stefanhaves

[stefanhaves]

Full 18 Minute Stefan Haves TedX Talk in New Delhi, India

[stefanhaves]

Zen and the Art of Clowning

You say:

‘I'm afraid of clowns’ -

You know what I am afraid of?

Those folks who prioritize being afraid of clowns!

I too, am ‘Put Off’ by certain clowns -

I shun those who lack the ability to connect with the audience.

Those who rely on external trappings eliciting a tepid response free of laughter. 

But isn't the unsuccessful clown doing what many humans do? 

Hiding? 

Hiding under external trappings? 

When the Clown truly realizes that he or she is enough, 

I, in the Audience, can

Allow the clown to be the bridge to a shared community of joy -

Quit burning bridges.

And for those of you who were traumatized to the point of shielding from play -

I’m sorry. 

This perspective can only help. 

[stefanhaves]

A Fallen Prince X 2: Robin Williams, David Bowie

ROBIN....

“Comedy Store West - Saw him on stage, I might have been 18 or 19. Late 1970's? 

You - an avatar, illuminating possibilities without restraint- Breaking rules, comic conventions, and now my suffering heart. As an unsuspecting youth without a father, mentor, or idol, 

I gazed at you from a cocktail table, I alone, straw in a two-drink-minimum 7-Up. Robin Williams. 

You, an SF mop-haired guy with suspenders, ten years my senior, not yet Mork, sprinting onto the stage: So brave, so audacious in your humility, humanity, confidence and flow. A jazz player amidst dorks reading music - redefining comedy, life, and joy - giving my life purpose, if but for that moment. 

You manifested possibility, Sir, and for that, I am eternally grateful. You awakened the drowsy spirit in my gut with a sucker punch of mischief, wonder, and courage. You gave this kid's life meaning. A generation of kids like me. 

Thank you, Robin Williams. 

My supreme comic muse in a mortal core who improvised for the Gods, and us earth-bound humans who happened to be in the room watching you, caterpillar-man sprouting wings and becoming a butterfly, if only for a few golden evenings, or weeks or months.... Grateful humans, us, watching you fly, flying with you, brave soul. 

The simultaneous collective hysteria and laughter created, unmatched.... Your legacy continues, left to us mere mortals.Shit. Graceful fool. I weep.”

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DAVID...

“He gifted me an alternative to the mundane,

The painful,

The wreckage,

The trauma…

He was a brother in arms leading lonely adolescent souls,

From wounded to healers,

Into stealth battles against a paternal tyranny of logic,

'Supposed to's,'

And a perceived safety of shutting out the Intuitive expansiveness

Of the universe.

He did this with grace,

Humor,

Alien Abduction,

the salve of sex,

and a sublime and a powerfully seductive acceptance of urges undefined, Unspoken -

And confronted them shamelessly.

Without shame, battling forces who would want him

Contrite, small, and ashamed -

No more.

Not with you here, Mr. Bowie.

He taught me that there is a true and utter dignity in the world of

imagination, sexuality, intuition, and celebration.

He defined struggle and beauty and inner hope and outer space.

His art encouraged me to have self acceptance

in the realm of that which I could see but couldn't tell others I could see.

Giving voice to a reason deeper then the taught logic,

the Parent logic, the safe logic.

I weep, Crown Prince -

I continue holding the torch.

It is dimmer without you here,

But you knew that.

We all just have to work a little harder -

To expose -

The transparent struggle of life and the joy of a truth greater than any of us could ever imagine.

Dance, Let's Dance in these Golden Years.”

[stefanhaves]

TedX Talk - New Delhi, India 2017 - 2 minutes of inspiration - #Shy-Is-Selfish