Think it, believe it, become it.

"I believe in everything until it's disproved". John Lennon

I was really happy to read today that Thusha Kamaleswaran has defied the odds and is making remarkable progress in her recovery. 

Two years ago, at the age of 5, Thusha's spine was shattered by a stray bullet during a gang war. Happily playing in her uncle's shop minutes before being shot, Thusha was left fighting for her life, almost bleeding to death and having to be revived twice after suffering two heart attacks. 

The amazing thing about this story for me is the fact that despite doctors predicting Thusha would be permanently paralysed and confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life, her family made the decision NOT to tell her this.

This courageous schoolgirl has never stopped believing therefore she would walk again and is now taking steps on a treadmill with a harness. She is completely focused on being able to dance and play basketball again, never doubting that she will. Could part of her recovery be attributed to her mind not knowing that she isn't, according to doctors, supposed to recover?

When doctors originally told me there was nothing they could do for my condition and that I would have to resign myself to a life of disability and pain I wouldn't accept this. I stubbornly researched other hospitals, treatments and natural options available to me and never gave up hope. Although I am not fully recovered (yet) I am more mobile than originally predicted and, like Thusha, carry out the same gruelling physio exercises day after day, fully committed to my recovery.

The mind is such a powerful tool. I completely understand the doctors have to predict, to the best of their knowledge, what they think the future will hold for patients but, in many cases, this can be nothing more than an educated guess based on past similar cases and their knowledge of the body.

Whereas it's true that a spine is a spine, the difference is, the awesomely amazing difference, is that we are all beautifully human with unique outlooks, thought processes and coping mechanisms.

If you have been "written off" by anyone don't give up hope I say. That belief really could be the difference between succeeding or not. If you are searching for a miracle, never forget you are one.

The song that changed my life

“Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent” Victor Hugo

Have you ever had one of those lightbulb moments when in a flash something changes inside of you? I remember one I had many years ago as if it were yesterday. 

As a teenager I didn't know where I fitted in. I drifted from job to job, moving a lot, with no fixed place to call home. I didn't have a loving, supportive family to encourage my dreams. I felt I had no sense of direction, and no purpose. 

I was at a party one evening with the usual crowd I hung out with, drinking too much, happy on the surface and yet strangely empty inside. It was the same thing we did every weekend.

I became aware of the music. Dark Side of the Moon was the album playing. Pink Floyd were one of my favourite bands and I had heard this song so many times before and yet as the track 'Time' came on I found myself listening to the lyrics; really listening, as if for the very first time.

In an instant I felt illuminated from the inside out; becoming oblivious to my surroundings, unaware of any background noise.  There was just the music showing me how precious life is, how quickly it passes and imploring me to make every second count. 

I still didn't know what I wanted but suddenly I was certain of what I didn't want. I didn't want to waste my precious life. I didn't want to look back in 50 years time and not have achieved anything. I didn't want to be out getting drunk on a Saturday night years to come. 

22 years later and I took my son to the O2 Arena last week to see The Australian Pink Floyd.

As they played Time I became just as reflective as I had that evening long ago in the 1980's. The difference this time is as well as knowing what I don't want I am crystal clear on what I do want.

I am not so single visioned that I would bypass unexpected opportunities to get where I think I should be. It is important to be flexible and embrace change. I was thrown off my path rather harshly a few years ago following a car accident but I have managed to find new dreams that are now achievable for me. As long as I keep focused on all the positivity surrounding me, step by step, I will progressing in the right direction all the time.

For anyone feeling a little lost or unsure as to their direction I would really recommend grabbing a pen and making a list of what you don't want or need in your life. This can sometimes be the easiest starting point. Then remain open for all the miracles life will offer you, they're there everyday if you just look.  



Lyrics to Time, by Pink Floyd

Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
You fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way

Tired of lying in the sunshine
Staying home to watch the rain
And you are young and life is long
And there is time to kill today
And then one day you find
Ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run
You missed the starting gun

And you run, and you run to catch up with the sun, but it's sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again
The sun is the same in a relative way, but you're older
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death

Every year is getting shorter
Never seem to find the time
Plans that either come to nought
Or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desparation is the English way
The time is gone
The song is over
Thought I'd something more to say

Home, home again
I like to be here when I can
When I come home cold and tired
It's good to warm my bones beside the fire
Far away across the field
The tolling of the iron bell
Calls the faithful to their knees
To hear the softly spoken magic spells

Prisoners save lives

"If you judge people you have no time to love them".  Mother Teresa.

Three brothers fell into a raging creek last week with a current so powerful they couldn't get out. 

Three inmates from a prison work crew assigned to the area jumped in without hesitation to rescue them. 

The rescuers and the boys were taken to hospital where they were treated for hypothermia, with the children thanking the men over and over again as they shivered, frightened and scared.

One of the inmates has said., “You see three helpless kids in a river, you help. That’s what you do. Just cause we’re incarcerated, doesn’t mean we’re bad people. We made some bad choices in our lives, but we’re still, we’re just like everybody else. We’re just paying our debt for what we did wrong.”

We all make mistakes in our live's; we wouldn't be human if we didn't and I'm a great believer that you shouldn't judge people by their past as they don't live there anymore. Without the actions of these three men those children may not be alive today to tell their tale.

Estella's brilliant bus

“Our prime purpose in this life is to help others". Dalai Lama

I loved the recent news story of Estella Pyfrom, the retired teacher who has poured her pension and retirement money into a $900,000 mobile classroom.

Estella, from Palm Beach has driven the “Brilliant Bus” to underprivileged areas to enable children to connect to technology and help them with their homework.  Many of these children do not have access to computers at home.

