Cancer and hip updates as of 8/15/2012

My Sister

Inspired to succeed, that could be the license plate of my sister’s car. Except it would be too long….

She has had cancer for 10 years. Breast cancer that spread. There were a few years of remission in there, but not enough. Fifty years of remission would be enough, I think.

She has always been healthy and active and loved her job as a P.E. teacher. She even taught her children where the “healthy” parking places are in a store lot.  Yes, you guessed it : they are the ones farthest away from the store so one must put forth some physical exertion to enter the store.  I like and love and admire my sister. Please read her post. Cancer and hip updates as of 8/15/2012.

After you read it, please go to www.livealoha.weebly.com and watch the sweet video her kids made. She is a single mom now and a VERY young and beautiful grandmother.

Self-image, Self-esteem…Do You Have a Healthy Dose?

Charles Proteus Steinmetz, theoretician of alternating current. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Self-image. Some people are possessed with a healthy one.

An anecdote was printed on the letters page of Life magazine in 1965, after the magazine had printed a story on the scientific genius Charles Steinmetz. Jack B. Scott wrote in to tell of his father’s encounter with Steinmetz  at Henry Ford’s River Rouge plant in Dearborn, Michigan.

Henry Ford’s electrical engineers couldn’t solve some problems they were having with a gigantic generator. Ford called Steinmetz in to the plant.

“He stood just four feet tall, his body contorted by a hump in his back and a crooked gait, and his stunted torso gave the illusion that his head, hands and feet were too big. But he was a giant among scientific thinkers, counting Albert Einstein, Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison as friends, and his contributions to mathematics and electrical engineering made him one of the most beloved and instantly recognizable men of his time.

“Upon arriving (at the plant), Steinmetz rejected all assistance and asked only for a notebook, pencil and cot.

“… Steinmetz listened to the generator and scribbled computations on the notepad for two straight days and nights. On the second night, he asked for a ladder, climbed up the generator and made a chalk mark on its side. Then he told Ford’s skeptical engineers to remove a plate at the mark and replace sixteen windings from the field coil. They did, and the generator performed to perfection.

“Henry Ford was thrilled until he got an invoice from (Steinmetz via) General Electric in the amount of $10,000. Ford acknowledged Steinmetz’s success but balked at the figure. He asked for an itemized bill.

“Steinmetz responded personally to Ford’s request with the following:

Making chalk mark on generator    $1.

Knowing where to make mark         $9,999.

Ford paid the bill. “

 

[Source: blogs.smithsonianmag.com]

Our Efforts

Window at Parish Church of St Peter, Frampton Cotterell, England (Photo credit: DanieVDM)

Today in Church we sang a hymn that had a phrase I am inspired by: “Pardon faults, oh God we pray; bless our efforts day by day.”

That is a beautiful thought, to ask God to bless our efforts as we stumble along our earthly path trying to do the best we can. I am glad He will pardon my faults. The hymn also reminded me that I need to pardon faults in myself as well, and just move forward.

Inspirational Fear

Rodeo Joe, All rights reserved by toytent

In trying to move forward to my  ”Breakthrough Goal”, I often feel like a little wind-up toy that keeps bumping into walls and bouncing off of baseboards. I suppose, to take the analogy further…sometimes those little toys go so fast they collide with an  object, flip upside down and lay there, wheels spinning, rotating and vibrating, never getting any where. Finally the momentum slows and the toy stops completely.  Not an inspirational image.

I was thinking about this in the early wee hours one morning, wishing I could return to sleep. To pass the time I chose to visualize the next steps to my goal and try to figure out why I felt so Stopped. There was a repetitive familiarity to the labels on the glass walls that I kept bumping. “Money”–I don’t have much and it is necessary to move ahead, and the other Stopper is “Fear”.

Fear. Forceful power phrases assault my thoughts whenever I edge to the brink of comfort. “Don’t do that, people will think you are a dork. You will look so stupid. People will make fun of you when it fails. You aren’t professional enough. ‘Regular’ people never really succeed on that large of a scale…”

Okay. Money and Fear. Here’s the mind game I played as I lay wrapped in the cocoon of my blanket. I asked myself, “If money were endless, and you had absolutely no fear, what would your next step be?”

Immediately I thought clearly of situations that I had been avoiding and what needed  to be done to move forward.

