Every year I speak to thousands of students in public and private schools across the country. At the end of the day, when I walk out the front door and climb back into my rental car, I always have a bit more faith that the future is in pretty good hands.
It is Date Night, so this is short and sweet. I just saw this sign and it made me laugh so hard. Thought I would pass the smiles along! Good night dear friends!
One of the side effects of having cancer is the fear that comes with it. There are days and even weeks and months that I am not really effected by it. But then something will trigger those Bigger Than Me Days of fear, and those are tough days. I had one ( ok, maybe 2 or 3 ) of those a month ago when I was feeling so tired and weak. The fatigue was terrible and my mind went to a bad place. I tried to write about it because I think that it is very important to let other survivors know, what is normal or at least happens to other survivors. It took me over a week to really get out of that bad place. The What Ifs came too, and so it took a lot of work and effort to change where I was.
Finally I did and have been grateful ever since that I don't feel like running and looking over my shoulder all the time, wondering when or if cancer is going to return. But I had a bit of a relapse the other night. I have been having some swelling in my arm from not having many lymph nodes after my surgery. Some times if the swelling gets bad, my arm aches and lately that seems to be happening a lot. When I went to bed that night, I woke up a few times in the middle in a bad dream. Each time I woke up, I could feel my arm just throbbing and then I would go back to sleep and be right back in the same dream. The dream was, my arm was aching and so we went to the DR. and he said that I had Stage 4 bone cancer, I was devastated, then I would wake up and realize it was only a dream ( nightmare to be a matter of fact ) and how grateful I was that it was only that. Finally I decided to get up because I did not want to go back into that dream again.
So sometimes even when you think your head is in the right place, your sub-conscience brings those fears back to you. Yes, the side effects of cancer can be scary but manageable IF you work at it each day! With that said, I am tired... my arm is still aching and now I am wondering if I really want to go to bed tonight or not? Guess I will anyway, good night dear friends!
P.S. Maybe what I should do, is go get one of my RECNAC MONSTERS, they really do help!
"Each time we face our fear, we gain strength, courage, and confidence in the doing."
"There is much in the world to make us afraid. There is much more in our faith to make us unafraid." ~Frederick W. Cropp
"There are very few monsters who warrant the fear we have of them." ~Andre Gide
I read this poem and thought it is true in some ways for me but then in other ways...I think my life is even better than I dreamed. Having come from an abusive childhood, I didn't really dream a lot. Reality seemed to always get in my way. But I did tell myself "if you ever make it out of this situation and if you ever get married and have a family, you have got to make sure this type of thing NEVER happens to your kids." With that determination I slowly looked toward the future hoping it would be different and praying with all my heart that it would and that I could have the faith and courage to make it so! I am grateful and blessed to say that life did turn out better than my childhood and that I have been able to stop the abuse that for generations which plagued our family.
So when I see that girl I used to be, I smile and tell her to have courage, don't give up hope. Her life is going to be great, she is going to meet the most incredible man and they will fall in love. Then they will have 4 beautiful and incredible children and yes...they all will be safe and happy! Yes, she will have lot's of wonderful things to look forward to.
The Girl I Used to Be
by: Author Unknown,
She came tonight as I sat alone,
the girl I used to be,
And she gazed at me with her earnest eyes,
and questioned reproachfully,
Have you forgotten the many plans,
and hopes I had for you?
The great career,
the splendid fame,
all the wonderful things to do?
Where is the mansion of stately height,
with all of its gardens rare?
The silken robes that I dreamed for you,
and the shining jewels in your hair?
And as she spoke,
I was very sad,
for I wanted her pleased with me,
This slender girl from the shadowy past,
the girl I used to be.
So gently rising,
I took her hand and guided her up the stairs,
Where peacefully sleeping,
my babies lay, innocent, sweet and fair,
And I told her that these are my only gems,
and precious they are to me,
That silken robe is my motherhood,
of costly simplicity,
And my mansion of stately height is love,
and the only career I know,
Is serving each day in these sheltered walls,
for the dear ones who come and go,
And as I spoke to my shadowy guest,
she smiled through her tears at me,
And I saw the woman that I am now,
pleased the girl that I used to be!
