Paul Newman - what a wonderful courageous life he lived. Fantastic movie career, amazing marriage, charity and restaurant work, racing. Paul and his wife Joanne Woodward have raised over 200 million dollars for charity. Paul was the heart and soul of Hole in the Wall Camp, and just last year helped 14,000 children go to camp. Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward followed their dreams with courage. Here is a quote by Paul about the camp.
I wish I could recall with clarity the impulse that compelled me to help bring this camp into being. I’d be pleased if I could announce a motive of lofty purpose. I’ve been accused of compassion, of altruism, of devotion to Christian, Hebrew, and Moslem ethic, but however desperate I am to claim ownership of a high ideal, I cannot. I wanted, I think, to acknowledge Luck; the chance of it, the benevolence of it in my life, and the brutality of it in the lives of others, made especially savage for children because they may not be allowed the good fortune of a lifetime to correct it. - Paul Newman.
Authentic comes to mind when I think of Paul Newman, he was a regular guy who was kind and loving to people. Paul, you will be missed around the world. Paul passed October 26th 2008. Journey on in Peace and Love.
I have a friend Jenny who found the courage to heal herself of chronic pain. Here is a small bio on Jenny and an article from Jenny’s website that I know you will enjoy, about a blind boy who can see, in some ways better than you and I. Jenny represents Living in Courage to me, so I am excited and grateful to share her blog, Heal Pain Naturally with you.
Thank you Jenny for sharing with us here.
Debra Oakland@LivinginCourage
Jenny Mannion, after having chronic pain for 5 years and being diagnosed with several diseases was told she would always be ill and to prepare for feeling worse. She did not want to be on pain medications at 35 for the rest of her life with 2 young children to take care of. When she saw the movie, “The Secret” her life changed. She learned all she could about the Law of Attraction and the mind/body connection and healed herself of all illnesses and pain. Jenny wrote an e-book on the methods she adopted to heal and maintains a blog on natural ways to heal emotional and physical pain. She is a mind/body mentor and believes everyone can find powers within to heal parts if not all of their life.
Here is an article with a video of Ben Underwood’s amazing journey. Ben and his family are people who Live in Courage, and they encourage all of us to reach deep inside to find and use the full potential and courage of who we are in our every day lives.
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Ben Underwood’s mother is a perfect example of how to encourage your children and I am sure a big part of the reason Ben developed his incredible gift. She told him he could see. She told him he was normal. She did not let him see her upset or ever feel sorry for him. One year after his eyes were removed Ben could see (some might say better than the rest of us with eyes).
I healed myself of some very bad illnesses so I KNOW how strong the mind is. Nevertheless this story amazed me and proved further what I already knew. “Your thoughts become things” and “You need to believe to achieve” — Ben was told repeatedly he could see, believed it and MADE seeing possible. This showed me again how important it is to share these messages with your children.
When I showed the video to my 8 year old son I prefaced it with, “this shows you can do anything you set your mind to.” He is currently studying sound at school and sat utterly shocked as he watched Ben “see” with his ears, much the way dolphins do with echolocation. I could tell it helped him that day as he was about to set out on ice skates for the first time. He is usually cautious and instead was looking forward to it tremendously and he KNEW he would be able to do it. He did in fact discover a new love and I have reaffirmed the power of inspiration.
There are a few books I use to teach my children about the Law of Attraction and to know no limits that are VERY valuable. “Incredible You” and “Unstoppable Me” by Wayne Dyer and “How to Talk to Your Kids about the Law of Attraction E-book” by Robin Hoch with Rich German. “Incredible You” is my children’s favorite bedtime story and the first time I read it my son said to me, “You know mommy — this guy thinks a lot like you — you should call him”. WHAT a compliment — and I am so grateful my children now see me AS thinking like the great Dr. Dyer because for the first 6 years of my son’s life I definitely did not.
Share stories of inspiration with your children and tell them there are no limits to what they can achieve. Can you imagine how great a world it would be if all kids grew up KNOWING this?!
Andy Dooley is just plain fun. This image represents the 2008 Olympics in Beijing to me. Olympic athletes visualize the end result and give their sport heart, soul, blood, sweat and tears. These athletes carry courage and dedication in every step they take, some become heroes. Encouragement is part of life for athletes and a quality we would be wise to hold close in our daily lives.
Aye Aye Win won the”Courage in Journalism” award for her job reporting on Burma while under military scrutiny. This award is annually presented to women in journalism who “show extraordinary strength of character and integrity while reporting news under dangerous or difficult circumstances.”
Aye Aye was under constant surveillance, her house staked out by Burmese authorities and her phones also tapped. Aye Aye used disguises to move around when needed, and showed a great amount of courage while reporting under very difficult situations.
On Oct 16, 2008 in Los Angeles as well as Oct 21, in New York - the awards for “Courage in Journalism” will be presented. Aye Aye Win, along with Fraida Nekzad from Afganistan and Sevjul Uludag from Cyprus will all be presented with this well deserved prize.
Living in Courage Online would like to congratulate these amazing women for their strength of character, their efforts in the strive for freedom and their amazing courage in the face of adversity and challenge. Thank you for making this world a better place to live and showing the strength of women around the world.
Tom Lamb has courage and a purpose - the nation’s endangered great panda population at China’s Wolong Nature Reserve. This was a home to to a large population of the endangered pandas.
