In its 11th week of release, the movie Patch Adams is still in the theaters, still in the top 20 list of high-grossing films.

The appeal of the movie and of the person Patch Adams is wide and deep, despite the critical thumbs down of the movie itself and the sometimes relentless tendency of an apparently bored media world to find and report on the most negative lowest common denominator of every thing.

Often those activities and ideas that involve inspiration, idealism or paradigm-shifting, leading-edge thinking seem to be particularly despised by what can at times appear a snobbish and reactionary media world.

And it is in the nature of most societies to try very hard to topple the current hero from any extant pedestal. In our society, the media often seizes on this function, as the process of toppling heroes is what sells papers and TV advertising spots. Patch's comment on all this negative journalism, in the face of the obvious inspiration the world takes from his story, is: "As societies, we need to figure out ways to live lives more interested in news that is good than bad."

Last month, part one of this article explored some of the roles Patch Adams the man and the myth plays in the hearts and psyches of the people. Part 2 will continue to illuminate this larger-than-life individual and the wide swath he cuts, trailing behind him deeply inspired people, eager to find a way to be in service to their planet and their people.

The Trickster and Fool

In mythology, the Trickster figure, through playing pranks and acting the fool, transforms aspects of the world for the benefit of humankind. Patch, whose personal recipe for health care delivery includes a whopping dose of laughter and goofiness, is a skilled and internationally sought after clown, juggler and rope walker--one who thinks nothing of frolicking in a bathtub filled with oiled noodles. Patch is surely this Trickster for all of us, and, as such, goads us into whatever transformation is needed to be living more fully and in more connection with each other.

But Patch is also clearly The Fool. As those who understand the tarot deck know, this archetype, The Fool, is the most necessary in the whole tarot journey. Without the innocent idiot, the distracted and happy one who steps gaily off the cliff, the journey of transformation cannot even begin. Patch steps off that cliff, over and over again, in very public ways, and with a childish delight that causes us all to understand the transformative possibility inherent in taking the big risks of beginning journeys.

For instance, nearly everyone asks if Patch really mooned at his medical school graduation. He is circumspect, and never directly answers that question. Instead, he always says he has mooned often, and recently. I know this is true, because at a large gathering (more than 1,000 people) on the East Coast in February, Patch not only mooned while on stage, he persuaded all those in the audience who secretly dreamed of mooning to get up on the stage for a large group mooning. I don't know if you can picture all those business suits and dresses hiked up or dropped down, and all those bright shining butts, but you can be sure this was a transformative experience.

And while Patch would not pretend he has not suffered the same dark times and quagmires we all experience, he does live as a constant expression of relentless joy. Besides, "It's a huge secret," he says, "but following a dream is invigorating. If you sink your passion into something, your life will explode into breathtaking vistas." And so, even in the darkest of times, Patch knows there can and must be joy, and that breathtaking vistas always draw a person on down that path lit by relentless joy.

Dedicated to service

So Patch moves in his unpredictable way, as the Fool and the Trickster, traversing the planet as an Ambassador of the Possible, illustrating and demonstrating the unlimited power of creativity. One of the possibilities he constantly represents is what can happen when individuals and societies and governments dedicate themselves to the idea of Service. There are dozens and dozens of stories of individuals all over the world who, inspired by Patch's message, created something new to provide needed care and service to others.

One of the most remarkable is that of Maria Eliseeva, a Moscow mother of four, whose dream was to somehow help orphans. With some input both financially and philosophically from Patch, she began to do just that, and now runs a thriving and paradigm-shifting project that has the attention of all Russia. She teaches the orphans to tap their previously unknown powers of creativity and make spectacular folk art murals of brilliant color and life--and they sell all over the world. In this way, the children understand, usually for the first time, the possibility hidden in their grim lives, and their own enormous self-worth. And she models Service for them, so the ripple effect from Patch moves ever wider in the world.

Through the sale of artwork, Maria's orphans now financially help support another orphanage, which cares for children with cystic fibrosis. These orphaned children, brutalized and devoid of any possessions themselves, are joyfully in service to others. And of course they also clown in hospitals, other orphanages and nursing homes.

American health care

Another very big nerve the movie jolts is the vast American dissatisfaction with their health care delivery system. We have all witnessed the steady deterioration of the physician and patient connection, with the resulting depersonalization and businessification of the healing arts. We are all frustrated by bait-and-switch insurance sales, lack of continuity of care, hard-hearted runarounds about coverage in the midst of illness, and an endless assortment of other difficulties. Patients and health care workers alike are discouraged. Hospitals have become buildings filled with depressed workers and angry consumers.

In the midst of this, Patch, as Ambassador of the Possible, offers one alternative for health care delivery--an alternative that includes free medical care provided by a cadre of volunteer health care workers in a milieu of silliness and laughter and high creativity.

Patch takes very seriously the solid research and knowing that humor and laughter heals, and he feels the hospital environment must nurture these activities to provide the most efficient healing. He sees no reason why a sick person shouldn't have fun while recovering. What could be more healing than a hospital filled with health care workers who love being there and who live as an expression of laughter and joy?

So while this idea has been roundly dismissed as crackpot for the last 18 years, the movie has now provided the impetus for its fruition. Hopefully, the actual hospital can soon begin construction. The idea of one man, holding to a strange, paradigm-busting vision, and actually causing wheels to turn in the direction of the millions of dollars needed to build a hospital--well, that's just plain inspiring.

And while the mainstream media has had its fun with Patch-bashing, the editorial pages everywhere have had other opinions. For instance, The Kansas City Star published an essay by the chairman of the central governing board of Children's Mercy Hospital in which he illustrated the many ways in which the spirit of Patch's ideas is alive and walking the halls of that hospital. And the CEO of Children's Hospitals and Clinics in Minneapolis and St. Paul also wrote a Guest Commentary for some of Minnesota's papers along the same line, comparing Patch's ideas to the family-centered care philosophy at work in his hospitals.

And finally, Patch reminds us all about our need for community. While we might not all choose to live in a commune or wear outrageous clothes or participate in snot-blowing contests, most of us do need other humans to complete the palate of human experience, and to be our safety net in times of need.

And so Patch, a very human man and a generous humanitarian, skips and shuffles and farts and belches and sings and poetically recites his way around the planet, sprinkling a generous dose of transformative fairy dust wherever he goes. And in his wake, the huge possibilities of Service and Joy sprout and fly and green the lives of countless individuals everywhere. And the planet smiles.

Patch Adams and the Gesundheit! Institute welcomes help and donations of every kind. For more info, see the web site at www.patchadams.org,  or write the Gesundheit! Institute, Hospital Foundation, P.O. Box 98072, Washington, D.C. 20090-8072, or phone (877) SILLY-DR.