Walk, work, and Welax!

Posted on May 28, 2011 by dfolstad58

Today I went for a long walk for two hours! It started out I could hardly put any weight on my right foot but gradually I was using it fully. Not sure what happened but it must have needed some discipline! heh heh

After that I wanted to watch soccer, Barcelona and Manchester, but couldn’t stay awake, and so I got to work on my stairs.

Sue has picked some new carpet for the stairs. “She who must be obeyed” told me to get to work taking off the old carpet and underlay. New carpet also will go upstairs in two bedrooms but this was enough for today. I guess this carpet had a nail or staple every half an inch and it was sweaty and dusty work getting it off, one stair at a time.

Mother Nature watered my lawns again today, sure wish she would send over a goat who likes to eat dandelions though. Just a few but I hate digging them out.

I am excited to see people checking out the blog, but if people start reading it I could get worried about what I write!

PLEASE READ THE POST CALLED UNDER THE SAME SUN – the post before this one. thank you! 🙂

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Under the Same Sun – Fighting Myth / Discrimination

Posted on May 28, 2011 by dfolstad58

(en) Tanzania Location (he) מיקום טנזניה

Image via Wikipedia

This is a post about myth & discrimination in Tanzania.

Albinism is the condition where people, for no fault of their own, have little or none pigment in their skin. Perhaps you are familiar with the term ” albino?”

Myths

The myth is that this skin condition is a curse and that contact with them will bring sickness, bad luck or even death. TRUTH: just a skin condition, not contagious, and it is simply a genetic condition.
The myth is that it is the “mother’s” fault if the child has albinism. TRUTH: BOTH the mother & father must carry this gene before the child will have albinism.
The myth is that having sex with a woman with albinism will cure Aids. TRUTH: No one has ever been cured of Aids by having sex with a woman with Albinism. All this does is spread the Aids virus.
The myth is that people with albinism never die, they are ghosts. TRUTH: The on-going killings of albinos in Tanzania shows this is false, they are simply pale skinned people who lack melanin in their skin.
The myth is that a potion made from the body parts of a person with albinism has magical powers that bring that person wealth, success and good luck. TRUTH: No one has become rich, lucky or successful from having body parts from a albino.

This is where the speech became very sensitive when I learned in detail how unfairly these people are treated even by their own families. Sad, atrocious, and frighteningly believable stories where sons, and daughters with albinism are sold by their own parents.

→You can learn more from Under the Same Sun.

Fortunately, this is not where the speech ended, not a black, sad, and depressing finish. Instead I learned that this organization and caring people around the world are combating the myths, and evil treatment of albinos with caring and real hopeful action to reach out to these people.

Toastmaster Linda explained how she began to purchase sunscreen SPF50 for these people to send it to them. It makes a huge difference to them as they are subject to skin cancer and dying at early ages without it. As Linda started out to buy sunscreen, others became involved, stores lowered the prices, children from her scouting group helped wrap and package individual bottles for shipment. As a result, the founder of Under the Same Sun delivered 400 bottles of SPF50 directly to albinos in Tanzania.

This year Linda would like to collect 1000 bottles of SPF50 sunscreen to send and provide relief in Tanzania. Would you like to help? Let more people know about Under the Same Sun, and I can connect you with Linda.

Tanzanian Albinos Murdered or Raped as AIDS ‘Cure’ (foxnews.com)

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Albinism, Under the Same Sun | Leave a comment

Downstream lies your dream,

Posted on May 22, 2011 by dfolstad58

Image via Wikipedia

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Motivation, and Discipline. We have lots of motivation, and we keep looking for discipline.

Right now I am reading a book called “The Alchemist“. Short book to read, if you are interested. The story is about a shepherd who sets off to find his treasure; I haven’t finished it yet but I suspect that the treasure will be what he learns through the process. The treasure will not be precious stones, or gold but it will be precious and inspirational. Who does not have a dream? Something they put on hold, until they build a home, have a family, retire, or ? Don’t must of us have a dream but hesitate and talk about it, dream about it, but won’t make the decision that will start the wheels in motion to make it reality?

Discipline. – Imagine if you could buy it in pill form. Talk about popular! We have the motivation, we have the vision, but we lack the discipline.

I have portrait in my office of the first day of the Vancouver Sun Run Clinic I took part in. It is a snowstorm with all of us out standing in the snow……….hmmm; maybe that should be we were all outstanding in the snow! We were outstanding because it was the first day and we were there. It started in January and by May we had transformed into a group of excited people heading to Vancouver to do the Fun Run. The transformation in 5 months was step-by-step. For some the goal was to walk 10 K. For others it was to run the 10K distance and continue running in the future. It all started in the snowstorm, but it continued when we ran twice a week on our own, and then met with the group on Saturday mornings to do group runs or walks.

If we did the individual training, we could do the group runs without guilt and without trailing at the back of the pack. If you did not keep up the training, all you had was the motivation, the vision but lacked the discipline and soon you lost it all. I have the pictures from crossing the finish line, it was a sunny day and it had nothing to do with the weather.

Step by Step seems the answer to most dreams. It reminds me of learning. You can bet that no one learned anything in one day. You learn in “digestible” chunks, a bit at a time. Eventually if you are disciplined those steps, those digestible pieces have accumulated to a goal, to a dream.

Imagine you are on a raft. The current is strong (your motivation) and downstream is your dream. You don’t know exactly where that dream will lead you if you keep hanging on to the shore, the current is tugging at you………it wants you to achieve. Make that first step.. let go of the shore, and let the current take you. Now take the next step as you go, and keep stepping. As you go, share your steps both to inspire yourself, and to inspire others. We all need to inspire and encourage each other.

I believe that we have the motivation, and we have the discipline, if you will take the small steps along the way. If you aren’t taking steps yet, make the steps smaller still until you get started, and keep going.

I hope to report to you soon that I am following my own advice, as I am not immune from needing more discipline.

The Myth of Discipline (zenhabits.net)

Posted in FAVORITE POSTS - A Few of them ♥, Thinking Out loud, Toastmasters, Uncategorized | Tagged Dream, Motivation, positive steps | Leave a comment

You are a Celebrity to someone who loves you

Posted on May 19, 2011 by dfolstad58

Life is too short to wake up with regrets.
So love the people who treat you right.
Forget about the ones who don’t.
Believe everything happens for a reason.
If you get a chance, take it & if it changes your life, let it.
Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would most likely be worth it.”

You are a celebrity to someone who loves you. Isn’t it weird how people can act strangely dazzled towards a celebrity? Sure we love that they are good musicians, good athletes, are charismatic actors etc etc but really let’s be real. They like the appreciation but are they worth getting overly excited over?

The real celebrity is that friend who visits you in the hospital; remembers your birthday, and lives the friendship walk. You look forward to the visits with them, you know you can rely on them. They are important to you, and you feel that way in reverse. Treat those friends like celebrities!

Those friends, like you, can’t read minds so?

So let them know that you appreciate them, and walk the talk.