Adrift
In 1982 Steven Callahan was crossing the Atlantic alone in his sailboat
when it struck something and sank. He was out of the shipping lanes and
floating in a life raft, alone. His supplies were few. His chances were
small. Yet when three fishermen found him seventy-six days later (the
longest anyone has survived a shipwreck on a life raft alone), he was
alive-much skinnier than he was when he started, but alive.
His account of how he survived is fascinating. His ingenuity-how he
managed to catch fish, how he fixed his solar still (evaporates sea water
to make fresh)-is very interesting.
But the thing that caught my eye was how he managed to keep himself going
when all hope seemed lost, when there seemed no point in continuing the
struggle, when he was suffering greatly, when his life raft was punctured
and after more than a week struggling with his weak body to fix it, it was
still leaking air and wearing him out to keep pumping it up. He was
starved. He was desperately dehydrated. He was thoroughly exhausted.
Giving up would have seemed the only sane option.
When people survive these kinds of circumstances, they do something with
their minds that gives them the courage to keep going. Many people in
similarly desperate circumstances give in or go mad. Something the
survivors do with their thoughts helps them find the guts to carry on in
spite of overwhelming odds.
"I tell myself I can handle it," wrote Callahan in his narrative.
"Compared to what others have been through, I'm fortunate. I tell myself
these things over and over, building up fortitude...."
I wrote that down after I read it. It struck me as something important.
And I've told myself the same thing when my own goals seemed far off or
when my problems seemed too overwhelming. And every time I've said it, I
have always come back to my senses.
The truth is, our circumstances are only bad compared to something better.
But others have been through much worse. I've read enough history to know
you and I are lucky to be where we are, when we are, no matter how bad it
seems to us compared to our fantasies. It's a sane thought and worth
thinking. So here, coming to us from the extreme edge of survival, are
words that can give us strength. Whatever you're going through, tell
yourself you can handle
it. Compared to what others have been through, you're fortunate. Tell this
to yourself over and over, and it will help you get through the rough
spots with a little more fortitude.
- by Adam Khan
The Power of Trust
"In the Indiana Jones movie, The Quest for The Holy Grail, Indy finds
himself at the precipice of a bottomless chasm. On the other side of the
abyss stands the sacred temple in which the cup of Christ awaits him. Indy has
searched the entire world for the Holy Grail, defied all kinds rats,
skeletons and villains, nearly lost his father, and risked death many
times to come to this point.
Now he is so close and yet so far. Standing alone, looking down into this
endless gorge, he remembers the instruction that was foretold to help him
when he reached this point in his journey: Faith. Indy takes a deep breath
and steps out over the chasm. He sees nothing to stand on, but he decides
to follow the advice to *Trust*. As soon as he leans out over the abyss, a
bridge appears and he finds himself fully supported on a solid mass.
The entire chasm, which seemed quite impossible to mortal eyes, was
but a test of Faith. The bridge was there all along, but it could only be
seen by those who stepped onto it. Faith is the vision of things unseen.
Only those who see the invisible can do the impossible. Jesus instructed,
Blessed are those who see and believe, and even more blessed are those
who have not seen and yet believe"
How many bridges have you not crossed because you couldn't see them?
How can you view things differently this time and notice the hidden gold
within every fear or obstacle? Will you give yourself the permission to
leap across the chasm of your fears?, knowing that when you do, you'll
transform not only yourself, but your world as well?
How many missed opportunities for joy and fulfillment are waiting for you,
right now as you read this? Can you see the possibilities of daring to
Dream a bigger Dream for yourself, your family, your community, your world?
The possibilities are endless! As you become the co-creator of your world,
you'll realize how incredible your power really is. As you share your
Dream with others, you'll liberate them as well!
Dare to Dream my friend, DARE to Dream! and you'll build a bridge to your
Dreams and in ways you haven't imagined!
By Alan Cohen Author of Dare to Be Yourself, and Paul Bauer
http://www.dreamsalive.com/cgi-local/af/b.cgi/126
MAYBE IT'S YOU
It was one of those cold winter nights in the Haight district of San
Francisco, the kind where the rain hurts, and your breath forms huge cotton
balls that bounce on the pavement.
I was driving an eyesore that could only be referred to as a "car" by
someone who was either a shameless liar or a good friend.