"There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in." ~ Deepak Chopra
"We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today." ~Stacia Tauscher
I have a friend named Monty Roberts who owns a horse ranch in San Ysidro. He has let me use his house to put on fund-raising events to raise money for youth at risk programs.
The last time I was there he introduced me by saying, “I want to tell you why I let Jack use my horse. It all goes back to a story about a young man who was the son of an itinerant horse trainer who would go from stable to stable, race track to race track, farm to farm and ranch to ranch, training horses. As a result, the boy’s high school career was continually interrupted. When he was a senior, he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up.
“That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing his goal of someday owning a horse ranch. He wrote about his dream in great detail and he even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch, showing the location of all the buildings, the stables and the track. Then he drew a detailed floor plan for a 4,000-square-foot house that would sit on a 200-acre dream ranch.
“He put a great deal of his heart into the project and the next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received his paper back. On the front page was a large red F with a note that read, `See me after class.’
“The boy with the dream went to see the teacher after class and asked, `Why did I receive an F?’
“The teacher said, `This is an unrealistic dream for a young boy like you. You have no money. You come from an itinerant family. You have no resources. Owning a horse ranch requires a lot of money. You have to buy the land. You have to pay for the original breeding stock and later you’ll have to pay large stud fees. There’s no way you could ever do it.’ Then the teacher added, `If you will rewrite this paper with a more realistic goal, I will reconsider your grade.’
“The boy went home and thought about it long and hard. He asked his father what he should do. His father said, `Look, son, you have to make up your own mind on this. However, I think it is a very important decision for you.’ “Finally, after sitting with it for a week, the boy turned in the same paper, making no changes at all.
He stated, “You can keep the F and I’ll keep my dream.”
Monty then turned to the assembled group and said, “I tell you this story because you are sitting in my 4,000-square-foot house in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch. I still have that school paper framed over the fireplace.” He added, “The best part of the story is that two summers ago that same schoolteacher brought 30 kids to camp out on my ranch for a week.” When the teacher was leaving, he said, “Look, Monty, I can tell you this now. When I was your teacher, I was something of a dream stealer. During those years I stole a lot of kids’ dreams. Fortunately you had enough gumption not to give up on yours.”
- Author Unknown http://academictips.org/blogs/keep-your-dream/
“Don’t let anyone steal your dreams. Follow your heart, no matter what.”
"The invariable mark of a dream is to see it come true." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
I loved this story about Hope, Love and Life. I also believe the quote that says..."What goes around, comes around!" It is a great reminder for us to realize our live's experiences are here to teach us something, and to help mold us into who we need to become. Enjoy!
KalaiMoli was an orphan girl who grew up with her aunt and uncle. Her aunt was her mother’s sister, and she took her in only because no one else wanted her. Her cousins were about the same age as her, but they never got along. They always picked on her and made her feel unwelcome.
She didn’t go to the same private school. Instead, she went to a nearby public school. Sometimes, her aunt would make her do household chores all afternoon that she only had time to do her schools work late into the night. Sometimes, too, she would go without dinner as a punishment for something she didn’t do.
Through it all, one thing kept her going - the thought that someday she would earn enough money to support herself, and she can leave the house that has brought her so many heartaches and tears.
She never blamed anyone for her fate. She just accepted the fact that this was the life handed her and she had to make the best of it.
Her only friend was a schoolmate named Kanmani. Kanmani comes from a rich family, but she was very simple and good-hearted. KalaMoli’s plight made her feel sorry for her, but her friend’s determination to succeed and positive outlook on life are what Kanmani admired about her. Her friend’s strong character is something she respected.
“Someday, Kanmani, I can leave everything behind and start life on my own.” She would often tell her best friend. “Someday, I can be truly happy away from all the people that hurt me.”
Although she accepts the fact that she owed a lot to her aunt and uncle, and that she would always be grateful to them for taking her in, she also understands that they have no place in their family for her.
