Some inspiration from a man that discovered passion after personal crisis

Subject: Some inspiration from a man that discovered his passion after experiencing personal crisis

I wanted to share my new goal with you - I have decided to help a young man I met in Colorado last month. Alexey Talai is a dynamic and driven young man who is on a quest to bring wheelchairs and services to the disabled children and orphans of his small Eastern European country: Belarus. Alexey also happens to be a quadriplegic amputee himself.

When Alexey and I sat down and talked last month, he told me how when he was brought back from the hospital he was "planted" on a couch, just like a "flower". His family watered and fed him, just like they would to care for their other plants and flowers. He sees the disabled children in his country facing that same stigma. No way to gain independence. There are no chairs for disabled in Belarus. There are not even accessible buildings. Belarus is only 100km outside of Chernobyl. There have been many birth defects, as you can imagine, as well as injuries caused from left over land mines.

I honestly feel compelled to assist Alexey in reaching his goal to get chairs for the children of Belarus. I have made this my personal goal for this year. I have been reaching out to local connections to try and find one which Alexey can partner with. I contacted the Executive Director of Wheels for Humanity and have begun the process of bringing Alexey to Los Angeles to solidify a partnership agreement. If that agreement is executed, we will only need to raise $50,000 to bring 200 custom fitted chairs and other durable medical equipment to Belarus.

Right now Alexey is touring the East Coast speaking to various groups to raise awareness and to gather assistance for his quest. He has a phenomenal spirit and one of the most inspirational people I have met.

One of the local papers in Texas featured Alexey in a recent issue 

(http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/cleveland/news/article_79d3616c-dfc8-53fc-b4c5-442b9b3e4604.html)

 and I wanted to pass this on to you. If you know of any audiences that would benefit from his speaking, let me know. His goal is to raise awareness of the plight of the disabled children and orphans in Belarus. You can read more about Alexey's dream on his website: http://cafeindependence.webs.com/

I attended an abilities exposition and conference this past weekend and was able to meet with a business owner from Northern California who has a warehouse to store chairs until we can get them deployed. This business owner has been actively helping the disabled left in the aftermath of a war-torn Afghanistan. He owns a few dealerships and has promised me a loan of an accessible van so I can transport Alexey when he is here.

I met with the publisher of a magazine which focuses on active disabled, and he would like to run a feature story on Alexey.

I have also called my alma mater - California State University in Long Beach and spoke to the director of their disabled services program to try and schedule Alexey to come and speak to the students. CSULB has a student body of over 35,000 students.

I am very optimistic that we will be able to do this over the next year.  It is funny how before I came out of the closet about my own disability I tried to not even think about my disability or about others with disabilities. I viewed my disease as a condition. Now I see it as an opportunity.

If you know if any speaking opportunities for Alexey, please let me know.

  Best regards,

  Valerie

         

-- 

Are you going to renaissance faire

Without laughter, life can be so boring. I participate in Renaissance Faire as a re-en-actor. To say I love faire does not fully express my feeling - I would have to say it is one of my primary passions.

This ode was created for me by a woman I met on FaceBook. We share a common bond. We both have  FacioScapuloHumeral Dystrophy (FSHD). This happens to be the most common form of muscular dystrophy, but lucky for us, is a very slowly progressing disease. My friend created this montage from photos that I have on my FaceBook account, and wrote very creative lyrics to describe who I am.

I am in awe of her talent and wanted to share this here.

Enjoy! 

Fighting the darkness of indifference

Without passion life becomes indifferent. Sometimes we have to fight off the darkness to maintain our hold on light. Today was one of those days. Today I had to reach inside and find a glimmer of hope to hold onto.

The song that comes to mind when I think of indifference is Eleanor Rigby, by the Beatles. Eleanor clearly is missing passion in her life, which I believe is the norm for our society. We give in to the darkness instead of allowing the light to take over.

I must experience passion in some form at least once a day. Today's passion was fleeting, but at least it was there. I realized that I have been less than my normal optimistic self these past few days. I found myself barking for no apparent reason. Today I stopped and took a look at what I was doing. I saw who I was affecting and realized I needed to rekindle the flame. 

I set out on a quest to find something to get lost in. A worthwhile project, or even one that would just devour my time. Of all places, I found it at work. Earlier this week I decided to develop a training program for my staff. My goal is to engage, empower and develop a culture of innovation.

