Inspirational People Week -Carlie - Opens the World of Autism

Remember - It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content.
-Helen Keller

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." ~ Anne Frank

"What about Richard Pimentel -he began his life as a fighter, and his life’s work becomes a process of fighting for the rights of others.
Rising up from a childhood in a dysfunctional family, armed with a talent for public speaking and a winning personality, the young man makes his way to a Northwestern college, confident that he will ace his try-out for his idol Dr. Ben Padrow, the coach of the winningest team in the history of the College Bowl.
But Dr. Padrow shatters his dream when he rejects him. Richard’s immediate reaction is to enlist in the army for a tour of duty in Vietnam. During combat, the young recruit loses his hearing to a bomb blast, and has to deal with this new found disability on his return to civilian life in Oregon.

Richard discovers that his disability and the struggle to transcend it is a defining moment in his fight for what he believes in. When he tries to help his friends, vets like himself and others with disabilities, to get work in an environment that treats them with pity at best and disdain as a matter of course, he realizes that he can make a difference.

The friends who make up his close-knit clique are: Art Honneyman, a student wheel chair user with cerebral palsy who uses his rapier wit to deflect the prejudice that greets his disturbing appearance; Mike Stoltz, a fellow veteran with a lot of rage and nowhere to put it; and then there is Christine, the passionate libertine who strokes Richard’s ego and initiates him into the world of free love.

Together, the friends experience the currents of those turbulent times, and the wild, joyful energy of winning through confrontation and humor. Without his hearing Richard is all the more prepared to listen to the message deep within himself, and to carry that message to the thousands of people whose lives are improved by the movement he helps to organize."

The movie is awesome - a true story about a Viet Nam Hero.

And what about Carlie - An autistic girl learns to speak and shares with the world how autistic children REALLY feel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ9GGsDAcgA&feature=email

Do you have other inspirational people you can think of you;d like to share? I know there are many others I've forgotten . . .

What about Helen Keller, Anne Frank, C.S. Lewis, Christopher Reeves and his wife Dana, Paul Newman, Maya Angelou, Lance Armstrong, Jamie Lee Curtis, Willie Mays, Danny Thomas, Yogi Berra and the list goes on. . .

Love,
Chatty

And here's one for you - what about yourself - warts and all. Even when you make mistakes, jump to conclusions, make wrong judgements, want things you can't have, get misguided - anything wrong - as long as your out there trying - learning - self correcting - you're an inspiration too.

Inspirational People Week - Christina Applegate

Okay - something that always - always - always makes me feel better - is to look at others. Some people have it pretty bad - yet they take it in stride. They are heroes and they give me such inspiration. (I also stop feeling sorry for myself - it gives me strength).

Hopefully this week we can take a look at some inspirational people and see if we can gain anything from their strength. I think that is one reason we are here on earth - to help others.

It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Some pursue happiness, others create it.-Anonymous

From an interview of TV GUIDE- Christina Applegate

"It's good to be back," she said in her recent interview with TV Guide. "I get tired quickly. But it's nice to have a focus for a minute outside of that."

That of course, is her recovery from breast cancer. The 36 year old actress was diagnosis in late March and ultimately underwent a double mastectomy in July. Applegate is cancer-free and, slowly but surely, healing both physical and emotionally from an ordeal that she admirably sugarcoats.

"Yes, it's hard. It sucks. But I'm not a victim."

Applegate is a profoundly different woman form the one who sat down with TV Guido last year. Then she lived and breathed work, almost to the exclusion of everything else.

All that shifted early last spring . "I started looking for a beach house the day I found out I had this little disease." "You just kind of go what am I waiting for for to get the things that you want and the things you dream of."

She bought a peaceful, quiet, beautiful place where she spent three weeks recuperating post surgery surrounded by friends and family, including her own mother, actress Nancy Priddy, who had also bravely battled-and beat - the disease. "I allowed myself to fall into their care, which is very hard for me personally because that is not my personality.

I have an extremely hard time asking others for help - for attention - for anything. It goes against what I learned from childhood - when someone gives you something - there's a price attached to it. Therefore, I tend to be pretty self reliant - which isn't a bad thing, but it's not a great thing either, some times. It seems I can give to others forever, but asking for something and taking from someone is something I have to work on.

I've learned without replenishing myself - it's a good way to burn out. We have to learn to take some time for ourselves and we may have to ask others for what we need. I've also learned that while we may get up the courage to ask for what we need, we risk the answer to be no -we will survive a no - it doesn't mean it's a personal rejection - there may be others reasons for a no. We have to say yes to ourselves and go on alone. No one said it was easy.

But, we are survivors.
Love,
Chatty

Look Upward if you can . . .

Look outward and be distressed,Look inward and be depressed,Look upward and be at rest. -Corrie Ten Boom

Have you ever read her story? It is one of the most amazing stories you'll ever read. She was one of the strongest women I've ever read about.

Her story of forgiveness after what all they did to her in the concentration camps (she wasn't even Jewish).

They killed her sister.

How God performed a miracle for her.

How she forgave one of her captors.

'The Hiding Place' is a book about how she and her family opened their home as a refuge to some Jewish people, were found out, and then taken as prisoner's as well.

Chatty

Perfection, in a Christian sense, means becoming mature enough to give ourselves to others.
-Kathleen Norris

And don't forgot he said to love (take care of) yourself.