KalaiMoli recalls how hard her life had been back in her home town, but now that she has become a successful doctor, mostly helping the poor and going on medical missions to other impoverished countries, she acknowledges that, without those hardships, she wouldn’t be where she is now.
With the love of her best friend and the hope that kept burning in her heart for a better life, she has finally reached her dreams.
“Indeed, hardships and trials in life come to make us stronger and better persons,” she admits to herself.
She silently whispers a prayer of thanks as she tends to an orphaned little girl. At last, she has come full circle.
http://tamilostories.com/tamil-love-shortstories/hope-love-and-life/
"The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible." ~ Authur C. Clarke
"However mean your life is, meet it and live it; do not shun it and call it hard names." ~ Henry David Thoreau
"I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours." ~ Henry David Thoreau
What an amazing story, I just knew I had to share it with you. I love the fact ...that it is important to dream, and do everything possible to make those dreams come true. I remember a couple of times, in the midst of battling cancer...that I no longer dreamed, those were dark days. Dreaming was the future... and when you are in the middle or beginning of fighting cancer, the future is unsure and so many of us stopped dreaming.
I remember well the day I started dreaming again...living again. It was like someone turned on a light and I could see things better in that light. I could feel hope again, therefore I could DREAM!
Everybody Has a Dream
Some years ago I took on an assignment in a southern county to work with people on public welfare. What I wanted to do was show that everybody has the capacity to be self-sufficient, and all we have to do is to activate them. I asked the county to pick a group of people who were on public welfare, people from different racial groups and different family constellations. I would then see them as a group for three hours every Friday. I also asked for a little petty cash to work with as I needed it.
The first thing I said after I shook hands with everybody was, "I would like to know what your dreams are." Everyone looked at me as if I were kind of wacky.
"Dreams? We don't have dreams." I said, "Well, when you were a kid what happened? Wasn't there something you wanted to do?"
One woman said to me, "I don't know what you can do with dreams. The rats are eating up my kids."
"Oh," I said.
"That's terrible. No, of course, you are very much involved with the rats and your kids. How can that be helped?"
"Well, I could use a new screen door because there are holes in my screen door."
I asked, "Is there anybody around here who knows how to fix a screen door?"
There was a man in the group, and he said, "A long time ago I used to do things like that, but now I have a terribly bad back, but I'll try."
I told him I had some money if he would go to the store, buy some screening, and go and fix the lady's screen door.
"Do you think you can do that?"
"Yes, I'll try."
The next week, when the group was seated, I said to the woman, "Well is your screen door fixed?"
"Oh, yes," she said. "Then we can start dreaming, can't we?" She sort of smiled at me. I said to the man who did the work,
"How do you feel?"
He said, "Well, you know, it's a very funny thing. I'm beginning to feel a lot better." That helped the group to begin to dream. These seemingly small successes allowed the group to see that dreams were not insane. These small steps began to get people to see and feel that something really could happen.
I began to ask other people about their dreams. One woman shared that she always wanted to be a secretary. I said, "Well, what stands in your way?" (That's always my next question).
She said, "I have six kids, and I don't have anyone to take care of them while I'm away."
"Let's find out," I said.
"Is there anybody in this group who would take care of six kids for a day or two a week while this woman gets some training here at the community college?"
One woman said, "I got kids, too, but I could do that."
"Let's do it," I said. A plan was created and the woman went to school.
Everyone found something. The man who put in the screen door became a handyman. The woman who took in the children became a licensed foster care person. In 12 weeks I had all these people off public welfare. I've not only done that once, I've done it many times.
by: Virginia Satir, Source Unknown
"Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today." ~ James Dean
"Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe." ~ Gail Devers
"Really great people make you feel that you, too, can become great." ~ Mark Twain
It has been nice, for the last 4 weeks I have finally gotten something in me, to help me sleep. It is not addictive, and I finally think that I can wean off it soon. I was so sleep deprived, I wondered if I would ever get out of that STAYING AT THE CEILING stage? It took quite some time to get the right thing that would work for me. One or two of the things I tried, did nothing and then again, some of them really threw me for a loop and I could hardly function for a whole day. I hated experimenting with them but I was desperate. I just do not like the feeling of having medicine in me. I would rather do anything else first, then has to be a last resort. After not sleeping for days...it became just that.