I am basing the training on self assessment using the Myers Briggs Type Indicator in conjunction with using the theories and practices developed by Stephen Covey in his book: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. 

It was quite exciting to see the energy created the team as I led them through a series of self assessments as well as a group exercise. The synergy released in the group was exactly what I hoped for. 

This was my first attempt to develop this type of training and I must confess that I was exhilarated after the session. 

I even decided to be brave and sent out a satisfaction survey to my staff to determine effectiveness of the training. I love using Survey Monkey. I had the results within a few hours of sending the link and was able to adjust my next training segments in response to feedback received. I have committed to developing and conducting a 10 week series of 1 hour training sessions. I think I may have found another outlet for passion: teaching.

Next week we embark upon the first habit: being proactive. 

Stay tuned!

Off to the Windy City

I spent most of the night packing for a business trip... I leave for Chicago at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning. I am one of those "anxious travelers". No, I am not afraid of flying, I just want to make sure that I have everything I need.

I will be trying out my new laptop carrying case for the first time. I am going to test the theory of using a sleeve instead of a backpack. At least this is only a 3 day trip. Hopefully it will not be an epic fail.

It is hard to think creatively when I am struggling with the left side of my brain to recall all that needs to be done.

Maybe after a Guinness and a cigar I will feel more relaxed...

Comfortably Numb

I have not found a better antonym for passion. I have spent many days, if not years, living in a state of "comfortable numbness".



Living a life lacking in passion. There had been a time in my life that I did not listen to music. I had no radio. I had no stereo. This was all by choice. I had made an unconscious decision to withdraw from life. I was trapped in a world of darkness and despair. Such is the life of someone living in depression. A life devoid of passion.

How ironic.

That was another lifetime ago. Gratefully, I cannot fully remember those days. Maybe I just blocked them out. Regardless, I choose not to dwell in the past, but to live life to the fullest. Today I choose passion.

Today's passion reminder was music. I am one of the older generation who happens to still listen to regular FM radio (at least in my car). I know, the sound is not great and I have no control over the playlist, but still.. there is something about radio broadcasting that is very special.

Maybe it is because I hear the passion of the DJ's? We do know that passion is contagious.

Maybe it is the anticipation of what song will play next? We all like surprises, right?

Maybe it is just a reminder of days gone by... the way things used to be.

I had my music. I had my passion fix for the day.

Happy Birthday to Me

Today is my birthday, and as a dear friend of mine once stated, she and I are "Plenty-Nine" and holding.

I love the concept of agelessness. However, I have a great appreciation for the knowledge and wisdom that can only come with living each day of our lives to the fullest.

I have met some 15 year olds that have more wisdom than others that are 30. Just because you pass time on this planet does not mean that you are learning anything.


Today is my birthday and I will stay on the soapbox as long as I can.


Just kidding.


Actually, what I wanted to talk about today is birthday traditions. I used to get so excited about the family serenading me around a colorful birthday cake set all aglow with a plethora of candles, and of course, the presents.

What child did not love to admire the stack of presents brought over by friend and relatives. I remember thinking that the more you were liked (or loved) the more presents you received.

As a child, those were some of my best memories. No, not the presents.  The events.

Actually, when I think back, I cannot remember even one of the presents I received on any birthday.

But those memories!

Decorated back yard. Funny hats. Cardboard horns. Pin the tail on the donkey. Brightly colored plates and matching napkins. Homemade cake. Giant tubs of ice cream. Pancake breakfasts the morning after a sleep over.

I can even recall a particularly happy celebration. I was wearing white peddle pushers topped with a block printed triangle blouse and of course - the colorful foil and fringe hat. My mom had made the perfect banana cream cake. Back then, we never had store bought cakes and I am so glad of that fact. No one made a cake like my mom.

I still have a photo of that moment. The one just after blowing out the candles. I was so proud. My dimples emphasized my sheer joy. Again.. I don't remember the gifts, but I do remember the experiences and am very grateful for those cherished memories.

So, this year, when my family asked me what I wanted for my birthday I had one simple answer:

I want a memory.

I chocolate cake would not be a bad thing either!

My husband's passion (other than the passion for me) is writing. He has written and published two fantasy adventures (suitable for young adults too!). You can check it out on Amazon.