When I was sixteen, I met a disciple of the great Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore, who rejected the material world in favor of service to others. I was moved by his profound connection to nature and his encouragement to share what you have with others, in particular the poor. Tagore became my hero. His words still rest upon my desk today:
I slept and dreamt that life was joy
I awoke and saw that life was service
I acted and behold, service was joy.
In my twenties, I was deeply inspired by Sojourner Truth. Sojourner was a black liberationist who stood up to white men who not only mocked her, but even tried to set fire to the buildings in which she spoke. When she was ridiculed for daring to address an assembly of “learned” men, she said, “If your jug holds a quart, and mine a pint, wouldn’t you be mean not to let me have my half measure full?” Those words convinced me that everyone deserves a voice, even those who have none of their own and must let others speak for them. Her actions spurred me to gather five like-minded friends together to form PETA and so give the animals the voice they deserve.
Perhaps Sojourner Truth was born fearless, but more likely, she overcame her fears because her empathy for others and her loathing of injustice were so great. Courage can be found. One of the things my heroes taught me was that the present moment is extremely precious. Perhaps you will live a full and long life. Or perhaps you will only have a short time to leave a positive footprint. Either way, it’s worth remembering the adage, “If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again.” Who cares if you don’t do things exactly right the first time? Think of Robert the Bruce, sitting in a damp cave in Scotland, eons ago, believing he could never roust the English king from his lands. Deeply dejected, he sat watching a spider try and fail, once, twice, six times, to attach a thread to the cave wall so as to build her web. On the seventh try, she succeeded! Inspired by this tiny insect’s tenacity, Bruce went back into the battle, determined to defeat the invaders. And win he did.
Everyone cares about something bigger than themselves, and everyone can make that cause a vital part of their lives no matter who they are. Someone “ordinary” was the first to step up to the plate and champion rights for blacks, for orphans, for people with disabilities, for animals, for women, for prisoners, and for humanity. Some of the most indispensable inventions and delightful distractions came about because someone, somewhere, dedicated countless hours to whatever interested or intrigued them, a problem of life and death perhaps, or tinkered about with, say, a musical instrument, a style or even something to eat. Think William Wilberforce, Robert Wilhelm Bunsen, Leo Fender, Johnny Appleseed, the Flying Wallenders, Florence Nightingale, Margaret Mead, Amelia Earhart, Lord Sandwich, Edward R. Murrow, George Washington Carver, Georgia O’Keefe, George Allen, and Mother Teresa. Their names live on for good reason. Perhaps yours will too.
I hope that this book brings you hope, courage, and inspiration, that it helps you examine your own ability to bash through those brick walls and encourages you to cast aside any doubts, hesitation, or perceived limitations you may be harboring. May it prove to you that you are bound by nothing at all and that the future, and your life, can be what you make it.
BARBARA ADAMS
Head in the Stars,
Feet on the Ground
Bobbie (Barbara) Adams earned her “fifteen minutes of fame” when she turned up for jury duty in Little Rock, Arkansas, dressed in her Star Fleet Commander uniform. The trial: Whitewater. Over the past decade, she has inspired thousands of people by stretching her fifteen minutes out into the galaxy. She has appeared in three documentaries about Star Trek and its followers; on National Public Radio and in newspapers internationally; and in Norway, where fans held a “BarbaraCon” convention in her honor. She still hears from people from all over the world who thank her for “being brave enough to be yourself.” And although she just shakes her head and says that it had never occurred to her not to wear her uniform, “just as someone in the U.S. military might wear theirs,” she is glad if her “small act of individuality” has inspired others to be true to themselves.