I have noticed that I still dream, but much of the time, it feels like a really deep sleep. Haven't really had much of that ( DEEP SLEEP ), for most of my life. So I am counting my blessing with each night, I get it.
I didn't like to sleep as a kid, I always felt like I needed to stay awake and alert. I have since learned, that is pretty normal reactions for a survivor of abuse. Going to sleep makes you vulnerable,and that is certainly something that don't want to be any more. I also struggled going to sleep because of my Nightmares, I used to have a lot of them. They were so bad for many years, that it was a real struggle for me to even want to go to bed. But a Nightmare is rare now and usually only happens, after I have done some counseling with a victim or if someone asks me details about my past. So I will take Dreams over Nightmares... any day.
I could have used one of my own ONCE UPON A TIME MONSTERS back then. Each Monster we created... is named and has this story below to go with it. If I am sending them to someone fighting with Cancer, then I send the other story with the monster. We have about 11 different monsters so far, they really grow on you, you know? Need to go and get some of the D-E-E-P S-L-E-E-P !!!!!
![[Morgantherecnacmonster2.jpg]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwXDmij688X8AfGoGvV4Rs641UUnV8yMdoXRbnlJu9Gnwk-mms5REFXfINzHpP0c9W2iVXDWyBvPD_bHuJ6qcKnWds7N3Q70i2abi4Brip71lfrJbk2fuIFh7sIPl7yAOl6YCkGOa82LE/s1600/Morgantherecnacmonster2.jpg)
Once upon a time there was a monster under my bed.
So I shivered and screamed and pulled the covers over my head.
All of a sudden, that monster came out--and do you know what he said?
"can I be your friend and sleep with you instead?"
Congratulations! You've just adopted a ONCE UPON A TIME MONSTER!
Now you'll always have a friend to help you be brave and you'll never be alone again!
OR...
Cancer can be scary and I know you are afraid.
Just cuddle up with me and try your best to be brave.
If it helps to ease your worry, go ahead and change the name.
Turn cancer into recnac and see if you feel the same.
Make me your recnac monster; look at my silly face.
I hope I make you smile as you take me from place to place.
"Courage can't see around corners, but goes around them anyway." ~Mignon McLaughlin,
"I have had dreams, and I have had nightmares. I overcame the nightmares because of my dreams"
"An optimist expects his dreams to come true; a pessimist expects his nightmares to" ~ Dr. Laurence J. Peter
Lauren has done her second Modern and Modest Disney Photo shot , it is of Belle from Beauty and the Beast. I love that movie, so I think this one was a great photo that she did! Here's a cute poem that summed up well all those ONCE UPON A TIME BELIEVERS! :)
We’ve been fascinated with them since we were little girls.
Back when we wore our hair in ribbons and curls.
We longed to go to a fancy ball and wear a pretty dress.
Now our lives are full of worry and stress.
All we wanted was to be like the Princess in our favorite story,
A place filled with nothing but glory.
A place where true loves kiss can break the most evil of spells.
A land of happily ever afters and wedding bells.
Where the glass slipper always fits,
And a handsome Prince who finds it easy to commit.
It’s where true love always conquers all,
And where no dream is too small.
A land where magic carpets can fly,
Where love is always in full supply.
An enchanting place where mermaids swim under the sea,
Where chivalry lives on and men get down on one knee.
Deep down we all want the fairy tale,
Where dreams and faith prevail.
We can go there any time we wish to break loose,
The fact that we’re grown now isn’t an excuse.
It’s a place where chasing your dreams is never a crime,
If only we could live once upon a time…
http://www.fanpop.com/spots/disney-prince/articles/57588/title/dreamygals-favorite-prince-list
[the Fairy Godmother appears as Cinderella sobs]
Cinderalla: Oh, no. No, it isn't true. It's just no use. No use at all. I can't believe. Not anymore. There's nothing left to believe in. Nothing.
