Where Clouds are Far Behind

By Brenda Black

Somewhere over the rainbow, on June 10, 1922, Frances Ethel Gumm entered this world. By the ripe old age of two, the baby girl delivered her first stage performance and a star was born. Sadly, no fairy tale, award-winning movies or melodic stories sung by the dark haired lass would keep reality at bay. Gumm, better known as Judy Garland, died at 47, having performed for 45 of her fleeting years.

One writer remembered the iconic starlet this way, “Between the struggles of the Great Depression and the mayhem of World War II, Garland invited us to experience a transformed world in The Wizard of Oz where we could 'wake up where clouds are far behind.'”

While Garland sang of such a place, another woman went there. Amelia Earhart went where no woman had gone before when she flew solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1928, and reached an altitude of 18,415 feet in 1931.

Vicariously, women soared with her, applauding her gumption and envying her freedom. She invited onlookers to experience a transformed world through her courage and moxy. But her last adventure, an attempt to circumnavigate the globe in the Lockheed Electra, ended in 1936, when she disappeared over the South Pacific. A nation grieved the petite daredevil who only made it to 40.

Two talented women with two troubling destinies that sound sadly similar. The great divide in their end results is that one self destructed while the other pushed the limits. They each took risks, but one lived in fantasy while the other made dreams come true.

Many become stars for their fine performances. Few become heroes for setting lofty goals and working to achieve them. When you seek inspiration, it's fine to look far behind the clouds for prospects, but use some caution. Some are in it only for themselves. They'll sing the songs and play the parts, while behind their masks lurk dark secrets and troubling storms in lives headed for disaster rather than the end of a rainbow. True inspiration can be found in the ones who bare their souls and live with integrity and purpose.

Earhart once said, “By the time I had got two or three hundred feet off the ground, I knew I had to fly.”

Make sure you can spot the difference between those shooting for stardom and those aiming for the stars. Be certain you navigate toward great possibilities not just yellow-bricked fantasies. Most importantly, fly in such a way so that others will want to soar after you.

**Tell me -- who inspires you to do the impossible?

©2016 The Word's Out-Brenda Black

Catch the Olympic Spirit

courtesy www.rickey.org

by Brenda Black

Wipe outs, crashes, skids, tumbles, collisions, and flat out nasty wrecks litter the snowy path to winter Olympic finish lines and “10's”. Many will have in common the brutal and bruised trade marks of an athlete in pursuit of perfection. Few will actually stand at the top of the podium. What could possibly be worth the pain? Why would anyone go through the rigors of training for one fleeting moment of fame? For each the answer will be unique.

Some athletes thrive on the rush of bitter cold air slapping their faces as they become one with the mountain and their ski boots. Others will say they were born to compete. Still many will claim their bent for pain and performance as a divine calling. The winners get the chance to tell the world why they beat their bodies into submission for the sake of a dangling medal and the spotlight. Most just return home to face the gym, the rink, the slopes again, and clamor to discover the secret ingredient of an Olympian gold medalist.

You don't have to travel across the globe to see that same spirit. It dwells in the hearts of contenders in all walks of life, not just Olympians. I've met hundreds of people in my lifetime who go the extra mile, give it their all and ever strive to improve at what they do. I've seen people in suit coats as well as sweat pants laboring intensely and bringing their best game. I've watched men in the pulpit live sacrificially to win the ultimate prize as well as witnessed students stay up all night to ace a more temporal final exam.

It's the human spirit that pushes us to press on. It's competition that fuels the desire to get ahead of the pack and not look back. And dangling in front of us, seemingly always out of reach, is the ultimate end that makes the journey worth every painful inch. The reward of a job well done.

I find the human spirit fascinating, the human mind mesmerizing and the human body remarkable when each is used to its full potential. Ironically, every one of us houses within immensely more than we ever utilize. And it takes the example of supreme athletes to awaken us to our own slumbering capabilities.

When we apply all of the God-given talents, sometimes we'll end up crossing the finish line in first. Other times, we'll go home with nothing but our efforts for a trophy. But always, the greatest satisfaction will be in knowing that we persevered and finished strong, no matter where we placed or how long it took.

May the Olympic spirit propel each of us to greater heights in our day to day lives. If we tap in to the talent within, reach deep for the resolve to be all we were born, called and prepared to be, there's no telling where such determination might take us. Whether you watched marathon broadcasts or visually nibbled on internet highlights; no matter whether you cheered for a single home-town hero or celebrated every champion, hopefully you felt anew the energy of endurance, the victory of fortitude.

The human spirit: Catch it, feed it and do something with it for good!