Hmmm. That was interesting. “Okay,” I thought next, “assuming that those first steps just went great, what doors would then be opened to me?”

Again, I had immediate inspiration of what to try next. Simultaneously I felt my heart pound and the “Warning, warning, Embarrassment Alert!!” rang in my head. I reminded myself this was only an exercise in logic, I could calm down.

“Remember, if there was absolutely no fear and all the money you needed, would those activities and choices help you move ahead?”

I took a slow breath, and pondered. It was SO interesting to be able to think with logic–”Cause and Effect”. I could see that some of those steps looming ahead were very helpful and a few were definitely not. That surprised me. Even if I had all the money and courage that I needed, some of my speculative plans weren’t the right direction for me.

I was stunned  to discover how much clearer I could think using my imaginary Courage & Money scenario. New ideas popped into my mind. Logical steps began to evolve that I hadn’t before considered.

What if Fear is not really fearful? Even NFL quarterbacks feel butterflies when they step onto the field for the Super Bowl. Try this on as a re-frame: “Fear is the gateway to Success.”

Take some deep breaths and move forward.

Communication–Getting Help From Above

Sometimes you just need to communicate a subject to someone knowing that the outcome is likely to be unpleasant.

My young adult son said, in that circumstance his approach is to say, “This (description of situation) is the way things need to be and this is what is happening instead. This needs to change.”

I shared with him the anxiety I often feel, especially in a situation like that, regarding hurting people’s feelings–even if my position is the better one.   I don’t ever want to be the cause of making someone hurt or angry or sad. I know that is unrealistic, but when I say something wrong or hurtful, especially if it is inadvertent, I feel badly inside for a very long time.

My wise young son said that if I say something hurtful, that just makes me “Normal”.

He said, “Then you can go to the other person and apologize or try to fix it, or if you don’t have the opportunity to redress the wrong—either way–you tell Heavenly Father about it. You ask for forgiveness from Him and repent. When you repent it makes you “Above Normal” and you are closer to becoming like God, closer to Him. If we never did things that needed to be repented of we wouldn’t be able to grow and we wouldn’t be able to come closer to God.”

He continued in saying that one thing he figured out was that repentance wasn’t just for big mistakes and sins, it was for everything. Repentance is something you do daily like brushing and flossing your teeth.

It’s not necessary to have a root canal every day or have a tooth pulled or cavity filled daily, but you need to floss every day. If you don’t floss your teeth for a while, it might hurt when you do it, you might even bleed a little but if you get back in the habit of flossing every day,  pretty soon it doesn’t hurt and you have stronger gums and clean teeth.

Daily repentance is like that. If you don’t do it for a while, things can build up and repentance can be painful and difficult, but doing it daily for even small things, even things that we feel hurt or inadequate over, can help us be spiritually healthy.

Repairing the hurt inside, a daily humble connection to God through repentance; I think being spiritually healthy is a much better way to exist.

Questions Have Power

P question (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“What are your dreams?”

“Do you mind if we start over?”

“What in your life has given you the greatest fulfillment?”

“Can you tell me more?”

Can you imagine reading a book that only talks about questions? I just finished a new book that is very enlightening–Power Questions: Build Relationships, Win New Business, and Influence Others, by Andrew Sobel and Jerold Panas, 2012.

I am not a sales person, but I am a person…and a person with relationships that get stuck in cliche’s or dull silence. Don’t you want to know more than, “How was your day?”, or “How have you been?…” This book was very quick and fun to read. Every chapter is actually an anecdote that illustrates the importance of a certain question, such as the ones that introduce this blog.

Additionally, each chapter gives alternate questions to ask and how to follow up. At the end of the book there is a list of 293 more questions that can “transform conversations and even lives.” There are questions that help resolve a crisis, that engage your employees, that build relationships and help you mentor others.

This is a very enjoyable book.  What’s important to you right now?

CDs For Soldiers…Do You Have Media To Share?

U.S. special forces troops ride horseback as they work with members of the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom on Nov. 12, 2001. DoD photo. (Released) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Thank you for the box of DVD’s and CD’s. You know that you have been deployed way too long when you have 20 guys with guns, sitting in the dark, around a computer, and all watching Legally Blonde. I didn’t realize how strange that probably is until our Commander came in and laughed at us.