Fairy Godmother : Nothing, my dear? Oh, now you don't really mean that.
Cinderella : Oh, but I do...
Fairy Godmother : Nonsense, child. If you'd lost all your faith, I couldn't be here. And here I am.
" Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today." ~ James Dean
"Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination. Remember all things are possible for those who believe." ~ Gail Devers
Since Lauren was a little girl, she seemed to notice things, that others really paid attention to. She would focus in on something and got quite a kick out of seeing the world, just a little bit different than anyone else. She loved being different, mostly in a good way. She definitely went to beat of her own drum. She loved to draw and create and then by her High School years, she got into photography. It seemed to be the very thing she needed. She loved capturing moments in time. You could learn a lot about her, by the things she photographs. Pretty soon, we had more ideas for her than she had time. When she figured out Photoshop there seemed to be limitless options out there for her. She has continued to us her photography in college and who knows where she will go with it some day?
Possibilities, that is what amazes me, with each of my kids. I love the fact that they do and accomplish so much more than I ever did. I mean, when they were little; we tried to remind them that they could do anything they set their minds to do. And now, years later...they are actually doing it! Brad is into Graphic Design and simply amazing at it. He is an artist through and through. My daughter-in-law Krystal, is a Journalist, Editor, Sales person and seamstress. Amy loves to create anything! I can hardly wait to see what she comes up with new each week! I always laugh when I think that I was the one who taught my kids, and yet they all have excelled my abilities by far!. Lee loves sports, and has learned leadership and sportsmanship, he continues to grow and develop and has an incredible heart, which will take him far in life. How proud I am of each one of them and all the possibilities their lives hold. How blessed I feel to be there Mother and how grateful I am to to still be here and have the opportunity to watch all of their possibilities... come to life!!!
"It is one thing to photograph people. It is another to make others care about them by revealing the core of their humanness." ~ Paul Strand
"The potential possibilities of any child are the most intriguing and stimulating in all creation." ~ Ray L. Wilbur
"It takes someone with a vision of the possibilities to attain new levels of experience. Someone with the courage to live his dreams." ~ Les Brown
I belong to a book swap, and today I received in the mail Chicken Soup for the Writer's Soul. I was excited to get it because my daughter-in-law and I are already making great progress toward my book. I thought getting that book would help give me even more inspiration and desire to keep going toward this dream. How important it is to dream!
During my cancer surgery and treatments, I lost that desire to dream. Who could even think about the future?How did I even know for sure, I would have one? That is a hard and sad place to be... a place where you don't dream or have goals or something to look forward to. Surviving is really what occupies most of your time. So I am very grateful to be hoping, planning and dreaming again. I say that is real progress!
I will mail out my first draft of my book next week so that my daughter-in-law can edit it. Yes, I am on my way! If any of you are interested in my book, just send me your email address and I will let you know as soon as it is available. Once again, thanks for believing in me and encouraging to go forth with my dreams. It is a wonderful feeling!
"Writing became such a process of discovery that I couldn't wait to get to work in the morning: I wanted to know what I was going to say." ~Sharon O'Brien
"Write down the thoughts of the moment. Those that come unsought for are commonly the most valuable." ~Francis Bacon
"Think BIG. There are unseen forces ready to support your dreams."Some times I forget to DREAM! I get so caught up with the every day things of life that I forget there can be more...oh so much more. This poem hit the nail on the head for me. We all come with certain talents and abilities, we just need to discover and acknowledge them. ( Oh, and use them!)
It is late, just got home from my date night. Glad that I don't have a curfew! That's a bonus about being married! However if my mother was still alive, she probably would tell me that I need to be getting more sleep. Oh how I miss my mom and being mothered! :(
So read this poem and remember the talents you have, be grateful for them and remember to make the most of each situation in life! Remember there is always something to LEARN! Good night dear friends!
ABILITY
Ability is to look at a blank page, and create a poem.
Ability is to stare into the eyes of fear, and come out stronger because of it.
