Belonging

"We can never get a re-creation of community and heal our society without giving our citizens a sense of belonging."
-Hunter Campbell "Patch" Adams

Team Hoyt

"When we got home from that race that night, Rick wrote on the computer, 'Dad, when I run it feels like my disability disappears.' So, that was a very powerful message to me.”
Dick Hoyt

The doctors told Dick Hoyt that his infant son Rick should be institutionalized. There was no hope, they said, of Rick being anything more than a vegetable.
Four decades later, Rick and Dick Hoyt have competed over 65 marathons, 206 triathlons and hundreds of other events as a father-son team. Rick, whose father was told he was incapable of intellectual activity, graduated from Boston University in 1993. The devotion of this remarkable pair to each other and their goals has enabled them both to accomplish things that neither would have done alone.
During Rick's birth in 1962, the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck, cutting off oxygen to his brain. Rick is a spastic quadriplegic, has cerebral palsy, and is unable to speak. Despite the doctors' grim prognosis, Dick and his wife Judy raised him at home and struggled to get him admitted to public schools.
Though Rick could not speak, his parents knew that he was just as intelligent as his siblings. Dick convinced a group of engineers from Tufts University to build a "communicator" for his son. By hitting a switch with the side of his head, Rick selects letters to form words and sentences.
Rick was attending public school two years later, when a five-mile benefit run was held for a local lacrosse player who had been paralyzed in an accident. Rick wanted to participate. Dick was not a runner, but agreed to push Rick in his wheelchair. During the run, Rick felt as though he simply wasn't handicapped anymore - he was just one of the runners. Wanting to give Rick this feeling as often as possible, Dick ran in an increasing number of events with his son.
As "Team Hoyt" began competing in earnest in the late 1970s, they were often treated as outsiders and avoided by other competitors. What began as a way for Rick Hoyt to experience inclusion and equality broadened. It became a way to send a message that, as Rick said, "everybody should be included in everyday life." The duo's first Boston Marathon in 1981 yielded a finish in the top quarter of the field, and attitudes began changing. "In the beginning no one would come up to me," recalled Rick. Now, he says, "many athletes will come up to me before the race or triathlon to wish me luck."
Dick has ran, ridden and swam literally thousands of miles to be with and support his son. This has enabled Rick to live a full and purposeful life - but it turns out that, in a way, Rick has saved his father's life as well. After a mild heart attack, Dick's doctors told him that he may have died 15 years ago if he weren't in such good shape.
Team Hoyt's total commitment to each other and to what they do ensures that they are constantly challenging themselves. In addition to their athletic events, the Hoyts tour the country to speak about their experiences. They have also established the Hoyt Fund, which is supports educational and technological efforts surrounding persons with disabilities. They anticipate running their 26th Boston Marathon in April.
http://www.values.com/inspirational-sayings-billboards/16-Devotion

Hope

Hope is Eternal

You will need: Faith & Perseverance

"All the darkness of the world cannot put out the light of one small candle." - Anonymous

Sometimes it feels like we are surrounded by darkness and we wonder if we'll ever smile again.  At times like this it is essential to remember that we are not alone.  Seek out comfort from family, freidns, and negihbors-or volunteer to help others.  Ironically, bringing hope to someone else's life is the best way to strengthen it in our own. 

Simple Steps

* Designate a safe place in your home to keep a "Hope Candle."  Light it regularly, saying a few positive words aloud, as a symbol to yourself and to the world that hope endures.

* Make a "Hope Box."  Cover a show box with pretty paper and fill it with items that inspire hope in you-a drawing from a child, a loving note from your spouse or a newspaper article.

True Heroes

The Charles Schulz Philosophy
(This is  marvelous!!  Scroll thru slowly and read carefully

to receive

and enjoy full effect)


The  following is the philosophy of Charles Schulz, the  creator of the

'Peanuts' comic strip.


You don't have to actually answer the questions. Just ponder on them.

Just read the e-mail straight through, and you'll get the point.


1. Name  the five wealthiest people in the  world.

2. Name  the last five Heisman trophy winners.

3. Name  the last five winners of the Miss America pageant.

4  Name  ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.

5. Name  the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor

and actress.

