David Helfgott is a gifted pianist with a remarkable story.  His life is brilliantly documented in the movie “Shine” which was filmed 20 years ago.  This emotionally captivating tribute begins in David’s childhood and journeys through his teen years where he was both adored and abused by his father. Despite threats of being disowned for the rest of his life by his father, David flees his family and place of birth to pursue his passion.

David travels from Melbourne. Australia to London, England to learn through an accomplished teacher at the Royal College of Music.  His studies culminate to a premier competition that leads to an unfolding of events like a grand roller coaster ride with unexpected twists and turns, and a most wondrous ending.  This end is only the ending of the movie though as David continues to thrive and perform for large audiences worldwide, breaking attendance records at world-class venues and enchanting thousands of people all over the globe.

David’s mental state, genuineness of character and gift of musical genius intertwined is an extraordinary example of the human spirits’ capacity to ‘shine’ despite setbacks in life.  Like a lotus flower that blossoms from mud, David Helfgott is a model of raw beauty from pure human spirit.

Life can be equated to a movie.  It is a story you create for yourself.  Whatever perspective you adopt becomes your reality.  You are the screenwriter while life is the director.  Release scripts with long drawn-out scenes where anger, fear, victimization, guilt and blame dominate. Focus on scripts that arouse unconditional love, joy, gratitude and effervescent humour in life.  Thus your legacy will be a most inspiring adventure for the world to cherish!

Movie: “Shine” (1996), Biography/Drama/Music, 1 hour 45 minutes.   DavidHelfgott.com/biography.

Dark clouds loomed overhead as the skies poured life onto earth.  Millions of rain droplets dimpled the ocean surface, creating a highly textured layer around moored sail boats. The rain danced on the wooden dock, leaving a brilliant sheen reflecting day’s light.  And then the winds picked up and as they swept through the inlet, clouds parted to reveal pockets of brilliant blue sky.  The rain stopped and the storm was over in a very short time.

Watching weather is much like witnessing life.  Human experiences and the myriad of emotions are similar to changing weather patterns.  We can’t control them and when life washes over us like a strong rainstorm, all we really need to do is relinquish to the flow of changes.  As surely as blue skies return, peace ultimately awaits our discovery.  Stay open to each passing moment and when the clouds of life drift away, your boat is always there to  take you on your next adventure!  Simply steer the sails in the direction you wish to go!  

Once in a while, a message comes to my awareness that stays with me for days, sometimes weeks and even months.  Spontaneous occurrences like these hold more significance than I initially realize.  Through the unfolding moments of life, I come to discover the hidden lesson my soul wants me to learn.  This is the case when I stumbled across three sentences while perusing a used book store. A small book titled ‘Handbook for the Soul’ captured my attention.  It is a compilation of writings by renowned authors, psychologists, scientists, and leaders in the human motivation and personal development fields. Philosopher, Robert Fulghum is one of the contributing writers.

Robert states “One final thought on nourishing the soul. I try to make sure that I see the real news of the world that’s right in front of me, not just the recitation of disasters that passes for news on television. The real news, the knowledge of what’s going on in my immediate world and immediate life, sustains life.”  These words have stayed with me since I first read them.

What I eventually came to realize is that quality of life can be very simple.  We do not need to regularly fill our minds with world events in order to experience more richness in daily life. We need only pay attention to our immediate surroundings. What if we all switched from a daily dose of news to a daily dose of humour?  How different would our world be?  Robert Fulghum ends each day by reading something funny, which makes the bed shake and then annoys his wife!  He then shares the humour with her and together they laugh.  This is the perfect example of how simple it can be to experience richness in daily life!

Heaven touched earth early Sunday morning.  The sun shone brilliantly, flowers opened gracefully, and the sweet sounds of song birds echoed through the warm morning air.  Amidst this botanical garden, a celebration of life took place to honour a woman who had lived 98 years.

Mollie was born in 1917, the same year that John F. Kennedy, Indira Gandhi, Ferdinand Marcos and Raymond Burr were born.  Like these icons, Mollie lived a full and accomplished life.  She blazed her own trail, having survived childhood illness, the Great Depression and World War II.  Despite immense hurdles, she graduated university, earned the role of a grade school teacher and a sergeant during the war.  She became a wife, a bookkeeper, a crossword puzzle expert, a challenging scrabble partner and a master bridge player.  Within her family, she was a daughter, sister, mother, grandmother and great grandmother.  As her life evolved, she continually reinvented herself.  Mollie thrived throughout, revealing amazing artistic talents in the last few years which are now a part of her legacy.

Among the many friends and family who attended the celebration were her youngest sister, Ann.  At age 91, Ann is a bright elder and a sheer delight to converse with.  Also present was 103 year old Phyllis who was equally bright and delightful.  These remarkable women flowed seamlessly with the group.  They participated fully to the end, where everyone enjoyed a piece of celebration cake, honouring the sweetness Mollie had imparted on so many peoples’ lives.

Life can be immensely challenging at times and also wonderfully joyous.  It is important not to lose focus of the joys and sweetness life offers.  How sweet it was for everyone to come together to celebrate Mollie’s life!  Sweetness and delightful camaraderie are vital ingredients of a life well-lived!

A beautiful Hibiscus plant, with vibrant red-orange flowers measuring about 5″ in diameter fully opened, is my glorious new companion.  ‘She’ was gifted to me yesterday morning, quite by surprise.  I had not expected this and felt deeply grateful to the person who bestowed this majestic plant upon me.  What had I done?  Nothing out of the ordinary from my perspective.  Only what I love to do and that is to teach and create a safe place for people to share, learn and grow together.  It is true, kindness is contagious.  One kind deed can ‘indeed’ change the world.  Remember that although you may only be one person in this world, you may be the world to that person.

Unbeknownst to either of us, the hibiscus (pictured below) has many hidden messages which synchronistically tie into our lessons over the past month.  The flower itself is a sign of rebirth and youthfulness.  The blooms sometimes only last a day, reminding us to appreciate beauty in the moment.  Similarly, we all have the ability to create anew by tapping into our inner source of power for spiritual enlightenment.  To our delight, by the end of the session, a leaf that shielded a young bud had shifted away to allow the bud to open up to its own true magnificence! There is always so much more than what the eye beholds.  Heaven in a hibiscus is proof of that!

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