A Friday ritual. A single photo — no words — capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
“This Moment” is a ritual found on Life inspired by the Wee Man adopted from SouleMama which was introduced to me by Sarah-Jane, of Samuel Michaels Photography. If you find yourself touched by a moment and would like to participate, post your picture on a Friday and leave your link in the comments section.
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“You cannot tailor make your situation in life, but you can tailor make your attitudes to fit those situations.” ~ Zig Ziglar
“Sometimes adversity is what you need to face in order to become successful.” ~ Zig Ziglar
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Many parents want to raise fully empowered kids. Unfortunately, today there seems to be an epidemic of teen suicide, the last resort of extreme powerlessness. Our hearts are breaking and we want to make it stop. How do we empower the underdog?
Earlier this month 11-year-old Kierra “Kiki” Walker shot and killed herself in my hometown, Merrimack, New Hampshire. She was a sixth grader at my alma mater, James Mastricola Upper Elementary School, where she reportedly suffered from unrelenting bullying from the other kids. An anti-bullying rally and candlelight vigil is being scheduled in honor of her memory.
I was bullied when I lived in Merrimack, although mostly in my own home. As a result, I began to seriously consider taking my own life when I was a little older than Kiki. I played the scenario over in my mind. In my imagination I saw the police standing over my lifeless body shaking their heads and asking my dad what happened. My father would respond politely, “I don’t know, Officers. She was just plain crazy!” The cops would then solemnly offer their condolences and be on their way. Personally, if I had thought for one moment that I might have received any sort of post-mortem vindication, let alone a candle-light vigil, I might have gone through with it.
In the middle of my junior year of high school my family moved from New Hampshire to Minnesota. This brought me to my eleventh ‘new’ school in as many years across five different states. My home life was more toxic than ever and I was pretty socially disconnected. At that point my thoughts of suicide escalated.
It was during these darkest of days that I was offered a very part-time job by the mother of an acquaintance at my new high school. Each Saturday morning she paid me to help her clean her beautiful home for a few hours. At lunch time she prepared a simple meal and set me up in her living room with head phones on, to eat and listen to audio tapes by this crazy guy named Zig Ziglar. “This is for you,” she explained. “You don’t have to tell anybody else about this. It’s for you.” That’s all she said.
One thing that strikes me about this scenario is that she didn’t ask me about my bruises or explain to me that I deserve better treatment or confront my abusers. What she did do is teach me how to tap into the power of my own mind and it’s one of the greatest gifts anyone has ever given me. I’m eternally grateful to Mrs. Maroney and to Zig Ziglar for the likes of this:
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I’m really glad I changed my mind and decided to live. Life is AMAZING! One thing I’ve realized is that the more challenges I come across, the more challenges I’m able to overcome. I grow in strength and wisdom with every experience. I can honestly say that I embrace all the experiences of my life because they have contributed to me becoming the woman I am today.
We cannot control other people or many external events, but we can control ourselves. If your life is anything less than you want it to be right now, for any reason, I encourage you to begin experimenting with the creative potential of your own mind to make your life better. Read about people who inspire you, like Zig Ziglar. Make a Vision Board. Watch inspiring films, you’ll find plenty of examples in the Magic Movie Clips Library. And while you’re at it, find a good therapist, mentor or friend who helps you exercise your intellect and unleash your full potential.
Where do you find inspiration? What seemingly insurmountable obstacle did you overcome which made you stronger in the end? Let’s celebrate life by encouraging each other –- please leave your success story in the comments below!
A Friday ritual. A single photo — no words — capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
“This Moment” is a ritual found on Life inspired by the Wee Man adopted from SouleMama which was introduced to me by Sarah-Jane, of Samuel Michaels Photography. If you find yourself touched by a moment and would like to participate, post your picture on a Friday and leave your link in the comments section.
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Cheating with TWO photos and a few words this week:
Congratulations, Paul & Ruth,
on 60 beautiful years of marriage!
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“A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.” ~ Mignon McLaughlin,
The Second Neurotic’s Notebook, 1966
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“We must use time creatively.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
Since today is a national holiday, I don’t know what to expect from my after-school art class. When I walk into the room, I’m surprised at the number of kids who swarm me singing, “We want art! We want art!”
Always wanting to bring real life lessons to art I ask, “So, you guys didn’t have school today, huh? Why is that?”
“Martin Luther King Day!” they cheer in unison.
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“Ah, and who is Martin Luther King?” I ask.
They become silent, looking at each other and around the room for the answer. Finally, one little girl speaks up, “I think he was a guy who’s skin was some kind of different color!” Everyone nods in agreement.
“I see,” I nod, also. “And what kind of color was his skin?” Long pause. “Like, was it purple?” Raucous laughter. They think I’m silly.
“No, his skin wasn’t purple!” calls out an eight-year-old boy. “It was kind of brownish, I think. And he broke the law so they killed him.”
“Oh, I see. Do you mean he ‘broke’ the law or he helped to ‘change’ the law?” I press for clarification.
“He helped change the law so that brownish people and… um… pinkish people… could eat in restaurants together, and stuff like that.”
“That’s right,” I smile. Then, I ask, “Do you know what my T-shirt says?”
“No.”
“It says ‘co-exist’ — what does that mean?” After a pause I help them through the process. “What does ‘exist’ mean?”
“Something that’s actually real?” offers a little Hispanic girl.
“Yes! And what does co- mean? Like co-operate?”
“To work together?”
“That’s right! So, what does it mean when we put them together? Co-exist?”
“To be real together?” blurts out the little Hispanic girl.
“That’s right!” My life feels worth living as I participate in magic moments like this.
We discuss the symbolism on my T-shirt such as the peace sign, the Star of David, the Yin and Yang and the Christian cross. I tell them I want each of them to come up with a word that is important to them and illustrate it with symbols. As I watch, their creations make my heart sing.
“Oh, really?” says my eight-year-old cynic, raising one eyebrow. “And, what does that sound like?”
Why, it sounds kind of like this:
Yeah, they thought that was kind of sappy, too! What does co-existing mean to you? What makes your heart sing and what does it sound like? Thank you for sharing!
