Is it possible to truly live, without having some “greater purpose” or deep meaning in our life? If we hear about heroes, we usually think of threatening situations, dangerous adventures, or incredible feats of strength or intellect. We think of Prometheus, who stole the fire from the gods for the good of humankind, and the Knights of the Round Table in their quest for the Holy Grail—and then the more contemporary Mahatma Gandhi or Martin Luther King.
The concept of a hero exists in all cultures and times and is under constant change, always influenced by the prevailing “Zeitgeist” and the ethos of the communities concerned. The Romantic period stressed religious belief as a natural quality of being human, the Renaissance glorified military feats, and modern society has made heroes of rebels, nature, and psychology. In a book recently published in Germany, Moderne Helden, the authors Michael Fuchs and Steffen Gill define heroes as those who have dedicated their lives to a cause greater than themselves and who act in the best interest of others. People who do not make a big show of their actions or have their pictures taken in a victory pose. People who go far beyond personal goals and include the world in their activity. These are “everyday heroes,” who act out a principle that transcends any cultural boundaries— the motivation to contribute fully to the life of others. They are convinced that there is an amazing side effect when we carry out such an act—the sense of having lived a precious, unique life ourselves. In this article, we introduce one of these “modern heroes” to you.
Hannes Urdl, alias “Doctor Wurl,” works for an Austrian charitable organization called “Rote Nasen” (“Red Noses”). The organization sees its task as supporting sick people during their hospital stays, taking away or easing their fear of operations, examinations, or medical equipment, and banishing their loneliness. Through their joyfulness, they can encourage the patients to face life and provide the needed strength for getting better or at least a moment of happiness. The aim of the charity is that every sick child and every geriatric patient gets their own private clowns once or twice a week. Here is the interview that Steffen and Michael did with Hannes Urdl.
Hannes Urdl: We are driving people a little crazy. And that’s good because it’s funny, especially in the context that we are working in, in areas where people are not feeling very well, for example children or old people in hospitals, refugee children, or others who are in difficult mental states. We see ourselves as part of the medical treatment, but of course we don’t tell people: “Laugh, take your bed, and then go home.” Instead, we help them take their illness out from under the magnifying glass and put it back in perspective.
Some patients are very tied up in thoughts about how they feel, why they are sick, and how very soon they will feel even worse. We are refocusing their self-centeredness a little bit by expanding their limited view and shifting their attention. We are playing with their daily life situations and are not afraid to be silly. The part of the clown provides us with absurd, funny, and strange ideas and possibilities that we can use. It’s great fun!
How do you reach out to people who are in a very serious situation?
The best way is not to intend to make someone laugh, because the intention makes you rigid: “Come on, make us laugh! Now!” It’s the obvious failure in terms of this impossible claim that makes a situation come alive. It’s the failure that leads to the openness and effortlessness that you need in order to connect with the patients: “Am I in the right room here? Are you here? Am I here? Nothing is set in stone, tomorrow I am dead, tomorrow you are dead.” Everything is possible.
Life is a continuing journey between those distant poles of how things are and how they should be. The only chance to overcome this paradox is to live life. This “nevertheless” is where we all meet: “Nevertheless, I am just here. Strange. You are, despite your diagnosis, also just here. You will soon go, and I am allowed to stay a little longer.” To then nevertheless laugh about something small, enjoy similarities, differences, magic tricks, or plain silliness, and to swing through life together for a little while allows a breakthrough in many sad and difficult situations. This kind of human and just normal interaction is such a relief!
How did you become a clown doctor?
I was searching for a long time for my place in society. Because I really love music, I invested many years and my heart and soul in being a musician. At some point I realized that it just wasn’t working out the way I wanted it to. When I admitted this failure to myself, basically my whole life fell apart. Then I asked myself, “Okay, what can I offer the world? Where else can I connect to the world?” This attitude was really helpful for me—turning around, facing these questions. From that point on things went really fast, I made the right connections, and I found my place.
What is the self?
Something wonderful. It is a camera you can see people with, shooting from the outside to the inside and the other way around at the same time. It is kind of like a mirror. Every movement I do now, every answer I give influences my self. And when I look at my self in a certain way, that influences my self as well, of course. This never-ending mirroring is what is exciting about life. But the real question is: What do I use the answer for? What actions are followed by my insights?
Happiness is being aware of your self. Doing something and not looking in the mirror at the same time, watching myself doing it. The moment of being coherent with life, doing something that is consistent and not immediately reflecting and questioning it. It’s all about being in the moment. This is an important quality of happiness. This pure moment when I cannot say what happened just before.
To me, being present as a witness is an important concept. When I am observing or witnessing, I do not have to immediately be in favor of or against something or someone, it can be enough just to observe and see how things happen. Very old people sometimes have that, they sit and watch. It can be good to be “of this world” and just be aware of things, without immediately being outraged or enthusiastic. Just noticing and watching because we are not always so important everywhere. That is a really good exercise.
What do you think is possible in this world?
The world will continue, somehow, in some way. It will go on and at some point, we will not be here. At the same time, the same or similar situations and problems will arise again and again. Human existence produces situations and problems and tries to find solutions. That’s the way it is. Seeing that, I often have the feeling that I have already lived many lives in this life, and I have already concluded many of them. Maybe one should die a little bit every now and then, because we have the tendency to take our unfinished business with us all the time. Death and farewell open us up to something new. It helps us find the right place in this world. Just lie down every now and then and die a little. You will be surprised how much new life will arise from that.
This may seem like quite absurd yet encouraging advice, and in this way, we build the bridge back to the world of the clowns.
This is an excerpt from Michael Fuchs & Steffen Gill’s, Moderne Helden. Printed with permission from J. Kamphausen Publishing, Germany. Translated and edited by Claudia Balara
