A DARING ADVENTURE; THE HELEN KELLER EFFECT
The story of Helen Keller is inspiring. She had lost her sight and hearing due to a childhood illness and for a minute, it must have seemed like all is lost. In spite of this overwhelming state, she learned to understand and communicate with the world around her as well as acquire excellent education. Her parents had hired an extraordinary teacher. Parents, teachers and mentors have a huge responsibility it seems. Helen Keller became an author and was widely esteemed for her work. For many she had become a symbol of the triumph of the human spirit over adversity. Now I think, it is possible to live the dream and overcome adversity through learning. To give up is easy, but I would be curious to know what I could achieve by not giving up.So I seek to understand, learn, create and pursue excellence. Great stories often had humble beginnings.At the…
THE STORY OF SOLOMON, OF KINGDOMS AND SUCCESSORS
I am intrigued by King Solomon. Here was a king with power, fame, wisdom and a good lineage. The queen of Sheba visited him and observed that his workers, numerous in number, I imagine were happy. Wow! That says a lot about the character of the man and he had influence with God too. Amazing! Makes me think indeed, great wealth is divine and a perfect fusion of the natural and the supernatural. Just like his father David before him, Solomon had it all. Then he lost it all and an inheritance from past generation is also lost. Someone dropped the ball. Where did Solomon miss it? He was warned of this happening to be honest. (1 Kings 11) His relationships, diverse and eclectic, became distractions and turned his heart away from what mattered most. The heart is where it all starts, right? A wise man (or maybe a woman?)…
DARE TO THINK LIKE A SURVIVOR? A STORY OF TRIUMPH
John (not real name} was taken hostage for 163 days while serving as a missionary abroad. He survived four wars, three accidents, two food poisoning attempts and an assassination attempt on his life. Now I think aside from the banging, ultra-cool scars many survivors have, they also possess special qualities that help them live life. Surely, emotional intelligence is one such quality. It takes emotional intelligence to process feelings appropriately to stay alive. How about courage, the will to live and the God factor? Oh yeah! Really, it is easy to become bitter after surviving cunning and competitive folks. Try to not do that. Maybe get help? Attempting to live again begins with a positive attitude, self-love and great wit and these are additional survival qualities to possess. Life may be swings and slides. My wish though is that we stay “swinging” for longer. Dare to think like a…
BOTH SIDES OF THE STORY
I hear Phil Collins’ Both Sides of the Story. ‘We need to hear both sides of the story’, he sings. There’s more than one side to the story. Your side, the other side and maybe a third side.Why do we need to hear all the sides? Perhaps to make informed decisions? Then again, it is a special feeling to tell your side and be heard. The story of the elephant and the six blind men may be humorous but is a reflection of life. Each blind man telling a part of the story from their perception of an elephant. Each story making a complete picture that helps our understanding of a magnificent creature. We see things in part and sometimes need help to fully grasp the whole picture. Asking critical questions can bring out whole new perspectives and a balanced view. Who has power in this situation?Are there biased views?…
LANGUAGE AND IDIOMS.
Words have always held a fascination for me especially when they are used creatively. Idioms are charming and give character to words when used correctly. Some idioms are regional, and only locals understand them easily. There are popular, humorous and serious idioms and maybe we can use them more frequently to express thoughts uniquely? A PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS. This is popular, and a way to ask what someone who is lost in thought, is thinking about. ON YER BIKE.This is regional and often a disrespectful way to tell someone to go away. AL FRESCO A way of saying “outside”We ate al fresco under the olive trees.This is quite a striking way to say ‘we ate outside’. Yes? AN AMBULANCE CHASERA lawyer who finds work by persuading people that are injured in an accident to ask for money from the people who caused the injury is an ambulance chaser.John makes…
THE THINGS WE DO AND THE AFADJATO EXPERIENCE?
We set off very early that morning. Really excited, we were finally going to hike and climb Afadjato, the highest peak in Ghana. To look from below, you would think, this should be easy enough. Were we wrong! It was tasking. No steps or clearly marked trails. Instead dicey slopes, crevices and dangerous drops. We needed more water than we had, stopped more times than we planned, to catch our breaths, and sometimes went on all fours to keep from falling. Arghh! Embarrassing. Possibly, amusing for our guide? We had a guide. A group of students we encounter share some water with us. Yay! Strength and vigor renewed, and voila we reach the top. What a marvelous view. Life is good again. Our guide reveals that half the time, many quit. Oh, wow, so he was impressed with us for finishing, after all? Then he adds that descending is just…
ARE YOU INSPIRED?
Have you encountered someone who has accomplished much even with being given little? It is so easy to quit and they could have quit. The environment may not always have been right either and they could have stopped growing. To keep at excellence often takes work.Asking the right questions and seeking answers can make all the difference. Patricia Porter, is a woman mechanic who builds small airplanes and teaches women to build and fly airplanes in Ghana. Teachers accomplish so much shaping precious lives and perhaps, you remember one such teacher today? Inspiring others to be better is a brave thing to do especially as it can be a thankless job. It helps to love what you do as that can get you far during tough times. Now is always a good time to start and hey, you cannot be stopped, right?
CHEERLEADERS AND AFFIRMATIONS?
Cheerleaders at a sports event usually have one goal.To cheer their squads to victory. It may even look like their team is losing, but still they cheer. They know to not give up until the final whistle. It is not over until it is over; so they clap, dance, perform outstanding routines, chant catchy phrases, entertain and motivate spectators to join in cheering the team to victory. A cheerleader knows that a cheerful spirit is everything that a broken spirit isn’t. They do a good job using words so skillfully. “Stronger than steelHotter than the sunJohnnie (player’s name) won’t stop‘til he gets the job done!” “Rockets, stand up!We are fast and got the game.Rockets, here to winSay it loudGo Rockets, go!” We all could use some cheer and our words and affirmations have power to fire us up to win life’s challenges. “I can do all things through Christ that…
ABSURD OR EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE?
I got stung by a bee. A first. I was sitting quietly at a bazaar and boom; the bee stings me. My thoughts about bees was always of sweetness.Now I think, I will never quite look at honey and bees the same way.The timely involvement of Mallory, Chidera, Annie May and the kind server with the ice pack saved the day. Next, there was a mini concert and a guy carrying bottles of water. It was easy to think he was hawking them. Yours truly was looking to buy. He replied he wasn’t selling. Moments later, guess who is called onstage? You guessed it, ‘water boy’ is a performer taking water to the band boys, and what a performance it was! Awkward moment there for a minute. No? What can I say? Modesty and serving others are still gorgeous traits. This quote from one of the poets at a…