WWHD?

What would Hawkeye do?

This is probably not relevant in any significant way any longer, and my choice of protagonist will have to be changed, but honestly I just can't think of one from today's choice of pop culture icons.  But here goes...

When I was younger, I watched every rerun of M*A*S*H that was on.  I loved that show.  And most importantly I loved the character of Hawkeye Pierce.  At the time it was because he was funny, and perhaps in my young mind the kinda hot, bad boy character.  He was what I wanted to be: someone who just didn't seem to care what anyone else thought, he was going to live life his way.

As I got older I didn't think about M*A*S*H that often, and honestly hadn't thought of it in years, until I was reading a chapter on "Burnout" in a book titled How Can I Help? by Ram Dass.  In this chapter there is lots of great information about the signs of burnout and how to tell if you have reached the burnout stage and explanation that burnout is common and doesn't say anything about you as a person.  But the thing that stuck with me most, was the example of Hawkeye and how he avoided burnout.

Hawkeye was dedicated to his work.  He was the surgeon you wanted when you were rushed in to his camp hospital.  He might have been unconventional, but he was prepared to have whatever focus it was going to take to get the job done.  He was nothing if not a doctor.  And he did his work under incredibly stressful circumstances.  The man had every reason to burnout on the job, on his life, on everything.  And at times you could see it.  He did.

But most of the time, what you saw was a man who treated life like it was a party.  He flirted with the attractive nurses, he distilled alcohol in his tent, he played practical jokes.  He got a laugh when he could, where he could.  He kept himself sane.  And he did it by being fully him, all the time.

My idea of making life a party isn't exactly like Hawkeye's, but I can learn a lot from him.

My life will never be perfect or ideal.  I will always have to struggle with a job that will drain my energy, with friends who sometimes need more than I can give, with stress and business.  But going home and allowing myself to fall into depression because my energy is depleted isn't going to help me.  It is only going to make tomorrow that much more difficult.  When I get home, I need to replenish my energy.

Sure, rest and food will help to a degree, but those don't make me feel alive.  I need to do things that make me feel alive.

In a way this goes back to my post from the other day, about transformation.  I need to find those things that make me feel excited, happy, refreshed and rejuvinated.

I got off the phone with a friend of mine the other night, having told her about my fire ceremony on NYE and I felt happy and alive.  I write in my journal or read a book and I feel happy and alive.  When I do my Qigong and yoga I feel happy and alive.  Preparing for my classes in seminary make me feel happy and alive.  I need to look for and find those things that make me feel alive after a long day.

I still have a bracelet from my younger days that says "WWJD?" as a reminder to think about how Jesus would react in any given situation.  Perhaps I need one that says, "WWHD?" to remind myself to think about what Hawkeye would do so that I can continue to feel alive even in the midst of taking a step backwards.