Ability is to walk into a room of strangers, and come out with friends.
Ability is to admit you are wrong, when you are wrong.
Ability is to get back up, when you fall down.
Ability is to believe, when everything seems lost.
Ability ---a simple word, with a complex meaning. For many, ability is never found, but for all ability is within. Ability stares everyone in the face at one time or another. Whether your ability is how well you shoot hoops, how well you flip at dancing, how smart you are at school. You have ability. For some, ability is lost by never trying. Whether never trying to shoot one more time, never trying to bend a little more, or never trying to score higher in school.
Ability is within.
Ability is yours. ~ Selina E. Matis (Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul III)
"Think BIG. There are unseen forces ready to support your dreams." ~ Cheryl Richardson
"For success, attitude is equally as important as ability" ~ Harry F. Banks
"Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it." ~ Lou Holtz
I read this poem today that I found at www.wow4u.com and written by Catherine Pulsifer, and loved it. It is so true, that hope gives us optimism when we are feeling discouraged. I love the quote by Diogenes which says..."Hope is the dream of a waking man" or we could say waking woman! :) So sit back read it and know that there is always hope out there, no matter how hard life is... with a lot of faith and hope we can conquer anything!
As long as we have hope,
we have direction,
the energy to move,
and the map to move by.
We have a hundred alternatives,
a thousand paths and infinity of dreams.
Hopeful, we are halfway to where we want to go;
Hopeless, we are lost forever.
Hope is one of the prime differences between successful people and those who can only see failure. Successful people have hope because they can clearly see their goals. People who only see failure have no hope because they see no light, they set no goals, and they see nothing accomplished. Successful people see alternatives and are willing to try different ways. People who only see failure are unable to see another way and give up to easily. With hope you are halfway to where you want to go; by setting your goals, and taking the action to achieve them, you will see your hope turn into your reality!
"Once you choose hope, anything's possible." ~ Christopher Reeve
"Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all." ~ Dale Carnegie
"The Grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for." ~ Allan K. Chalmers
I always liked the story of THE CHRISTMAS CAROL where Ebenezer Scrooge gets a second chance to see the opportunities that he missed in his life. Wouldn’t it be great if all of us could have such an experience?
First the chance to go back and see our past, to understand a little more about circumstances, ourselves, our thoughts and our habits. Understanding and recognizing our past is vital ---in the process of change.
Then if someone could show us the present, it would be like someone videotaping our everyday life, our choices, our actions, our thoughts , and our behaviors, I am sure after truly seeing ourselves in such an honest way, that we may be more eager to change.
Then of course then having the ability to see the future, I think this might just be the hardest one to watch. To see what will happen in our lives IF we don’t change our ways now. Yes, the Christmas Carol is a wonderful reminder that it is never too late to change.
Fortunately, as we know, Ebenezer Scrooge changed his life for the better. He then says “I am not the man I was.”
Wouldn’t it be great if this Christmas season, something would touch our hearts and our lives in such a way that we would actually change for the better? Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to say to ourselves “ I am not the man or the woman I was, I am now someone kinder, better, happier, and more giving?
Yes, Christmas is all about Change, it is all about Christ and the changes that he made in this world … just by his actions.
I liked how Thomas S. Monson explains why the Christmas Carol is so popular...
“I personally feel it is inspired of God. It brings out the best within human nature. It gives hope. It motivates change. We can turn from the paths which would lead us down and, with a song in our hearts, follow a star and walk toward the light. We can quicken our step, bolster our courage, and bask in the sunlight of truth. We can hear more clearly the laughter of little children. We can dry the tear of the weeping. We can comfort the dying by sharing the promise of eternal life. If we lift one weary hand which hangs down, if we bring peace to one struggling soul, if we give as did the Master.”
We all probably won't have such a dream ourselves, but there is no reason that we can't slow life down enough, to really take a hard look at our thoughts, dreams, actions. To see if we truly are living a life that Christ would be proud of. I sure hope we are, and if we aren't... I pray that we will make the necessary changes to make this attitude of Christmas a reality. Merry Christmas dear friends!
