Baz Luhrmann Lyrics - Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)
Shere

This morning while putting the finishing touches on a paper that is due in about four hours I watched the movie "The Big Kahuna" with Danny Divito and Kevin Spacey. It was a pretty good movie from the parts I saw, I was mainly using it as background noise. Well as the movie credits were rolling and I started hearing this guy giving advice. It was great, I closed my eyes and enjoyed his words with the background music. So I looked up the lyrics and would like to share them with you in this post. I hope you like them as much as I did:

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it.

The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience…I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded.

But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked….You’re not as fat as you imagine.

Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing everyday that scares you Sing Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours. Floss Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.

Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how. Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements. Stretch Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.
Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone. Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children,maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…what ever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s.


Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.. Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room. Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them. Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.


Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future. Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.



Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.



Travel. Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders. Respect your elders. Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.



Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85. Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.






But trust me on the sunscreen…
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Getting Leo Wrong...
Shere

I am not finding many fellow students who view Leo in the same light I. As I read the book I thought Leo was an actual person on the journey with the Legion, but by the end of the book that had changed. There were several passages that lead me to believe that the presents of Leo was a spiritual/subconscious presence representing the faithfulness of the followers and how they must grow in their spritiutality.

I thought it telling when in the book Leo disappeared: "Each participant in this unforgettable jouney had his own ideas as to what made our faithful Leo suddenly decide to leave us in the middle of the dangerous gorge of Morbio Inferiore" (pg. 37). Leo left during a dangerous time in the journey. It is easy for us to hold on to our faith in the good times, but we are tested when times are hard and the road to righteousness in dangerous. The author follows up this by stating, "It also seemed that this apparently incidental but in reality extremely important event, the disappearance of Leo, was in no way an accident, but a link in the chains of events through which the eternal enemy sought to bring disaster to our undertaking." (pg. 38) that he recognizes that this Leo left during a time when the enemy was busy and aiming for a disastrous outcome and what would be worse than to get the faithful of their righteous paths.
The followers did not know what happened to Leo, but it was clear that it was a spiritual loss by the following passage, "The longer we looked for him and the more our hopes of finding him again dwindled during the course of the day, the more were we oppressed by the thought that it was not only the question of a popular, pleasant man amongst out servants who had either met with an accident or run away or had been captured by an enemy, but that this was the beginning of trouble, the first indication of a storm which would break over us." (pg. 38) In this passage I felt that the travelers knew that the loss of their faith was the first step of many off of the path of righteousness.

As time went past the loss of faith continued to take its toll on the travelers supported by the passage, "The stronger these feelings became, the clearer it seemed to me that it was not only that I had lost faith in finding Leo again, but everything was threatened: our comradeship, our faith, our vow, our Journey to the East, our whole life." The author states that "these feelings" were getting stronger - what feelings is he referring to? I feel his is referring to the loss of faith and Leo is that faith his feelings on a conscious level.

After a time in this dark place, the author feels the need to recapture this lost faith and fulfillment, he states, "I either had to write the book or be reduced to despair; it was the only means of saving me from nothingness, chaos, and suicide." (pg. 57) as the author wrote his book or as I see it reflecting on his life, which he states was necessary he keeps coming back to Leo who according to the (therapist ?) "seems to be an obstacle in your way" (pg. 58), and advises his go and find Leo. The author struggles inwardly and is looking forward to gaining what was lost so many years ago, he states, "I went to Seilergrabrn frequently, twenty time or more, at what I thought were favorable times..." (pg. 64). The author is opening and preparing his heart to accept all that was lost and is feeling cheery and optimistic about the encounter he is sure will happen.

I am going to skip to the part of the book after he meets with Leo and is discouraged because Leo doesn't recognize him to where I feel he goes through the process of statement, enlightenment, and forgiveness.
After the authors meeting with Leo he states, " I remained alone, foolish, with my head bent. I had lost the game. he did not know me; he did not want to know me he made fun of me." (pg. 77). He describe how he has felt without Leo in the past and during the times off of the righteous path, "During such periods of despair it seemed to me as it I. a lost pilgrim, had reached the extreme edge of the world, and there was nothing left for me to do but to satisfy my last desire, to let myself fall from the edge of the worlds into the void- to death" (pg. 77).

On the way to meet with the high council the author admires Leo demeanor while failing to experience even that journey himself. He is focused on the outward appearance, he states, "As I did many years ago when I watched him and the way he walked, I had to admire him as a good and perfect servant." Even though he admired Leo and wanted to be like him he did not choose to follow his lead, but instead he was impatient and ignored the lead Leo provided, "And so the route that Leo took seemed, in my impatience, intolerably long, for I had to follow my guide formore than two hours by way of the strangest and seemingly most capricious detours. Leo kept me waiting twice in front of a church in which he went to pray. For a long time that seemed endless to me, he remained meditating and absorbed in front of an old town hall, and told me about its foundation in the fifteenth century by a famous member of the League" (pg. 84).
There are many who separate themselves from their church and go through times when they deny that they Lord even exist. Those that are hurt often question why would God let bad or hurtful things happen to them. The author relates his fall this way, "That the most serious of my sins, even my illusion that the League no longer existed ..." (Pg. 100). Remember throughout this section of the book the author is called the SELF-ACCUSER, which leads me to believe this is an inward reflection. Fortunately, the author was not only given forgiveness but is also given insight, Leo informs him, "later you will have insight to your errors and you will also be shown how to avoid them in the future" (pg. 102).

