I couldn't resist using a motto of one of my online friends, Matt, when choosing a title for this blog! *smile*
What I want to know, is where is everyone going to migrate too from Multiply? I would like to keep in touch with all of my peeps because I have read your blogs for years and would hate to have that come to an end. I am Abby Oberg on Facebook, and Choose Dharma on Blogger. I also blog on Xanga.com, and now on ipernity.com. Please let me know where I can continue to follow you.
I had the good fortune to make a friend with someone that was interested in TV production, and before I knew it, I was hooked. The show is Progress In San Diego, and it is a public access TV show on Cox. I have been volunteering my time crewing on his show, and he, in turn has been teaching me the ins and outs of TV production. I have been having a blast learning how to be floor director, how to work the character generator, how to work sound, and now, how to direct the show.
Walter asked me to appear on camera. Boy, it is harder than it looks!
It was totally off the cuff and unrehearsed. Another first! Sometimes it's fun to play outside the box!
During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions until I read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"
Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50's, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.
"Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say "hello." I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.
2. - Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain
One night, at 11:30 pm., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rain storm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car a young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960's. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab. She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached. It read:
"Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's' bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others."
Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole.
3 - Third Important Lesson – Always Remember Those Who Serve
In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.
"How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked.
"Fifty cents," replied the waitress.
The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it.
"Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired. By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient.
"Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied. The little boy again counted his coins.
"I'll have the plain ice cream," he said.
The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies. You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.
4 - Fourth Important Lesson. - The Obstacle in Our Path
In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the King's' wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand! Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.
5 - Fifth Important Lesson – Giving When it Counts
Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare & serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister.
I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying,
"Yes I'll do it if it will save her."
As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away?”
Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor. He thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.
A life that seems to have been protected by a charm or spell.
Extremely lucky or prosperous <living a charmed life>
Webster’s Online Dictionary
I make a living sitting with people; helping them process various experiences of their lives. The number one question that comes up is “How can some people survive horribly negative experiences and remain positive people?" Actually, I think the real question they are thinking is, "How does one live through catastrophic experiences and not remain unhappy, bitter people whose whole approach to life will be forevermore reduced to virtually steering the rest of their lives from the fetal position?"
I have sometimes been dismissed, by people that really don’t know my life story, as someone that has had a “charmed life, and is therefore incapable of fathoming how someone experiences and ultimately survives decimating life events. This got me to pondering about just what having a “charmed life” meant. Truth be known, I kind of like being thought of as having a “charmed life. Who wouldn’t like the idea that some magical force was looking out for you, protecting you from all sorts of adverse experiences; kind of like having a permanent talisman in life, so to speak. Think of the risks you could take, and the possibilities that you could take advantage of, knowing that nothing bad could happen to you!
There was a Bewitched episode titled, “The No Harm Charm” in which Uncle Arthur gave Darrin the screw top of a lampshade and lead him to believe that it was a magical talisman.Darrin took remarkable risks, and experienced good fortune until he was made aware that it was just the ornamental part of his own living room lampshade.
In review of my life, I have had a number of catastrophic life events occur, so that definition of extreme good luck, doesn’t actually apply to my life; however, I remain an optimistic and positive person. Could that be the Charmed life component? Some magical event that forever made me a “glass is half-full” sort of person rather than a “I don’t have a frigging glass at all" kind of person?
I believe that I have Disney and John Kennedy, Jr., to thank for helping to shape the foundation of how I approach life.
Courage
Every area of trouble gives out a ray of hope;
and the one unchangeable certainty is that
nothing is certain or unchangeable.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy
I was orphaned at six years of age. My parents drowned in our family swimming pool; a contributing factor being their having blood alcohol levels of approximately .40 and above in their systems. I remember waking up one morning, seeing them in the pool, and going to the edge of the pool to ask to be allowed to turn on the TV to watch cartoons. They didn’t answer me, so I went inside and woke up my older half- sister, who, being eight years older than I, immediately understood the gravity of the situation and jumped in to try to pull our parents bodies out of the pool.
Life as we both knew it ceased to exist, and I was left an orphan with PTSD.
In a heartbeat, I went from being a pampered and adored little six-year-old to becoming a burden that no one knew what to do with.
I lived with grandparents, and aunts and uncles, until I was finally adopted by my Mother’s brother, My Uncle John and his wife Opal, when I was eight-years old.
During the couple of nomad years that I spent living with various relatives, President John Kennedy was assassinated, and I watched the funeral on television. I would have preferred to watch my regular cartoon programs, but every channel was covering the horrific assassination and national funeral, and there was nothing else on television.