On May 12th 2008, hundreds of Chinese school children were killed in a devastating earthquake. The panda reserve was a few miles away from the epicenter of the quake. The reserve was preparing for some new modern construction for the breeding center, when the quake hit. Many existing buildings were compromised as well. Lamb said it will take at least 2 years to rebuild the villages and buildings at Wolong, as the Quing and Tibetan people who resided throughout the reserve lost virtually everything. For more information, please visit www.uscef.org. The panda’s natural habitat is threatened now from the earthquake and outside influences.
Tom Lamb is a Laguna Beach resident and multi faceted photographer. Being into preservation, Lamb is the vice president of USCEF. This is a non-profit, non governmental, environmental agency in China that is largely responsible for the Wolong Giant Panda Nature Reserve and Breeding Center, which is virtually now unreachable by car or plane. Major destruction from the earthquake has destroyed roads leading in. To learn more about the projects and how to become involved in helping the panda’s, visit the site and give your support.
Maya Angelou says ” A mentor is a rainbow in the clouds.” Be someone’s rainbow today.
It doesn’t take much effort to give someone a lift or some encouragement. One of the best effects is how it makes you feel when you support another person when they need it. What a wonderful way to live in courage and encourage others to do the same. I hope you enjoy this video. Maya Angelou is a true mentor to all.
Randy Pausch was 47 years young. His courageous passing will be felt by people across the world. What an amazing man, what an amazing family. Randy was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2006, being told he had 3 to 6 months to live. He made every day count.
Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture at Carnegie Mellon University is legendary - worldwide. The video of The Last Lecture has been viewed by over 10 million people, and translated into 7 languages. This year after appearing on Oprah, Diane Sawyer, and many other interviews, a best selling book “The Last Lecture”, testifying before Congress in regards to Pancreatic Cancer, Randy has passed leaving us all feeling so blessed to have witnessed such Courage and Love.
In the news from The University of Virginia was a quote by Gabe Robins, professor of computer science at U.Va., has described Pausch as the perfect mentor - a combination of Yoda, Captain James T.Kirk, and Jim Carrey.
Randy was such an inspiration to me as a young faculty member and he became a good friend over the years,” said Robins. “The media portrayed this man exactly as he was — bright, honest and sincere. I feel lucky to count him among my friends and mentors. It is very rare to find a person that combines greatness, grace, and courage the way Randy does. I’m so glad that, through his lecture videos and recent book, the rest of the world got to know him too. Randy’s legacy will continue to inspire people for a long, long time to come.
Living in Courage sends love and condolences to Randy’s family - Jai, Dylan, Logan and Chloe.
I would like to thank everyone who left comments over the months here at Living in Courage for Randy and his family and those who continue to do so. We all hold a very special place in our hearts for a very courageous man and his wonderful family.
As you know, George Carlin possessed Courage. It does not matter if you loved, disliked or ignored him. George was the real deal - Authentic to the core. He did not care what anyone thought of him and he was ruthlessly honest in his assessment of life. Here are some of his more positive and heart felt words that we would all be wise to listen to. Thank you George for your honesty - that is Courage.
The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways , but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness. We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.
We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life. We’ve added years to life not life to years. We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We’ve done larger things, but not better things.
We’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We’ve conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We’ve learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.
These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete…
Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.
Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.
Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn’t cost a cent.
Remember, to say, ‘I love you’ to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.
Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.
Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
I see people all over the world with disabilities that display so much courage. I see many who live off of the streets, suffering or leading lives of constant struggle. I prefer to write about people that get up and do something with their life. One of those people is 9 year old Christopher McKitten of the U.K. What a living example of courage in action. Christopher has Ewing’s Sarcoma, which is a rare cancer. This chap had surgery and was back to school in less than a month after having his let amputated from the thigh. This is a child that plays football on crutches! There are people who have gone through much less and won’t get up and cross the street to help themselves. I really admire children. They have such resilience and positivity.
Here is a quote from his grandpa:
“I’ve never heard him once complain about what he’s been through. He’s just unbelievable.”
Christoper was one of 3 children that won the Champion Child of Courage award recently. The judges had such a tough time trying to pick a winner, that all three children were awarded equally.
JUDGES of the Champion Child of Courage award found it such a tough task trying to decide on a winner that they took the generous step of awarding prizes to all three shortlisted youngsters. Chris Henderson, sales and marketing manager for sponsors Anson Ltd, said:
“It’s been very, very difficult for us to pick from three children that have shown such courage. They keep on smiling through all their problems and that’s a lesson to us all as we sit round these tables about why we should keep a smile on our faces.
“So it’s a little bit different tonight. I am not going to announce one winner, I am going to announce three because the decision was so difficult it just wasn’t fair to pick one alone.
To go through great adversity, smile and never complain - Wow, now that’s courage.
I was thinking of Christopher Reeve’s today. What a powerful peaceful soul. A Role Model. My birthday is this month. I was born the same year as Christopher in 1952. As many of you know, he passed on October 10th 2004. He would be 56 this year. He is greatly missed around the world.
I am so grateful for my life. Each year that passes brings more joy, with life unfolding in the most miraculous ways. Superman could fly and sometimes I feel as if I can too. Christopher Reeve’s knew how to fly in the face of fear, with great courage. Few people have the strength to live with such grace in the appearance of such a challenge. There is no doubt that some days were much harder to face than others, but he rose to the occasion, setting himself as a example to the world. To live in freedom, no matter what seems to be an obstacle is a gift of courage we each own. Thank you Christopher and your family for being such an inspiration to all of us. May we all follow your lead and live in COURAGE.
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