LIFE
When I was young I thought the only important thing in life
was to get out of school. To be 16 so I could drive. To be 21 so I could drink
and party. I did not have a care in the world.
When I ventured into the business world I wanted to win,
accomplish, and reach a goal. I wanted to dream and make things happen. To get
there, I was always in a hurry.
I think we all try to do things in a unique way. Win or lose
we all make mistakes and miss what is important in life. We forget to slow down
and take much for granted.
My neighbor is a young man. On Christmas day, he suffered a
massive heart attack. He started to recover and then went into cardiac arrest.
His heart failed. His body was strong and young, so he became a candidate for
an artificial heart. He was too weak for a heart transplant and it would also
take too long to find a donor heart – so the artificial heart replaced the one
that died.
It was only a couple of years ago they thought it quite
impossible to survive with an artificial heart, but that has changed. One of
the first films I directed had Paul Winchell as one of my stars. Paul was a
very funny man. Known as one of the world’s best ventriloquists, his constant
companion was Jerry Mahoney. They entertained fans all over the world. He was
also a fine actor, very funny comedian, humanitarian and little known inventor.
He was the host of The Paul Winchell Show and hosted the Winchell-Mahoney Time
– a children’s TV series. During the filming of my film “The Man From Clover
Grove” Paul shared with me and many cast members, Ron Masak, Cheryl Miller,
Rose Marie, Richard Deacon, Buddy Lester, Jed Allen, Stu Gilliam and Joe
Higgins, news about some of his inventions. The one he was most proud of
because he had some medical training earlier was his artificial heart. He was
the first person to build and patent a mechanical artificial heart implantable
in the chest cavity. He held the U.S. Patent for the device. He said one-day
man would be able to take a worn out heart and replace it with a mechanical
one. We laughed and enjoyed the almost eerie idea that a man’s heart could be
replace with something mechanical.
The best part of that story is it has happened. Paul must be
smiling down at mankind for taking the serious invention of a comedian and turning
it into a functioning device that saves lives. My neighbor is healing and will
be waiting for a donor heart. The remarkable new device is, miraculously
keeping him alive.
That made me curious what people thought were the 10 most
important things in the world. I often ask people what they think is important
in life. I’m often staggered by some of the answers I get. Some people take
their time, think the question over and then say one of the following. The
answers, not in any particular order, always include:
(1) The Grand Canyon
(2) The Pyramids in
Egypt
(3) The Great Wall of
China
(4) The Taj Mahal in
India
(5) Russian
Architecture
(6) The Panama Canal,
7) St. Peter’s
Basilica in Vatican City
(8) The Towering
Skyscrapers in Dubai the City in the United Arab Emirate
(9) Man Landing on
the Moon
(10) Television or
the Internet
As a man who loves to entertain and has spent his entire
life creating works of art people all over the world can enjoy, I have my own
views on what is important to my life. My list is quite different from most. It
is short and to the point. The 10 most important things to me are:
1. The
SEE and have the vision to appreciate.
2. To
HEAR the rich sounds of life, nature and friends.
3. To TOUCH and enjoy the ability and sensation
which moves the heart.
4. To
TASTE the glorious buds that surround the palate.
5. To
FEEL the sensation that moves the heart, the physical, and the mind.
6. To
Laugh and entertain both inside the body and out.
7. To
LOVE and be able to understand and appreciate the emotions.
8. To HUG
and share within the warmth of giving.
9. To
LISTEN and learn the art of knowing what others are saying.
10. To LEARN by taking all that has enlightened
the mind and mold it into wonderful.
I feel that if everyone took the time to appreciate what was
gifted to them and not what others have done, life would be as special as first
intended. To accept those who may be different, scarred, limbless or unique and
welcome them into your life as anyone else would be. If we all carried a
peaceful heart so much more, could be accomplished. Life after all is a gift.
It can end on a moments notice without warning. What a shame to waste such a
unique opportunity to make a statement others would remember having been said.
I remember my grandfather telling me to slow down and smell
the roses. I thought that was a joke. Who went around smelling roses? I adored
my grandfather but sadly it took years to understand what his simple statement
meant. He also said, “Do with others as you do with family.” Grandpa was the
ultimate teacher of what listening, learning and smiling meant to the body and
mind. It was a given. If we first learned to listen, our smile would come much
easier.
Life. It is what we make it. We have choices. We create and
build the bodies and minds. We can travel down any road we chose. Some may be
far more difficult than others, but it is our choice and no one ever said life
would be easy. It is up to us to make it easy … so we can enjoy every moment.
An angry heart will never grow fonder until it change directions.
People laugh when I suggest a smile instead of a frown, but
a rich smile has a wonderful habit of making us feel better. When you share a
smile, invariably you get one back in return.
Life is good and worth sharing.
William Byron Hillman © 2014
My next film:
Of Light and Darkness
Web announcements coming soon
And
Quigley’s Christmas Adventure
On Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@QuigleyMovie
Web site: http://www.williamhillman.com
Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/williamhillman
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BillHillman1
Book Links:
Dream Searcher http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EC19DJW
Let’s Sue ‘Em http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009M9E790
Veronique and Murray: http://tinyurl.com/8xrmmu7
Zebra’s Rock and Me http://tinyurl.com/7b28qu6
Quigley’s Christmas Adventure http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ANVNQ6G
In development Veronique and Murray’s Honeymoon
Rollie Kemp Books
Ghosts and Phantoms Part I: http://tinyurl.com/6wxef7g
Ghosts and Phantoms Part II: http://tinyurl.com/d7mtspu
APRIL: http://tinyurl.com/7gt9prd
Bad Rap: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DNIHCYI
In editorial – Prematurely Terminated