Undaunted Courage

‎"Although my body has been broken,

my spirit never will be.

I am unbreakable!"

- Grant Korgan, South Pole 2012

Courage is what makes someone capable of facing extreme danger and difficulty without retreating.  It implies not only having bravery and a dauntless spirit but the ability to endure in times of adversity.

If you were to ask me to list the people who epitomize courage to me, Oskar Shindler, Paul Rusesabagina, Karen Silkwood, Wesley Autry, Captain Sully, Ann Frank and the 911 First Responders would come immediately to mind. Last week, I added Grant Korgan to the list.

I have the honor of knowing Grant.  He was a bigger-than-life participant at my son and daughter-in-law’s wedding; a member of my daughter-in-law’s extended family.  They attended his wedding that same year in October, 2009  Five months later, on March 5, 2010, Grant was involved in a horrific snowmobile crash, which left him paralyzed from the waist down.

On January 7, 2012, Grant Korgan took the first of 250,000 strokes that would push his “Sit-Ski” across Antarctica to the South Pole. His arrival 10 days later marked the 100 Anniversary of Robert Falcon Scott's Terra Nova expedition and added his own name to the archives of history as the first adaptive skier to ever accomplish this feat. (It should be noted that Grant didn’t actually “pole” his sit-ski the whole way. In fact, he left the adaptive apparatus to ski the last 100 yards on conventional skis!)

 courtesy of www.southpolepush.com

Those who know Grant well, though awed and ecstatic, are not the least bit surprised by this accomplishment and know that there will be more successes ahead as “Korg” stretches toward his ultimate goal of 120% recovery. There is no doubt he’ll get there. He has the heart, the love and support of family and friends, and the spirit it takes to do great and meaningful things. 

Grant’s story reminds me, as I hope it will you, that pushing through the fears and adversity that fall across our paths is the only way to the new horizons of hope and freedom that await us all.  He has given me a new perspective from which to face the great, and even the small, challenges in my life.  Now, when I struggle with motivation, inspiration, and trying to find a way to muster up the courage to just DO IT, I think of Grant and find myself kicking off the chains of doubt and pushing on!

If you’d like to learn more about Grant’s adventure to the South Pole and the great work being done at High Fives Rehabilitation Center, please go to: www.southpolepush.com and www.highfivesfoundation.org.  A documentary film about the expedition will be released later this year.

If you missed our daily Facebook posts this week, please enjoy them now:

“A man discovers himself when he

measures himself against an obstacle.”

~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery

“Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little

voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow.” 

~Mary Anne Radmacher

“True courage is not the brutal force of vulgar heroes,

 but the firm resolve of virtue and reason.” 

~Alfred North Whitehead

“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare,

it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.”
~Seneca

“Only those who will risk going too far can

 possibly find out how far one can go. “  
~T. S. Eliot

“Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all.  Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle.

The world you desired can be won.

It exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours.”     
~Ayn Rand

”Promise me you’ll always remember: You’re braver than you believe,

and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”

~Christopher Robin to Pooh

Starving at the Banquet of Life

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters

Compared to what lies within us.

                         - Ralph Waldo Emerson

I was sitting in the sun at the park with a friend I had, admittedly, and guiltily, chosen not to spend time with in quite awhile.  Mother Nature was doing a fabulous job making amends for the extremely long winter she had dealt us. What remained of the 45-foot snow pack frosted the surrounding mountains, which looked three dimensional against the bluest BLUE BIRD sky of the season. The melt off had produced trees and grass in shades of green I’m not even sure there are words for.  Birds sang, dogs barked, children laughed.  It was a perfect moment in time.  But lost in her litany of could’ves and should’ves, wrong doings and if onlys, my friend was missing it all.  Suddenly I realized what had kept me so distant from her these past months:  I could no longer bare the pain of watching this beautiful, talented, good woman starving at the banquet of life.

Sadly, this is a way of life for my friend, but haven’t we all, at one time or another, been stuck in the planning and recalling that life insists on; our senses momentarily blurred to the life going on around us?  There are bills to pay, leaky faucets to fix, music lessons and football games to get to, obligations and responsibilities to juggle. It seems often that something or someone has us looking ahead. And, too, don’t we sometimes need to look back on our yesterdays, calling on the lessons learned and the wonderful, and also the difficult, memories of the past to remind us how to be and who we are today?  

Living in the now is a concept most of us get intellectually, but enter reality and things can get a little murky! Everyday we have 31,536,000 NOWs in which to be the best versions of ourselves. Some of those nows require planning and remembering, dreaming and hoping.  But when we allow ourselves to get swept up in the folly of regret, worry and projection, we, too, can find ourselves starving at the banquet of life. 

