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Tuesday, November 6, 2012

The Challenge of Change :-)

This time of year with the beautiful colors of Autumn and the briskness in the air, it makes me think of all of the changes going on around me.  So many things to be grateful for and realize how fortunate we all really are.  

Last week, when my electricity was out for just under 24 hours, I understood fully all I had was a minor inconvenience.  There are people less then 50 miles away from where we live that are in total devastation, loss of not just "their stuff" that can be replaced eventually but the loss of their friends and family members.  The people we choose to share our lives with are gifts that are priceless and we should try to take all the time we have with them to admire the things we love about them and try with all of our might not to focus and waste time on the negative things that don't define who any of us are.  

While I was in line to vote today there was something that caught my eye.  It was something called Rachel's Challenge, two large white boards with all of the student's signatures on it.  There was a girl standing in line behind me who attends the middle school, waiting with her Grandmother.  I decided to ask her about Rachel and the challenge.  I have sheer gratitude for being in the right place at the right time today.  To hear this teenage girl tell us the story of Rachel, it was bone chilling hearing her recall how good of a person she was, loved by everyone, the caring notes she left behind and the deep thoughts she kept about so many of life's challenges.  Then to hear how she had sadly lost her life way too soon due to the Columbine shootings in 1999.  
Rachel's Challenge Website
There is so much more to tell and her website (Rachel's Challenge) will do it best, that will surely give you goosebumps as well.  But one quote I found on the site that touched me and is from Rachel, "Tomorrow is not a promise but a chance"  She believed in starting a chain reaction of kindness.  I challenge all of us to start our own chain reactions of kindness and compassion.  Let it be in our own families, then our families can gain the strength and confidence to stand up, encourage and help others, and to help keep Rachel's dream alive, may it never stop and the wave continue flowing back and forth just as we depend on the waves in the ocean to always come back to us at some point, we just never know their true power until they have touched us.  :-)

P.S.  Please one other thing, what ever you can give, no matter how small even if it is of your yourself, please donate to your local charities to help the people living in your communities and if possible please help the people also struggling to get by who lost so much in Hurricane Sandy.  The American Red Cross has a Relief Fund set up for those that can help.  Thanks for listening and tag you are it.  :-)
American Red Cross Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund

 

6 comments:

  1. That's my kind of challenge....CHALLENGE ACCETED!

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    1. Heidi, you were inspirational to me the moment I started talking to you. I feel like this is probably how you are living your life already, but none of us are perfect, believe me, I know this for a fact by looking at myself. We all slip a bit and I am regaining myself now, all I can do is move forward :-) Thanks for the blog comment and I hope you are ready for the upcoming holidays with your family! :-)

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  2. I love this!!! It really is such a simple thing to do kind things for others, and it's amazing how the most random kindnesses really can turn a person's day around. I honestly don't doubt for a moment that if everyone did this on a regular basis, the world would be a much kinder place :)

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    1. Hi Charlie, so weird the response I wrote months ago never showed up and I just noticed it was missing. Sooooooooooooooo sorry =) Thank you for reading this and then sharing your thoughts with me. I reposted it again today, since I needed a little reminder (and kick in the tush) that I am the only one truly in control of me. Hugs & smiles for you and yours, Tiffiny =)

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