out.

And, yet, we can tame the Beast that lies within. We can find the beauty that only comes from experience, from the giving of ourselves to others and to finding the wisdom that lies within us. We can exercise, eat healthfully, and dress our bodies in ways that best suit our lifestyle. We can smile more, and frown less. We look for the beauty in the world around us, in our families and friends, in inspiring books and organizations and in nature and art. As we look for beauty, we can find that we reflect it, as we are at this very moment, no matter what our age, color, size, shape or physical attributes.

Beauty is, as beauty does. Don't allow 17 year old runway models to define your definition of beauty. Create your own definition and run with it.