When we spend our time regretting what was, we waste the moment that is.  There are no do-overs in life. Mistakes, missed opportunities, harsh words or actions cannot be taken back.  But, they can be great reminders to make better choices. They can be turning points from which to go forward and grow.  They can be opportunities from which to learn the power of acceptance, of forgiveness, of peace. Remembering should not be confused with regret.

When we spend our time worrying about what will be, we waste the moment that is.  Leo Buscalia, author of Because I’m Human and other notable books, once wrote, “Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.” We cannot create outcomes from worry.  We cannot shape the future through projection.  That is not to say, our deeds and thoughts and words do not affect our tomorrows, they do.  Living an authentic, thoughtful, kindhearted life will surely bring you better tomorrows.  And, maybe more importantly, will provide you with the strength, courage and support you may need should tomorrow present a challenge.  But we must not confuse hope with worry, or planning with projection.

To most of us, these are not great and startling revelations!  Most of us have been there and done that before.  The question then, is how to stop these time wasting, futile forays into the past and future? 

A method I have found helpful over the years is what I call “rubber band reality!” It’s a simple, yet effective way to remind myself that where my head is taking me is not where I am, or want to be. It works like this:  Whenever I find myself getting stuck in a cycle of pointless, torturous, regret and worry mind games, I get a wide rubber band and slip it on my wrist. Then, the next time I find myself unable to resist stepping back to things I can’t change, or forward to things I can’t control, I give that rubber band a BIG snap. The sting acts as a wake up call to STOP and a reminder to look around and note that in the here and now, I am safe and living exactly the life I am intended to live!  For me, it works every time. Could it work for you, too?

Life is not a flash in the pan, but rather a rich, slow-cooked stew of moments in time. It should be flavored with love and joy, not soured with regret and worry. So, whether you choose to engage the rubber band of reality or another method, or mantra, to shake you from your trance of THEN; practice leaving your regrets and worries at the doorstep, or better yet, in the trash bin, and belly on up to the table to eat heartily at the beautiful, wonderful, delicious feast that awaits you NOW!

Bon Appetite,

Dorothy

Dorothy:  I will be spending the next week with my beloved ‘other’ family at Foothill Farm in western MT, where my belly will be filled with farm raised, organic food, my eyes will be filled with the magnificence of Big Sky Country and my heart will be filled with joy!  There will not be a second to waste on THEN! 

Susan:  May we all live today as the best you possible, think gently and patiently of tomorrow, and kindly of yesterday.    

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Defensive Driving and Other Good Choices

Life is the sum of all your choices.

  ~Albert Camus

Have you seen the car commercial where they simulate a crash and, upon impact and airbag deployment, the driver turns off the ignition, turns on the hazard lights and unlocks the doors – disaster averted!  It’s slowed down to about 30 seconds of viewing but probably equates to 3 seconds in real time. The assumption being that in 3 seconds - a heartbeat, a blink of the eye  - actions were taken that saved this man’s life.  Of course, the selling point of car in the commercial is that it comes equipped with these safe guards, its computers churn into action should an impact occur, so no human action – or thought - is required. 

We humans have to rely on our own good sense to prevent crashing into obstacles, though.  We have to mentally, and sometimes physically, turn off the knee jerk, old tape, ego based reactions to things that press our buttons, or are destructive to our or others’ happiness or well-being.  Though unlike the car in the commercial that automatically switches to safe-mode when things are going wrong, gratefully, we do have the capacity to override our human tendencies…it’s called choice.

The car commercial images flashed in my mind the other day when I found myself crashing into a situation with a guaranteed bad outcome. So, like the man in the commercial, I made some quick choices: I turned off the fuel….the presumptions and judgments in my head;  turned on the hazard lights … caution, caution …. stepped back, slowed down, took a deep breathe; and unlocked the doors …made the choice to exit gracefully.  Disaster averted – no casualties – no dark cloud hanging over the rest of the day/week.  3 seconds and nobody got hurt!   

Of course, it doesn’t always go that way.   Sometimes my awareness/reactions are dulled by the heat of the moment and I pass, what I USED TO THINK is, the point of no return.  However, I’m learning that even when things seem to be speeding toward impact, I can still choose right action and avoid the crash.  When caught up in an escalating argument or disagreement, I can choose to take a time out, I can choose not to fuel the fire by being honest about my motives, I can give up my need to win, I can simply say, “let’s stop.” 

