Triumph Over Terror Thursday: United We Stand

Thought for the Day: My apologies for posting so late today. I was in Boston yesterday helping out & have been playing catch up all day today. I do want to share some of my thoughts on what will be a long healing process following the devastating attack on the Boston Marathon. What is striking to me both as I watch the news coverage & as I spoke with Bostonians yesterday is the tenacity & determination not to let an act of terror stop people from living their lives. 

Of course, people are shaken & worried, but they are planning to keep going. I learned yesterday about a young man who sent out an e-mail to his friends inviting them to walk or run the last mile of the Marathon route. As of yesterday 20,000 people had shared his invitation to join him. Another group of runners is planning a Triumph Over Terrorism run following the entire course of the marathon. They are in the process of choosing a date. My guess is that there will be many more runs & fundraising drives to help the injured recover.

This kind of resilience coming so soon after the tragic event is a sign of the strength & determination of Boston & our nation. I found the photo (above) on Google+ it is an amazing photo of a heart made up of hundreds of people. I believe that if we could take a picture of the world it too would resemble a heart reaching out to Boston. Support is even coming from their arch rivals, The Yankees. Sweet Caroline is being sung across the nation in both baseball leagues. In all the sports associations across the nation, there have been touching tributes.

One woman I met with yesterday said she was at a loss for words when they saw runners in the uniforms from the Marathon from other countries standing in Boston sharing their grief. She felt like telling them to come back next year & not to be afraid. I encouraged her to go ahead & talk to them. Let them know she supports them. The terrorist or terrorists who committed this heinous act wanted people to be afraid. Hopefully, as the stories of how perfect strangers did whatever they could to help those in need of assistance, despite the danger, we will feel greater trust in the goodness of most people. United we stand & together we will triumph over terror!

Throwback Tuesday: Every Expert Was Once A Beginner

Photo from Verses & Inspiration on Facebook

In honor of Father's Day last Sunday, I am reposting this article. Fathers are often the ones who help their kids get up, dust their pants off & carry on when they fall.

Thought for the Day: As parents we have all watched, supported, & agonized over the struggles of our children as they learn new skills, but do we give ourselves the same kind of support when we need to change & develop new skill sets? 

The picture above & the accompanying statement cannot help but strike a chord with every mother (and father) who sees it. Who among us has not helped a child overcome the disappointment of striking out on the baseball field, missing a goal or losing a championship game? How often have we anxiously watched when one of our children has fallen on stage during a ballet recital or forgotten a line in a class play, knowing we will need to reassure them to get back on stage the next night?  As we wipe our teens' tears when they fail their 1st driving test or don't get into their 1st choice for college.

In all these situations we remind our children that they are just beginners & that there will be more opportunities ahead. We tell them that, "practice makes perfect." We let them know that "failures make you stronger" & that "mistakes are part of the learning process." These are not just platitudes although we have all heard them or variations of them growing up. As parents, we mean the words & want to inspire our children to work hard at whatever they are learning. We repeat these words hoping that they will continue working at the skills until they achieve competency. Once they become competent, if they desire to keep striving, they will be able to reach expertise.

Irene Piatrowski

Irene Piatowski 2012

Unfortunately, many of us are not as patient with ourselves when we need to learn new skills as adults. Somehow we seem to assume that adults should be able to succeed right away. Today, I read a Huffington Post article by Penka Skachkova
about Irene Piotrowsky, Canadian champion on track & field & world record setter from 1963 to 1973. I remembered her last name since is similar to that of a noted psychologist (Piatrofsky) who developed a scoring system for the Rorschach Test, but I did not remember her life story. She had come to Canada as a homeless war refugee & overcame multiple challenges to reach the Olympics. After the Olympics she welcomed obstacles & said, "The good thing about obstacles is that when you bump onto them, they keep you from falling down." Even though at age 71 she has come upon hard times, facing cancer & eviction from her apartment in Los Angeles, Piotrowski remains inspirational & optimistic.  In the Huffington Post article, they report that  she believes "her current difficulties are temporary... "I'll never give up," she said. "Everything in the end will be okay.""  She is a true wake up dreamer who plans to found a humanitarian organization she calls the World Peace and Goodwill Campaign. She says, "You can't sit like a bump on a log & just dream,,,,Get up, dust yourself off, & start all over again. Take the skills you have & go & improve them, make them better."

When you become discouraged as you embark on a new job or experience in life, I hope that you will find a way to call upon your inner "dream parent," like Irene Piatrowski does, & give yourself the kind of encouragement you would give to your child or a friend when they struggle as a beginner in a new endeavor.  Adults can be beginners, too. Life throws multiple obstacles in our way. You cannot become an expert without falling down, making & learning from mistakes.

I'd love to hear from you about situations when you have been a beginner & felt discouraged. How have you encouraged yourself? Who else has helped you get up when you have fallen or tripped over an obstacle?