I ended up forming a permanent emotional connection with John- John, because he was close to my age, and was suffering the loss of his father; an almost mirror-like reflection of the grief I was experiencing in my own life.
I was profoundly affected, by the sight of him saluting the casket as the procession carrying the body of his father passed in front of him, and I made the decision be a “ soldier too” and do my best to deal with the catastrophic loss of my own family with similar dignity, grace and courage. If John-John could do it, then I could do it too.
Aunt Polly Harrington: Yes, her father was a minister. As a matter of fact, he was a missionary in the British West Indies.
Pollyanna Whittier: I'm sorry about the dress, Aunt Polly. My Father said it was a size
too big, but that I should be glad it wasn't a pair of boy's trousers.
Around this same time, Disney came out with the movie “Pollyanna” which, coincidentally enough, was the story of a little, long-haired blond girl, about my age, who was orphaned and had to go to live with her Aunt Polly. Here I was, literally living the storyline of the movie, and I was introduced to the concept of the “Glad Game.”
In the movie, Pollyanna literally changed the lives of everyone that she came in contact with due to her positive outlook on life in spite of adverse life events, and I began to play the glad game in my own life.
At some point in their lives, everyone comes to a decision whether they believe that mankind is basically good or evil. The following clip from the same movie forever shaped my view of the world; a view that I hold to this day.
Although catastrophic events occurred early on in my life, the Universe gave me remarkable tools with which to cope and survive the experience.
The “Glad Game” taught me to recognize that even the darkest of experiences have absolute rays of hope; good that comes out of the ashes of negative experiences. By concentrating on the positive aspect of any circumstance, you actually recognize and go with the positive outcome because it is the focus of your attention.
I believe that having a positive outlook on life actually manifests positive outcomes in life. I trust that the Universe supports us in everything we do, and that ultimately every negative life event prepares us for something better on in life. I believe that we get what we expect, and that we attract what we put out in the world.
Happy has become quite a good little knitting dog.
In the beginning, he enjoyed pouncing on the yarn, grabbing it, and taking off like a little streak, unaware that it was actually attached to the needles I was holding precluding a really clean escape with the goods.
He has learned that my knitting is "not his business" and takes advantage, instead, of the prolonged lap time.
(I kind of like this prolonged lap time myself.)
We started a new project today. This is the very beginning of a pair of pedicure socks
Every time I put my knitting down for a minute, Happy seizes the opportunity to get "loved up" a little.
Looking back over the past year, 2011, I am amazed at the speed at which my lifetime, my own personal train, if you will, is hurtling through space and time. When I was a child, 365 days until next Christmas seemed to be an eternity too large to comprehend, now I can measure it by number of paychecks. The speed of my personal train rivals the the Japanese JR-Maglev; however no moving train CAN be neutral as it is hurling forward. Even choosing to do nothing is actually making a choice. My goal for 2012 is to make an active choice to serve mankind more than I have been doing in my role as a human being and as a therapist. I believe that one person, moving forward, can make a difference, so I plan on slipping the old train out of neutral and stepping things up a bit in 2012. If my energy has an effect on the world, then I, right here and right now make the decision to be aware of the energy I put out into the world, and resolve to bring my best self to the plate.
Community Service
Each one of us canbe the change that makes a positive difference in this world.
Choosing to participate can come in many forms, from small acts like treating others with respect or standing up for someone being bullied, to larger acts such as voting or volunteering for a cause that is important to you.
There are many things you can do to make a difference. Use the extensive lists of human rights and social justice organizations on theBe the Change websiteto learn more about the issues you most care about, and the ways you might get involved.
When You Investigate Organizations... There are thousands of organizations around the world doing human rights and social justice work, and those listed on theBe the Change websiteoffer only a small sample. Some organizations only serve to provide information, while others present the opportunity to see the ways people are choosing to participate. We are not endorsing those listed, nor advocating that you join or work with any of them. There are many ways to participate without being involved withany group or organization.
Any time you are considering joining or working with any organization, it is important to do careful research and ask key questions such as:
What is the reputation of this organization?
Has anyone you know worked with this organization, and if so, have they had a positive experience?
What are some of the strategies and approaches this organization uses? Do you agree with them?
Have you compared this organization to other organizations dealing with similar issues?
Does the organization's website clearly state its goals and mission?
What aspects of the organization's values and work do you agree or disagree with?
How is this organization funded and how much of the money goes directly to programs?
What specifically would you do for this organization? What role would you play?
choosing a title for this blog! *smile* 
