Awesome Stories 343

/ November 11, 2017

This week Awesome Stories brings you true grit, young leaders, and the divine dance.

True Grit

Tatyana McFadden‘s life reflects an amazing determination or what used to be called grit. Tatyana was born with spina bifida, paralyzed below the waist, and given up by her birth mother who couldn’t support her. While living in an orphanage in Russia, Tatyana met Deborah McFadden who was on a business trip to Russia visiting orphanages for the US Health Department. The two felt an instant connection that led to her adoption. Once in the US, Tatyana experimented with sports to build strength, then settled on wheelchair racing with dreams of being a star athlete. Tatyana is now the most decorated Paralympic athlete in history with 17 medals in Summer Paralympics and numerous world records. She uses her success to serve and inspire other people to live their dreams.

Young Leaders

Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that change the world. – Desmond Tutu

This video highlights 10 young leaders who are building peace with committed action. Most of us tend to simply notice or complain about the way things are. This group of young leaders has channeled their talents into productive service that helps build peace and community. This article highlights the 10 youth, their projects, and links to more information on how to help. They inspire me to speak more with my actions and less with my words. How about you?

The Divine Dancedivine mystery, Awesome Stories

The most satisfying yet most mysterious dance we have is the one with spirit. I wrote a love poem called the Dance of Love alluding to this mystery. We each have our own expression for this eternal search for meaning. Too often, we get stuck in the seeking mode and never settle into a deep relationship with life. Not everyone believes in God, but I believe we are all learning to dance with spirit. You might call this spirit God, love, or simply life. It is our deeper relationship with life beyond the surface games of looking for fame, fortune, and romance. At the core, we want to connect with others, our self, and the deeper meanings of life. Just the taste of mystery and wisdom in this article by Richard Rohr spoke to me deeply, so I’m off chasing the elusive rabbit by ordering one of his books called “The Search for Meaning.” What grabbed me is his view that we must say yes to life, and yet we may not be able to speak of what we know. We must simply listen, act, and move forward. Once we develop this deeper relationship with spirit, we begin to be moved by love instead of by fear.

May your dreams be inspiring and your actions be loving. 

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34 thoughts on “Awesome Stories 343”

  3. The video with Tatyana was so inspiring. This just goes to show that if we listen to our instincts, if we listen to our hearts, and pursue our passions with grit and dedication, we can achieve what we want. 🙂 Love, love your awesome stories!

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  7. These stories feel wonderful to my heart. I have a friend who has spina bifida and who is in a wheel chair. Doctors would not operate on her when she was an infant and told her parents she would die soon or be a “vegetable.” But her mother did research and insisted on the operation. My friend just turned 50 and lives a full, productive life.

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  10. Tatyana’s story so inspiring as are so many of those who have faced tremendous odds, their strength of will and ‘True Grit’ come out that put many of us to shame who have so little to bemoan about life..
    And I have yet to watch the other video Brad about Youth leaders, but reading your intro it sounds just what our future communities need to thrive and join in Unity.. Its saved to watch later my friend..
    Have an Awesome week and again thank you for all your Support and well wishes.. ❤

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