In her interview with astronaut Dave Williams for the Festival of Words, Maryse Carmichael read an excerpt from Williams’ book Defying Limits: Lessons From the Edge of the Universe, detailing his desire to go out of the bounds of expectation.
It was an apt selection to read; Williams embodies the youthful desire to reach for the stars that, through determination, can blossom into a successful bound-breaking existence in adulthood.
Williams is a decorated astronaut, holding the record for the most spacewalk as a Canadian astronaut, as well as a jet pilot and neurology expert. He sat down with Carmichael, who was the first female pilot to fly as a Snowbird and was later promoted to Commander which made her the first female commander of the aerobatics team.
Williams began with telling the story of when he first decided he wanted to be a pilot — witnessing the Apollo 11 mission at age 15 — despite the Canadian space program being non-existent at that time.
He credited his parents with instilling the sense that opportunity is always available if you pursue it, which led him to the Army Cadets and eventually on to his neurological research.Williams went on to detail the stress that occurs on the human body during a space trip, admitting that it bears similarities to the condition that aerobatic pilots — such as the Snowbirds and therefore Carmichael herself — undergo during their maneuvers.
It’s one of many parts of being an astronaut that is taxing, and Williams is very humble when talking about his numerous accomplishments; he spent a lot of time discussing the importance of teamwork and camaraderie, out there in space.
Carmichael asked Williams if he felt as though he had accomplished his promise to himself to live in the moment.
“I think I’m still on the journey,” admitted Williams, before going on to talk about appreciating every moment and overcoming life’s obstacles.
Maryse Carmichael asked astronaut Dave Williams' first fascination with going into space. “From my perspective, the most important thing in life is the pursuit of meaning,” said Williams. “If we think the pursuit of happiness is our goal, we’re going to be disappointed because I can guarantee you’re not going to be happy your whole life.”
“Through adversity, we learn about ourselves and what we’re capable of dealing with, and we acquire greater meaning in our lives by living through adverse circumstances,” he added. “I learned much more from failure than from success.”
Williams, while discussing his time on the International Space Station and the spacewalks he participated in, shared one tidbit of life advice that he felt was appropriate both in the vacuum of space and here on Earth.
“One of the things that’s a great opportunity for all of us to learn is MacGyver-ism,” said Williams, admitting that astronauts use the same last-minute problem-solving solutions that everyone else does.
He topped his advice off with an anecdote about a crew on a spacewalk to repair the Hubble telescope who had to break the handrail off the door because the bolt was stuck, in order to finish their mission.
Williams left the crowd with, hopefully, a new perspective on their own capabilities — and some new insight into the headspace of an astronaut.