I am inspired by her total lack of hesitation in being true to herself. That quiet courage is reason enough for me to want to share her thoughts with you. And, should you think otherwise, Bobbie is far from the stereotype of an obsessed fan. She’s not that interested in the actors who appear in Star Trek or the gossip and palaver surrounding the series. “I’m not pretending to be someone on a ship, not pretending to be in space. I’m just me.” What interests her, and has since the show started (when she was two years old), are the Star Fleet’s values and how people in this century can become mature enough to eventually embrace them. In an age where people’s eyes seem to be melded into their computer screens and we are more comfortable text messaging one another than conversing in person, Bobbie’s sense of not only individuality, but also of community service, respect, inclusion, and reliability can serve as a worldwide template for our generation. You might say that she inspires us to go, if not where no man has gone before, to a place where we can happily be ourselves.
A lot of science fiction, certainly the first Star Trek series, allows us to look at what we are doing today as if from the future. This, in turn, allows us to be able to look more honestly at the progress we need to make to become truly civilized. This sort of distance provides a comfortable way to critique our times and our behaviors. I was too young to understand then, but I know now that during all the turmoil of the 1960s many people took comfort in the ideas that Star Trek put forth: that humans had managed not to sink and destroy each other, but to make it into the twenty-third century, that they had survived. That gave people hope. Not only that, right from the start there was total integration of sex, race, and species. It was a model of inclusion. No one questioned putting a female, a black female, on the bridge, for example, even back then. That appealed to me.
So did their practice of respect for others, no matter how different from us they might be. My parents were nonjudgmental and that’s how I grew up.You made sure that you had all the facts, that you weren’t reacting badly to someone or something without realizing that perhaps you didn’t know everything you should. We were living in Brooklyn, where there was almost every possible ethnicity and culture; different foods, other languages you couldn’t necessarily understand. On Star Trek, communication comes in all sorts of forms, too. Not every life form speaks the same language or has the same customs, but all must be respected. I remember being upset that my niece was often laughed at for how she looked. She had a big tumor on her nose, so the others laughed at her. But she couldn’t help how she appeared, and it was several years before she could have surgery to remove the growth. I was also made fun of because I was, and still am, very short. This sort of disrespectful behavior has always seemed wrong to me.
The law within the United Federation of Planets is that you do not interfere with other cultures by trying to impose your own.You promote awareness of activities, but you do not force change upon others. In other words, lead by example. Know that humanity in the twenty-first century is like a little child that has yet to mature. The more we learn about others, about animals and humans and nature and science, the more we will evolve to be more understanding and inclusive. Laws that were written a century or two ago were relevant to their time, but times change and we improve. Another important thing Star Trek emphasized is taking responsibility. At this stage in our society’s development, we still seem to find it easier to place blame, to sue someone if we trip over our own feet, for example. We have to learn not to place blame.
I am the fleet commander of our local Federation Alliance, and integral to our small group is community service. We dress in our uniforms and visit children in the local hospital, who get bug-eyed with delight when they see us walk in. We have raised money for the local animal shelter for about four years now. We have done a blood drive for the Red Cross, and we had an exhibit in the local Children’s Museum with all the
items donated from our members’ own collections.
I hold two more principles close to my heart. First, I never want anyone to be ashamed of wearing the Star Fleet uniform. It stands for something good, and so it should be worn with pride. Second, I think people should express themselves, not someone else. I hear mothers say that they have to buy their teenagers the latest jacket or sneakers or Izod this and that so they can express themselves. I want to say, “How can you express yourself by wearing what everyone else is wearing, and by wearing a label that expresses the designer or the company that produced it?” It isn’t what you can afford that matters, it’s what’s inside that counts. Be you; express yourself, not someone else. Don’t throw away the chance!
SEAN ASTIN
On Being a Good Son
Sean Astin began his career as a child star when he appeared as Mikey in The Goonies when he was just thirteen. He has since made his mark as an actor in fifty films and TV shows (including 24 and Monk) and is perhaps best known for his role as Samwise Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. His famous mother, Patty Duke, also made her debut at thirteen, starring as Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker. Coming from a troubled and dysfunctional family, Patty was subject to fits of depression and even attempted suicides, all of which had a deep effect on Sean. Patty Duke felt a great sense of relief when she was finally diagnosed as bipolar, and today she works to help others with mental illness. Sean has made it his business to help in that area, too. In fact, his compassion for all, of any species and with any problems, combined with the experiences he had as a child, makes him a wonderful role model for his own three daughters. I am happy he would share his thoughts with readers of this book.