6. Name  the last decade's worth of

World Series winners.







How did you do?

The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday.

These are no second-rate achievers.

They are the

best in their fields.

But the applause dies...

Awards tarnish..

Achievements are forgotten.

Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.




Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:


1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.

2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.

3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.

4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and

special.

5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.





Easier?


The lesson:

The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones

with the most credentials, the most money...or the most awards.

They simply are the ones

who care the most.

Native American Proverb

"When you were born you cried and the world rejoiced.  Live your life in such a manner that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice."

Happiness

A Beautiful Winter

For her 8th birthday, Winter Slade decided that she wanted to do something different. Instead of presents, she decided that she wanted to help protect the pine marten, a relative of the ferret whose habitat is being threatened. Though her birthday isn’t until November, Winter can’t stop talking about it.
But the road to victory hasn’t been easy. When she first started telling her friends about it, their parents effectively shut her down, openly talking about her “stupid idea” right in front of her. Their skepticism is definitely understandable, we’ve all been around long enough to see examples of bad charities and over-hyped promises, but poor Winter was crushed. On her way home from school, she openly started crying, asking her mom why her friend’s parents “said I was stupid.” Her excitement was crushed by jaded adults.
Realizing that they needed to shift gears, Winter’s mom, Michelle, took to Reddit on a Thursday night. There, she put out a simple plea, “Please help me restore her faith in humanity.” When she awoke the next morning, she’d started to see some results. People had responded to her plea, and Winter had almost $100 donated to her name. As the day progressed, more and more people contributed – praising Winter’s kindness and sharing how Winter had inspired them as well. Overnight, Winter’s dream was coming true. By Saturday, Winter had nearly $2,500 raised and a beaming smile.
There’s one important detail that makes this story stand out, but that Winter’s mom intentionally kept a secret in her plea to ensure that Winter got the spotlight. You see, Winter needed this excitement. Her mother has been fighting a long battle with cancer, which consumes much of their lives. Michelle shares that Winter is “my oldest and most concerned. She thinks about it a lot and cries about it a lot.”
For Michelle, the most important part of this journey is seeing her daughter happy again. It gives her something to be excited about instead of worrying about what might happen tomorrow.
http://www.changeathought.com/family-friends/children/beautiful-winter/

Purpose

What are you working for?  Is recognition your goal?  How do you want to be remembered?

Courage

Your perspective of the situation is everything.  Life is not about only survival, it is about growth and joy.

Believe in Yourself

Set goals that you think may be acheived only by "special" people.  You are special.

Believe in Yourself

Do not measure your talent against anyone else. 

It is possible you were given gifts that you haven't discovered yet.

Briana Walker

My name is Briana Walker. Since I was little I had always wanted to be a dancer, but a car accident at age 23 left me paralyzed from the waist down. I wondered about my future. I later met a hip-hop dance pioneer who was also in a wheelchair. Using our wheel- chairs, we created one of the first-ever wheelchair hip hop dance teams. We have danced around the globe. We hope to change the way people see those of us in wheelchairs. Today I sky dive, surf, snow ski, wake board, bungee jump and compete in marathons and triathlons. I'm also an author, a speaker and will always continue to be... a dancer.
Power in You "Life Story"

Helping Others

In the following video a 20 year old boy from Oakland, who had lived in poverty and gang infested neighborhoods, turned his passion into something positive to help others.

http://www.wimp.com/uniqueapproach/

Finding Your Path

The Calf Path

By: Sam Walter Foss

Long ago, through the woods

A calf walked home as good calves should;

It made a trail all bent and skewed,

A crooked trail as all calves do.

Since them, two hundred years have fled,

and now, I guess the calf is dead.

But left behind his rambling trail,

Which leads us to this little tale.

The trail was taken up next day

By a lone dog that passed that way.

And soon an old bellwether sheep

Led his flock, most half asleep;

Following the steps of that first calf

Through those old woods they made a path,

And then the town folks found the route

And walked it, winking in and out.

They always muttered words of wrath,

Like, "curse this crazy, crooked path!"

But still they followed--do not laugh--

The trail left by that early calf;

A winding, crooked path they stalked,

Because the ccalf wobbled when he walked.