Enlightenment comes at the end of the book when the author finds what's under his name. This explains where he has been, where he has been all of these years and how he should grown in the future.
"It contained nothing but a figure, a old worn-looking model made from wood or wax, in pale colors. It appeared to be a kind of deity or barbaric idol. (I feel this is Leo prior to knowing the Lord) At first it seemed entirely incomprehensible to me." Once the author lit the candle and was more enlightened he saw that it was him with more light, and in the end. "It (the figure) represented a figure which was myself, and this likeness of myself was unpleasantly weak and half-real; it had blurred features, and in its whole expression there was something unstable, weak, dying or wishing to die, and looked rather like a piece of sculpture.....I began to realize who it resembled, namely, the servant and President Leo, ... I now saw the double figure representing Leo and myself, nor only becoming clearer and each image more alike, but I also saw that the surface of the figure was transparent and that one could look inside as one can look through the glass or a bottle or vase. Inside the figures ...smooth but continuous flowing or melting; indeed, something melted or poured across from my image was in the process of adding to and flowing into Leo's, nourishing and strengthening it." (pgs 114-117)

The most important part and what I have been leading to: "It seemed that, in time, all the substance from one image would flow into the other and only one would remain: Leo. He must grow and I must disappear."

I can't tell you how this last statement resonated with me, because in my life Leo is Christ and I must disappear, shed my worldly wants and needs to grow in Christ until my life is one of righteousness.

Do you agree with my accessment of who Leo is in all of our lives?
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On Something the Lord Made
Shere

I thought that the characters were very complex and carried a lot of negative social baggage into what turned out to forge very personal and complex relationships. Alfred Blalock the surgeon in the movie was very interesting to me, because of the thin line he walked between his social responsibility to not promote blacks regardless of their competency and his drive and commitment to his life's work. Although Vivien Thomas the lab technician turned surgeon was obviously the main focus of the movie, and I did get the over arching goal of the movie and I was touched and proud of the history they were able to forge in spite of the social prejudices of the time. I tended to pay more attention to Blalock to see how he would act when confronted with various situations.

Blalock promoted Thomas many times during a time when his actions could have ruined his career and may have even brought himself and his wife bodily harm. The prejudice that was entrenched in American society at this time was not only egregious, but it was dangerous. I feel that is important to judge the actions of leaders framed within the constraints of social norms. White’s at this time in America’s history were not expected to go against the establishment that stated that minorities regardless of their talents were to occupy certain positions, Black were at this time expected to know their limitations and stay within them. Blalock was brave enough to do what was needed to further the field of medicine he loved and poured his life’s work into. I do not believe that he was at anytime oblivious of the doors he was tearing down, I believe that he was very aware and worked very carefully to elevate a man he respected while not overtly disrespecting the White establishment.

At times a leader must work bravely but carefully for change to occur. If a leader races forward with the change he or she feels needs to be enacted they run the chance of hurting those they intended to help. I am very surprised that I came to the conclusions that I did. I watched this film when it was first released, prior to my work in this degree program and I as I watched it today, I was able to see past the big story and for that I am grateful.
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How will I know?
Shere
I have found a wonderful set of questions to ponder during your process of becoming a "servant-leader". According to Laub the servant-leader:

1. Values people by (a) believing in people, (b) serving other's needs before his or her own, and by (c) receptive, non-judgmental listening.

2. Develops people by (a) providing opportunities for learning and growth, (b) modeling appropriate behavior, and by (c) building up others through encouragement and affirmation.

3. Builds community by (a) building strong personal relationships, (b) working collaboratively with others, and by (c) valuing the differences of others.

4. Displays authenticity by (a) being open and accountable to others, (b) a willingness to learn from others, and by (c) maintaining integrity and trust.


5. Provides leadership by (a) envisioning the future, (b) taking initiative, and by (c) clarifying goals.


6. Shares leadership by (a) facilitating a shared vision, (b) sharing power and releasing control, and by (c) sharing status and promoting others.


“Servant-leadership is a state of mind, a philosophy of life, a way of being.”

“Servant-leadership is an understanding and practice of leadership that places the good of those led over the self-interest of the leader. Servant-leadership promotes the valuing and development of people, the building of community, the practice of authenticity, the providing of leadership for the good of those led and the sharing of power and status for the common good of each individual, the total organization and those served by the organization. (Laub, 1999, p. 83)”

Some Basic Assumptions of Servant-leadership

  • Servant-leadership is a way of being in the world; a world view out of which responsible actions are done;
  • Servant-leadership is a relational philosophy

  • Servant-leadership involves caring and nurturing human fulfillment

  • As an extension of humanity servant-leaders care for and nurture organizational fulfillment, and community fulfillment

  • Servant-leadership assumes human and organizational development and transformation
    Servant-leaders nurture transcendence

  • Servant-leadership is a moral form of leadership

  • Servant-leaders promote developing leaders and shared leadership

  • Servant-leaders work from dependence to independence towards interdependence
    Servant-leadership engages the whole person drawing on intellectual intelligence,

  • Emotional intelligence and spiritual intelligence

  • Servant-leadership is universally applicable

  • Servant-leaders work towards congruity of thought, word, relationship and deed in all aspects of our lives
This information was found in:

JOURNEYING ON THE PATH OF LEADERSHIP
School of Professional Studies, Gonzaga University
The Philosophy of Servant-leadership
-Dr. John H. Horsman

If you would like a copy of this article please email the title to me and I will be glad to forward it to you.
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