I grew up in what could be described as “Hollywood adjacent.” My parents were famous, and in the center of the Hollywood machine, but somehow, living a block away from UCLA in Westwood, California, my brothers and I were insulated from much of the fast-lane activity of show business. My life felt very normal with Little League, friends, and neighborhood holidays.
I’m sure, like most people, the first visions I had of my future reflected whatever was happening around me: firefighter, police officer, janitor, and so on. I do remember in the fourth grade, my mother told me that I could be anything I wanted to be, even president of the United States. This was a blessing and a curse, because for most of my life after that, I took her literally. While becoming president of the United States doesn’t seem likely for me, even at thirty-six years of age, I remain convinced that I could be almost anything I want to be in life.
When I travel around the country, people often approach me about how much my mother has meant to them and how grateful they are that she’s spoken openly about her bipolar mood disorder. I’m always moved by these conversations. Obviously, her condition had a major impact on our family. I spent a great deal of time worrying about her and wishing that I had the tools to ease her suffering. Out of a feeling of gratitude to the hardworking mental health care professionals who helped my mom, I felt duty-bound to contribute to our national public conversation about mental health by sharing openly about our life. I’ve also been invited by a major pharmaceutical company to participate in a bipolar awareness campaign. And I’ve launched a Web site where we provide a mood questionnaire to help folks determine if they or a loved one may have symptoms of the disease as well as supplying tools and resources so that people can find the assistance they need.
I’ve also been involved in advocating for a host of issues, problems, and areas of concern in our society. Oftentimes, celebrities, notables, activists, and others focus most of their attention on one or two specific issues that mean the most to them, or that they can have the greatest impact on. Unfortunately, I never developed the skill to filter, prioritize, compartmentalize, or ignore my feelings about anything that bothers me in the world. It may be arrogance or a melodramatic fantasy of how the universe should operate, but I can’t help feeling as though not only can I make a difference in the world, but that if I don’t, I will have failed to honor my own destiny. The one thought that gets me off my duff is that no one person can improve everything alone. And there’s no chance that everything will improve unless everyone does something.
One of my proudest endeavors in the civic realm relates to the issue of literacy. In particular, the family literacy movement. I’m a spokesperson for the National Center for Family Literacy as well as a Verizon Literacy Champion. Recently, my wife and I founded a literacy success award given to individuals who’ve used their newfound literacy to overcome obstacles and move on to healthier, happier lives that benefit others. I’ve never been diagnosed with ADD, dyslexia, or any type of learning disability, but I know for certain that in grade school, I had neither the patience nor discipline to complete my assignments. One of my most cherished memories is of the period of time when my mother would read entire books aloud to me. The words, concepts, and rhythms in the stories have not only stayed with me, but they have been my weapons to do battle with the world. My father always overemphasized the critical importance of academia. The combination of my mother’s and father’s values operating on me had the effect of inspiring in my soul an intense and passionate devotion to literacy. In my heart, I believe that people’s ability to read and think—in essence, to communicate—is the last best hope that mankind has for peace in the world.
My father presented me with a copy of Rudyard Kipling’s great poem “If ” at the surprise twenty-fifth birthday party my wife threw for me. I reread it many times every year. Everything you need to know about how to behave in life is in it; keeping your head about you in times of crisis, letting yourself dream, never dealing in lies, and, remembering the power and worth of virtue.
Reprinted by special permission of the author.
