A small town chamber of commerce invited a speaker to address its annual dinner. The community’s economy was bad, people were discouraged, and they wanted this motivational speaker to give them a boost.

During her presentation, the speaker took a large piece of white paper and made a small black dot in the centre of it with a marking pen. Then she held the paper up before the group and ask them what they saw.

One person quickly replied, “I see a black dot.”

“She swivelled to another person in the audience, “Okay, what do you see?”

“A black dot.”

“Don’t you see anything besides the dot?” she turned and asked the audience.

A resounding “No” came from the audience.

“What about the sheet of paper?” asked the speaker. “I am sure you have all seen it”, she said, “But you have chosen to overlook it.”

“In life, we also tend to overlook and take for granted many wonderful things that we have or happen around us and focus our attention and energy on small issues and disappointments.”

It is natural for us to focus on our problems but is it wise to overlook the bigger picture? From time to time we must step back and acknowledge that which is good in our life. This should bring balance in our lives and allow us to have a proper perspective on the problems we face.

Credits:
Source unknown. We found the story here.

You may also like: Things Are Not Always As They Appear

Anne Mahlum loves running. One day she realized that she was just running past homeless people without doing anything to help or acknowledge. This realization changed her life. She approached the homeless and started chatting with them and building a relationship. Running is what got Anne through difficult times as her family struggled through the problem of her father’s addiction to gambling. Now she felt that running could also help the homeless. She knew that instead of running by the homeless she had to run with them. She then approached the Mission and received permission to start a running club. With donated shoes and running clothes the first runners assembled on July 3rd 2007 at 6 am. Each runner signed a “Dedication Contract” committing to:

• Show up every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6 am.
• Be on time.
• Respect oneself.
• Support teammates.

Today this has grown into a national movement known as “Back on My Feet” with 10 chapters all across the US. “Back on My Feet” has more than 387 members who are currently experiencing homelessness and are participating in the running program. Since inception 818 homeless people who joined the running program have obtained employment and 552 have obtained housing and are no longer homeless.

Anne’s story and work shows us how we can make an impact on the world if we are willing to care and be kind, and put actions behind our thoughts.

Related:
Back on My Feet
How the program works.

People tell me that there is something about giving birth that makes a woman worried. Not about actually giving birth but about being a bad mother. I don’t have kids, but every woman I know who has been initiated into the ranks of Mummy tells me they worry.

If my child comes home with head lice, am I a Bad Mother? If I let my child sort out their own battles, am I a Bad Mother? What if I step in to level the playing field when that kid from mother’s group is biting mine?

It’s really hard.

You worry. You worry so much about your kids. You just want to protect them, to see them grow into happy people. This is why I have always been puzzled as to why, when I told my mother that my father was sexually abusing me, she said I was lying.

It seemed so very…un-motherly.

And, if you ask me, it was an actual, real-life example, one of the few, of bad mothering. It took me five years to work up the courage to tell my mother what was going on, and then…nothing. No help. No acknowledgment. Just denial.

And instructions to stop giving my father attitude.

I was thirteen when I told my mother about the abuse.

I was fourteen when she found me screaming in my bedroom in the middle of the night with my drunk father in there.

It was then that she suggested we get counselling. Apparently, I refused. Funny that. I was a kid. I needed protection. Not counselling.

I’m thirty-five now, and I can safely say it’s only in the last year that I have really started to come to terms with what my father did.

And what my mother didn’t do.

In my teens and early twenties, I ran the gamut of child-sex abuse survivor behaviours: anorexia, binge drinking, inappropriate relationships, overeating, overspending. Anything I could do to avoid feeling. Anything I could do to punish my body for being so shameful.

If I had grown up somewhere other than South Africa, with its looming threat of HIV/AIDS, I suspect I’d have ended up as a sex worker, as so many abuse survivors do.

Fortunately, I still wanted to live enough that I avoided that particular one.

And then, thank God, I stumbled into a yoga class and found something that made me feel, for the first time in my life, safe. Like my body was under MY control, rather than someone else’s.

That kept me going, more-or-less intact, for the subsequent decade it took me to get strong enough to face my demons.

So folks, the head lice? They don’t make you a bad mother.

But if your kid tells you they are being sexually abused, believe them.

Believe them. It’s not the sort of thing kids make up.

Get them as far from the abuser as quickly as possible. Get the law involved. Make sure he or she can’t hurt any more kids.

And never, never, discount how traumatic the experience will have been for your child.

I’m a cynic, and I don’t believe that abuse can be stopped, because it happens in darkness and secrecy. But no child should have to grow up carrying the shame of a sick adult.

Teach your children about their rights to their bodies.

Teach them to speak up if they are uncomfortable, and if they say something, even if you think it’s not ‘real’, listen. Foster an environment where your children feel heard.

And if they tell you they were abused, believe them.

Otherwise , I’m afraid to say, you are a Bad Mother.

Credits:
Nadine Fawell has shown tremendous courage in sharing her experience and story. This has been reposted with permission. You can find the original post here.

Related:
If you or somebody you know needs help please Google “Rape Crisis”. For the US go to The Rape Crisis Center and call the hot line any time during the day or night.

D. Westry in this incredible act demonstrates the art of speed painting. Even more amazing is that he shows us that sometimes meaning is hidden till we change our perspective. Are you stuck or in a rut? Maybe it is time to look at things from a different angle!

Related:
D. Westry’s Web site. and Facebook page.

You may also like: The View From Space.

Many amongst us do not think of ourselves as leaders. This may be because we may have the mistaken notion that leadership is about something big like “changing the world”. Drew Dudley in this amazing talk, seeks to redefine leadership. He says that leadership should be viewed simply as being able to help somebody. There is nothing big or pompous about leadership. It is simply about taking the initiative and the trouble to be of assistance to a fellow human being. He says that not only we should not shy away from taking on the mantle of leadership, but we should also be ready to acknowledge if someone’s actions have had a positive impact on our lives. If you watch this video and share it with others it may be a “Lollipop moment” and may positively impact somebody else’s life! And that according to Dudley is showing leadership!

Related: What Is Servant Leadership?

You may also like: Success Made Easy!