Technically, the vehicle was totalled when I bought it from an
unscrupulous neighbor, because it needed an engine overhaul that would have
cost more than the car itself. I added a quart of oil before every
journey. Most of it would leak out along the way. I tried to imagine I
was driving a huge magical snail; that way I didn't mind the slow speeds
and the slime trail it left.
The car's outer paint had transformed into a hideous mixture of rust
and "something brown." The engine sounded like a lawnmower with
tuberculosis. If anyone ever wondered what the inside of an automobile
seat looked like, my car had the answers. It was a difficult car to drive
because you had to keep your fingers and toes crossed to keep the engine
running.
That night I must have uncrossed my fingers to scratch something. The
car died in the middle of a four-lane stretch of Oak Street. I coasted as
far as I could, hoping for a place to turn off, but the street was lined
with parked cars and the nearest intersection was beyond coasting distance.
There I sat, in busy evening traffic, no lights, no locomotion, as
tons of steel and plastic screamed by. In my rearview mirror I saw a pair
of headlights pull up and stop behind me. I knew what was coming.
Soon the horn would start and someone would be cursing at me.
In San Francisco, if you dawdle too long after a light turns green,
you get the horn. If you dare to come to a full stop at a stop sign, you
get the horn from the car behind you. I figured I was begging for trouble.
But I was wrong.
A stranger got out of the car and came to my window. He shouted, "Do
you want a push?"
I was stunned but must have nodded in the affirmative. He waived to
his car and two teens piled out to apply themselves to my bumper. When I
was safely delivered to a side street, they hopped back into their car and
rejoined the sea of anonymous traffic.
I didn't get to thank them.
Over the years I've realized something about the stranger who stopped
to help. I've noticed that every time I'm in trouble, he appears. He never
looks the same. Sometimes he's a woman. His age and ethnicity vary. But
he's always there.
I've started to understand he's the best part of what makes us human
beings. The one true thing in this world is an unasked kindness provided
by a stranger. It's the invisible cord that binds us all together and
makes life worthwhile.
This year, when you find yourself immersed in the clutter and bustle,
annoyed by the long lines, baffled about how you'll
get everything done, remember this:
One of the people in that crowd is the stranger. Today, maybe it's you.
- Scott Adams
The Blessing in Adversity
By Michael E. Angier
When I was about five years old, I lived with my family in Enterprise,
Alabama for a few months while my father attended an advanced aviation
course at nearby Fort Rucker.
What makes Enterprise, Alabama especially memorable is a strange monument
they have in the middle of town. You can't miss it. In fact, you have to
drive around it because it sits right in the middle of the road. The
monument is a statue to the boll weevil.
It's probably the only monument in the world erected in honor of an
insect. It certainly wasn't done because of its aesthetic value the boll
weevil is a particularly ugly-looking creature. Surprisingly, it was
erected because of the devastation the boll weevil caused to the cotton
crops of the surrounding area!
Why did they honor this pest? Well, had it not been for the boll weevil,
the local economy would have continued its unhealthy dependence on its
one-crop, one-product economy. Until then, everything depended entirely on
cotton. When the boll weevil came, the farmers and all the other
businesses that were reliant on the cotton farmers were forced to
recognize the need to diversify.
In the long run, they saw that the boll weevil had, in fact, done them a
favor by destroying their crops. No longer were their eggs all in one
cotton basket. They started raising hogs, peanuts and other cash crops,
and the entire area was better off for it.
I think it is to those southern farmers' great credit that they were able
to see this adversity for what it really was a great blessing. Too often,
we see difficult times as something to avoid something only to endure. We
usually don't see the benefit until much later if at all. If we look back
at the things in our lives that were the most trying, the most painful and
frustrating, we have to admit that there was value in it (if you can't see
this, you probably aren't seeing it from a distant enough perspective).
Our lives are far more enjoyable (certainly more instructional) if we view
each thing that happens to us as just that a happening. Remember, it's not
what happens to us, but our response to what happens to us that makes the
difference in the quality of our lives. I believe that everything that
happens can be a lesson.
Next time things don't seem to be going the way you want, ask yourself
what the positive aspect is. What's the benefit in the adversity? You'll
have greater enjoyment and learn more in the process.
Michael Angier is the founder and president of Success Networks
International, publishers of SUCCESS STRATEGIES, INSIGHT and SUCCESS
DIGEST.
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