This forest path became a lane

That bent and turned and turned again;

This crooked lane became a road

Where many a poor horse, with this load,

Toiled beneath the burning sun

And walked three miles just to travel one.

The years flew by and in a beat

The road became a village street.

Then, before they were aware,

A city's crowded thoroughfare.

Where millions take their daily ride

On super highways six lanes wide!

They zig and zag, where the little calf did

and brake and serve and slip and skid.

and on they go, but not content,

The traffic of the continent.

And thought they still could cut in half

The path once taken by that calf.

They choose instead, to follow-not find--

Holding to the calf path of the mind.

today folks still trudge through the snow

Just like that horse from long ago.

and like that horse they wear their blinders,

For they are followers not finders.

Now you may say they're quite insane

For sticking to that wandering lane.

But ask yourself, if you will dare,

Do I ever challenge what's already there?

Do I go forth and seek to change,

To chart a new course or rearrange?

DO I lead or an I led

By one calf now two centuries dead?

But from them we must learn to do

The things we can to change our view.

For we can gain from their mistake--

And choose with care the road we take.

Life Inventory

Classroom/ Group Activity
In this activity have the student generate as many answers to each questions as possible.  Tell them not to think about any of the questions too deeply.

1. When do I feel fully alive? (events, activities, things, etc.  that really make you feel that it is great to be alive and be you)
2. What do I do well? (what special gifts, attributes, talents, skills do I have to contribute to the lives of others? what skills have I mastered?)
3. What wishes should I be turning into plans?  Any dreams I have discarded that I should start dreaming again?
4. What should I start learning or doing now?
5. What should I stop doing now?

If the class is comfortable doing so have them share some of their responses.   
 Discussion:
What question was the easiest for them to answer? Why?
Was their an area of your life that you hadn't thought about for a long time that a question made you remember? 
What resources do they have to move forward in these areas?
Have them write a short term goal regarding their answer to questions four and five.

Eulogy

Thinking about what is meaningful...
Class discussion/ activity

 Definition of a eulogy: a speech or writing in praise of a person or thing, especially one recently dead (wikipedia.org). 

Start by explaining to the class that when you are looking toward the future, there IS going to be an end. It is how we have influenced others and our legacy that is left that is remembered in our eulogy.

You may need to read them an example of an obituary to give them some ideas (www.eulogyspeeches.net).

Have the class take a few minutes and write their own eulogy.  This is the eulogy that is given at the END of a full life (ex. 85 years old).  Who will give the eulogy?  What words will they use to describe you?  What did you accomplish?  Who did you leave behind?

If you have a class that is comfortable with each other, or you are running a group counseling session, have them share their eulogy.

Who Am I?

Thinking About Your Roles in Life

Classroom Activity:  Before you set goals, some self-exploration may be neccessary.  Start by having the students list 15 roles and responsibilities they have in life.  These may be the many "hats" that they wear (sometimes having the hats in class to represent some examples helps them see all of the purposeful spots they fill in life).  These may be beliefs you hold, characterstics or traits that you have, talents, habits.  Things that would be sorely missed (in your identity and meaning of life) if they were not in your life. For example:  brother, student, son, grandson, friend, neighbor, church member, dogs best friend, etc. 
1.  Consider each of these Who Am- I's seperately.  How would you feel if that role or characteristic was gone?  What would you do?  What would your life be like?
2.  After reviewing each item this way, place the items in rank order by putting a number by each of the items.  Place a 1 by the item that is most essential to your sense of self, whose loss would require the greatest struggle and adjustment.  Put a 15 by the item which is least essential to your identity.  Remind the students that this is personal and their list will not look like anyone elses.
3.  Invite members of the group to share or compare their list.  Invite comments and questions.

We are all connected

No Man Is An Island

By John Donne

No man is an island entire of itself;

every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;

if a clod be washed away by sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were,

as well as any manner of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind.

And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.

Simple Smile

We shall never know the good that a simple smile can do.

- Mother Teresa

Finding Purpose

When you were born you cried and the world rejoiced.

Live your life in such a manner that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice.

-Native American Proverb