“Thanks for taking the time out of your life to do something like this. We are at a small camp in Northern Afghanistan. We don’t get a lot of support out here because of the terrain. All of our missions are on foot and resupplies by helo. Thanks again for your support and good luck with everything you do.”

–SSG Eddie

Are you ready to do some inspirational “Spring Cleaning” ? There is a non-profit group that has addresses to send your surplus music and movies to soldiers overseas. Because of the military APO address, it doesn’t cost any more to send a package overseas than within the US. Often the soldiers receiving the package write a “thank-you” note like the one above which was taken from the website
http://www.tunes4thetroops.com/troop-letters.html

Tunes 4 the Troops collects and sends new and used CDs, DVDs, and books on CD for the Troops serving overseas. Game systems, iPODS/mp3 players, and iTUNES gift cards are a new addition that has been made from troop requests. (www.tunes4thetroops)

Tunes 4 the Troops was started by 15 year old Kaylee Marie Radzyminski during the Summer of 2005.  Kaylee Marie is now a sophomore attending Tennessee Tech University, and the university has offered to continue the mission of Tunes 4 the Troops in order to provide much needed entertainment to the troops serving our country.

One person with a passionate cause can have a large effect on the world. What non-profit are you participating in?

Heifer, Cow, Goat–Inspiring Livestock

Water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis), Thailand. Français : Un buffle d'eau (Bubalus bubalis), photographié en Thaïlande. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A 5-year-old girl stood next to her mother at the counter waiting for my co-worker to cut a bit of fabric for her. It turned out that the little girl was getting fabric to cover a donation  box to collect money for Heifer International. Isn’t that an inspiring thing? That a child can be so aware of a need that she takes the initiative to do something to help.

I didn’t even know what the organization was about…cows, I guessed.

It turns out that Heifer International is a very cool program. Livestock, trees and seeds are given to needy recipients along with instructions on how to use them to better their lives. These things are purchased by donations from you and I,… and little 5-year-old girls.

Here’s their official explanation: “ Heifer International is a nonprofit, humanitarian organization dedicated to ending hunger and poverty and caring for the Earth. Heifer currently provides livestock, trees, seeds and training in environmentally sound agriculture to families in more than 50 countries, including the United States.

“Heifer’s recipients agree to share one or more of their animals’ offspring, and also the training they receive, with others in need in what Heifer calls Passing on the Gift. This unique development tool multiplies the benefit of the original gift and allows recipients to become donors. Heifer partners are also taught to prevent overgrazing, collect manure for organic fertilizer, plant trees and manage resources for long-term success.”

Here’s a link if you’d like to send a goat or a llama…or heifer…to a needy recipient: 
http://www.heifer.org/ourwork/our-work?msource=kwg2399

Math is not my Friend

How do you feel about math and numbers..? This has always been challenging to me. Even reading numbers or comprehending time-spans using a clock can cause errors or anxiety. Add to this my easy distractability, and my anxiety has been magnified at my part-time job in a policy-driven, fast-paced retail business where even minutes count as work time is recorded.

I was “written up” yet again by a manager for working 3 minutes past my shift. I wasn’t being over-zealous–I actually thought my shift ended at 2:30pm, not 2pm. I was so frustrated with myself and the way my brain read the numbers on the schedule. I’ve been chastised several times by management for similar faux-pas. (once I came to work and hour early by mistake, but they were glad that day because they needed extra staff.)

I felt like I wanted to just give-up, to find some sort of job that didn’t require such vigilant concentration and focus. I was weeping inside. I made a call to a success coach at my Jack Canfield Resource Line to just check in and found myself telling him about my embarassing inability to “tell time”.

I wondered (hoped) if he might suggest that I quit since the job wasn’t good for my happiness and spiritual well-being. Instead, he reminded me of my value as a person, reminded me of my reasons to have the job–it is not a career path, but a way to help with financial concerns; and then he helped talk me through some strategies that might help me be more successful in these challenging areas.

And, now I feel better and feel able to give it another go. I wanted to share this because there have been other times I have wanted to just quit something and had many reasons to do so; however, by staying the course and reaching deep into my creativity and patience I ultimately experienced a benefit to my skills and feelings of worth.

Best wishes with your personal challenges today.

Clever Water Jug Light…found on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Ez on Pinterest