On the road defensive driving serves us well.  So it is in life, too.  By being aware, by practicing respect and courtesy, by recognizing the “danger zones,” we can avoid both fender-benders and big crashes.

Drive safely!

Dorothy

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Dorothy:

The conversation at the yoga studio had turned to grousing and grumbling about the weather, when quietly a fellow student said, “But just think how much we’ll enjoy our beautiful tulips in July.”  The “vibe” in the room changed instantly, and I was reminded of the sentiments of our last blog.  How quickly we can change things by what we say.  By the expressions on all our faces, it was clear we had just shared an ah-ha moment.  Somewhat embarrassed to have been caught, as innocent as the “catching” was, spewing negativity out into the space; we were also delighted by the reminder of the extraordinary duality of our wonderful mountain environment.  With just a few thoughtful words the perspective, and the mood, of the other eight women in class had changed, and, in spite of the snow pelting the windows, I’m sure there were visions of beautiful tulips above all our savasana (relaxation) mats.  And, all was right with the world again!  Thank you Kathy.

Susan will not be joining me here this week as she is finding that life is, indeed, BUENO in beautiful, balmy Cabo!   I wish you inspiring sunrises, and peaceful sunsets my friend!

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Thank you for retuning this morning.  We appreciate your support and encouragement and hope we are meeting your needs.  Please let us know if there is a particular issue, challenge, book, poem, etc, you’d like us to share.  You can leave you comments here on the blog, or at our Facebook page.  If you choose to go to our Facebook page, please give us a “LIKE” while there!  Thanks!

Finding the Best Version of Yourself

In previous weeks we introduced you to some people whose kindness and wisdom have touched us. We hope you are as inspired by their stories as we are and that you, too, have extraordinary teachers in your life.

Today we’d like to introduce you to an extraordinary, beautiful woman whose wisdom reaches far beyond her years and through whom we have learned that sometimes you just have to get out of your head and trust the wisdom of your body and inner self. Please meet our yoga instructor and friend, Jen Sayers.

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‘It is through your body that you realize you are a spark of divinity.’
-B. K. S.

My impression of the 51% project is that of a forum designed to inspire people to get into the drivers seat of their own lives; take charge and make choices to create a better life, a better you, a better me, and a better world. I’m a yoga teacher and student and my practice has given me a few tools and, in turn, a few glimpses of that better self I want to be.

Yoga reminds us again and again that we already have everything we need; we were born with it. That perfect place deep within where all is well and you are your most genuine and authentic version of yourself - that place of Divinity or what you may call your inner knowing, your truth. Over time our experiences, both good and bad, put layers over that place - that authentic self. Little hurts and fears are like sheets of plastic wrap; big ones can be more like bricks or steel. Either way, the ‘real you’ gets buried deeper and deeper until who we really are, or were meant to be, can become unrecognizable, even to ourselves. Every stimulus adds another layer. Yoga, meditation, and other stilling practices can help to peel away the layers, allowing us glimpses of that center, stimulating our desire to get back there; back in touch with our truth. Every moment of presence, breath, yoga practice, joy and love has the power to bring us back so that we can become who we were meant to be, who we really are, who we want to be, and the best version of ourselves.

The most challenging part for many of us is the desire for an instant fix. It’s not going to happen. Even when we do get in touch with our own best self, it’s a daily battle to stay there, constantly returning again and again to center. That’s what my yoga practice helps me do. What helps you see inside?

In yoga we use the word ‘Namaste.” It’s only fitting that I use that word here and now to say:

‘I honor that place with in you of light, love, truth and peace.
When you are in that place in you, I am in that place in me,
we are one.’

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Dorothy: I’ve been doing yoga on and off for many years, but it wasn’t until I moved here to Utah 3 years ago that the practice became a part of me, a daily tonic that has strengthened me in so many ways. Through Jen, and other teachers I’ve met along the way, I am gratefully now more often that best version of myself – certainly 51% of the time!!!! As Jen said, there are no instant fixes. So, with one foot in front of the other, I plod on; encountering teachers and things along the way that help me to keep peeling away the layers. It is sometimes hard and uncomfortable but yoga, this blog, the people and experiences in my life help to remind me that the beauty is in the process not the work. Looking at where I am and back at where I was, the effort is barely a memory - it’s the outcome I celebrate! We all have a best version of ourselves. Whatever path you take to nourish yours, I wish you peace and joy in the process. Namaste

Susan: Dorothy’s comments are also true for me. Finding my physical center and authentic self, with the help of my yoga practice, limbers both my body and mind allowing me to discard negativity and feel graceful as I move through my day. It’s one more very pleasant way for me to have positive awareness. Namaste.


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