KEVIN BACON
Saving the World by Degrees
An extremely talented actor (among his screen credits: JFK, Animal House, Diner, Footloose, A Few Good Men, and on stage: Lemon Sky and Spike Heels), Kevin is a family man who cares about the planet and all the beings on it. He has won critical acclaim for giving so much of himself in his acting, but the reason he belongs in this book is that he is also giving in other ways.
The phenomenally popular game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon was invented by students at Albright College in Pennsylvania in 1994. It requires players to try to connect any film actor in history to Kevin Bacon as quickly as possible with as few links as possible. Elvis Presley has a “Bacon number” of two (Elvis appeared in Change of Habit with Ed Asner and Ed Asner was in JFK with Kevin Bacon).
If you are not an actor, hey, you are probably still connected to Kevin, at least as a member of an audience.That’s because he has appeared in so many different roles in various media that possibly only a few tribal people still living without benefit of a satellite dish somewhere haven’t seen him in something. I myself have a photograph of Kevin standing next to me at PETA’s “Rock against Fur” concert in New York. I’m proud to say that gives me a Bacon number of one.
Kevin has put his notoriety to good use. SixDegrees.org is the celebrity-driven Web site he founded (Joaquin Phoenix, Tyra Banks, and Bette Midler, among others, advertise their favorite causes on the site) to encourage charitable giving. It is also a game: anyone can enter his or her favorite charity, and there are even “races” that net extra funds for the most popular of visitors’ causes. Given the need in the world, Kevin has done something wonderful by coming up with a game in which everyone wins.
Actingsince before I knew what it was. I remember one of my first toys, when I was very little, was a costume box that my mother had filled with old clothes. Basically, I had a strong desire to be watched, to have people look at me, so I would dress up and become different characters. Most actors tend not to like to admit that they just want to be noticed, but that’s what it is.
However, no matter how much you want to put yourself out there, no matter how much you want the attention, doing so can be frightening. Over the years, I’v
e learned that fear is an important emotion, that if we harness it properly it can drive us and push us toward new challenges. For example, my band, the Bacon Brothers, played Carnegie Hall in 2007, just one song: a tribute to Bruce Springsteen. Bruce is a huge hero to me, so it was very frightening to think I had to stand up and try to interpret one of the Master’s works, especially because we were doing it very differently, with an accordion, a cello, and we changed up the guitar. I was sitting in the dressing room, stressing out and Bruce walked in. It was a heart in my mouth kind of moment but it probably made me play better!
The same is true with the stage. Everything can go wrong on stage: it’s live and so there’s always danger. A prop falls, you forget your lines, someone in the front row starts snoring, a cell phone goes off. I get butterflies in my stomach, at times my knees have actually been shaking, I’ve been nauseous and short of breath, but luckily I don’t sweat a lot! That kind of fear keeps you on your toes, makes you work harder. With movies, it’s a different fear because a movie set is comfortable to me; it’s like my living room. But even then, things can go wrong with a stunt or something, and there’s still always the fear that the movie will come out and no one will see it or—maybe this is worse—if they do, they’ll discover what a big fraud you are! Another good thing about fear is the tremendous rush that comes when it’s over. The feeling that you’ve conquered. Perhaps for that reason, I love amusement rides, but I don’t jump out of planes. That’s too much of a good thing!
In my personal life, I worried that I wasn’t doing enough for the world. It can be hard to figure out what to do. Celebrities are asked constantly to go to benefits. You could do a benefit a night and so it’s hard not to get too spread out. I’m devoted to my family, my wife, but I also want to help.You know how you feel when you pick up the newspaper in the morning and read about the bodies, people and animals dying, hunger, climate change? It can be overwhelming. I’m raising two kids and I see that sense of hopelessness sometimes present with their generation. I want to reach out and do something about that. People like Bono are doing great campaigns in Africa, Live Aid; other people have found ways to help. I was thinking about it all one day while I was putting some of Paul Newman’s dressing on my salad. I realized that Paul raised hundreds of millions of dollars for good causes just by doing what he likes to do, cooking.
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