"I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach. Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone!"
- A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
I am always looking for ways to help me think about the future and to dream. I have never been very good at dreaming. When I was a little girl and my abuse was severe, I used to dream of living somewhere else, dream of running away to a safe place, but not dreams of doing something fun for me. Fun just wasn't in my agenda back in those days. Then as I got away from home and felt more safe, I noticed that I dreamed of things like...make sure that I marry the right man, at the right time, for the right reason and in the right place, I dreamed of having a home that was safe and the ability to raise healthy and happy children, that was a dream that drove me for many years. Then Cancer hit and my ability to dream started fading fast, rarely did I think of the future...I was just trying to figure out how to survive each day.
One of the things that I counsel other survivors about now is the ability to somehow be able to enjoy life again after cancer. To learn how to dream again and to be happy. Having something to plan for and to look forward to, is a very healthy thing. When I received this email about DREAMS, I thought it was very appropriate for how I struggle at times, it encouraged me to dream more, I am still learning that. I hope when you read it that it might spur you on to dream big and enjoy life more each day. Good night dear friends!
"DON'T BE PUSHED BY YOUR PROBLEMS. BE LED BY YOUR DREAMS"
An Excerpt from: Even Eagles Need a Push
by David McNally and Mac Anderson
Forgotten Your Dreams?
After a change in head coaches at the University of South Carolina earlier in his career, Lou Holtz, then a defensive coach, found himself unemployed.
"I was unemployed for over a month, a long time for someone like me who had worked since he was nine. I felt very defeated. Our savings account was down to four figures: around $10.95. With a growing family to support, I was feeling pressure. It would have been an unbearable period, if not for my wife. She could not have been any more supportive or encouraging. Beth never complained. She went to work as an x-ray technician to help keep us in groceries. She also brought me the motivational book, The Magic of Thinking Big, by David Schwartz, hoping it would help me feel less depressed.
In his chapter on goals, Schwartz writes that anyone who is bored by life has probably forgotten his or her dreams. He invites readers to get back in touch with them. As a first step, we are asked to list all the things we have ever wanted to accomplish: I had a lot of time on my hands, so I took out a pencil and paper and divided my list into five categories:
As a husband/father
Spiritually
Professionally
Financially
Simply for excitement
It was the in fifth category that I let my imagination run wild. Here are some of the things I included:
Jump out of an airplane
Land a jet fighter on an aircraft carrier
Travel the ocean in a submarine
Go white-water rafting on the Snake River at Hells Canyon
Be on the Tonight Show, starring Johnny Carson
Attend a White House dinner with the president
Meet the Pope
Go on an African safari
Become a scratch golfer and play the top 50 golf courses in the world
Run with the bulls in Pamplona (provided I was matched with a much slower person)
And on it went.
I had 107 goals on my original list. Suddenly, I was looking at my life differently and was excited about the future. When I told Beth that I was determined we do all of them, she said, "Gee, that's great, honey, but why don't you add "I want to find a job." Good note-the list expanded to 108. So far, we've managed to achieve 102 of those dreams-including dining at the White House and meeting the Pope. We're still working on the others. From the moment I made that list, we became participants, rather than spectators, in our life. You do the same and you'll find you don't want to spend so much time sleeping; you'll be afraid you might miss something! There are 26 other amazing stories in our Even Eagles Need a Push book. So, come explore the power of encouragement and see how it can change someone's life forever...maybe even your own. (*Excerpted from You Gotta Read This Book, by Jack Canfield and Gary Hendricks)
"KEEP YOUR DREAMS ALIVE. UNDERSTAND TO ACHIEVE ANYTHING REQUIRES FAITH AND BELIEF IN YOURSELF, VISION, HARD WORK, DETERMINATION, AND DEDICATION. REMEMBER ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE FOR THOSE WHO BELIEVE." ~Gail Devers
"THE ONLY THING THAT WILL STOP YOU FROM FULFILLING YOUR DREAMS IS YOU" ~Tom Bradley