“Have knowledge will travel” is Estella’s awesome strapline.

It is phenomenal that these children, who might otherwise have slipped under the radar, are being given every chance to work towards qualifications and whatever goals they may once have thought were out of reach.

This selfless act is sure to change the paths of many young people. What a beautiful lady.

Embracing the challenge

“Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough”.

Og Mandino

When a crisis hits most of us react in one of three ways. There are those pessimists among us who roll over and give up (the glass is half empty), the optimists who keep believing that everything will be ok (the glass is half full) and the opportunists who embrace change and spring into action (they drank the contents of the glass while the pessimist and optimist were arguing it out).

13 year old Shelby Grebenc is definitely one of life’s go-getters. At the tender age of 9 her Mum Nancy was diagnosed with MS which became so severe she had to go and stay in a nursing home. Shelby’s dad Jonmichael tried to keep the family afloat despite the loss of Nancy’s salary and the mounting medical bills but sadly bankruptcy loomed.

Shelby offered to help and Jonmichael, not wanting to dampen his young daughter’s spirit, told her to do what she could.

This enterprising school girl had an idea to start selling eggs, borrowed some money from her grandmother and bought chickens.  Four years on Shelby has 135 birds, turns over $15,000 per year, her family home is safe and she became the youngest farmer in America to win the Animal Welfare Seal of Approval. The icing on the cake is that Nancy’s health has improved too.

It’s amazing how resilient the human spirit is and what can be achieved when we stop resisting what life throws at us and work with it instead. Then, and only then, can we put all our energies into sourcing a positive outcome rather than wasting valuable time wishing and hoping the situation had never happened.

One of my favourite quotes is “it will be alright in the end. If it isn’t alright, it isn’t the end”, and you know what? it’s absolutely true.

Lessons from a robot

"Once you have learned to love you will have learned to live".

My dad, who is 66, is so conscientious he has never had a day off work (other than annual leave) in his whole life. Even if he feels under the weather he goes in as he worries about letting people down.

I was really shocked to receive a phone call from his boss this lunchtime to say he hadn't turned up and they couldn't reach him on the phone. Naturally they realised this was really out of character and were worried. Thus commenced a frantic half hour trying to trace him (he is fine) but my heart rate is still returning to normal.

I had watched the Transformers movie not long ago with my son and Optimus Prime said "the greatest weakness of most humans is their hesitancy to tell others how they love them while they're alive". I instantly loved this quote and it made me wonder when I had last told my family and friends how much they mean to me. I mentally resolved to remedy this as soon as I could. With some people it was easy to have a hug and tell them how important they are to me, but with other, non tactile friends, I have to admit I didn't say anything as I felt, well, slightly ridiculous. What this afternoon has taught me though is that it is ridiculous not to express how you really feel while you have the chance, as ultimately we never know when we may get another opportunity.

So if any of this resonates with you please seize the moment and be honest about how you feel. If we are lucky enough to feel love and gratitude we should shout it from the rooftops.

The Poorest President

 “He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature”. Socrates

President Mujica could be living in a luxury home that the Uruguayan state provides for its leaders and living a privileged life of wealth that many of us can only dream of. Instead Jose Mujica chooses to live on a tumbledown old farm where the only source of water is an outside well and give away 90% of his salary (equivalent to $12,000 (£7,500) to charity.

By donating this amount to good causes he lives on the average Uruguayan income of $775, £485 per month.

"I've lived like this most of my life," he says.

Mujica spend 14 years in jail after spending the 1960s and 1970s as part of the Uruguayan guerrilla Tupamaros, a leftist armed group inspired by the Cuban revolution. 

Most of his detention was spent in isolation, until he was freed in 1985 when Uruguay returned to democracy.

Those harsh conditions helped define Mujica. 

"I'm called 'the poorest president', but I don't feel poor. Poor people are those who only work to try to keep an expensive lifestyle, and always want more and more," he says.

"This is a matter of freedom. If you don't have many possessions then you don't need to work all your life like a slave to sustain them, and therefore you have more time for yourself," he says.

"I may appear to be an eccentric old man... But this is a free choice."

The Uruguayan leader made a similar point when he addressed the Rio+20 summit in June this year: "We've been talking all afternoon about sustainable development. To get the masses out of poverty. But what are we thinking? Do we want the model of development and consumption of the rich countries? I ask you now: what would happen to this planet if Indians would have the same proportion of cars per household than Germans? How much oxygen would we have left”?

"Does this planet have enough resources so seven or eight billion can have the same level of consumption and waste that today is seen in rich societies? It is this level of hyper-consumption that is harming our planet."

Mujica accuses most world leaders of having a "blind obsession to achieve growth with consumption, as if the contrary would mean the end of the world".

Like many leaders not all of his policies are welcomed and supported but I think we could all learn an awful lot from this selfless and inspirational man. 

A generous gift

“You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have truly lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love”. Henry Drummond

You are probably getting to know by now that I love the whole concept of Paying it Forward. My motto has always been “Be Kind” and nothing makes me happier than hearing about random acts of giving.

I was thrilled to be able to blog about Tony Tolbert last week, the 51 year old lawyer who donated his furnished house, rent free, to a homeless family for a year. Less than a week later I am excited to share another beautiful story with you. It looks like 2013 may be the year for selfless acts.

Dick Hannah Toyota Dealership in Washington have publicly shared that an ex-military couple recently visited their showroom after inheriting a modest amount of money. They cash purchased a Toyota Sienna minivan and donated it to Paul Meyer, a police officer who was paralysed from the waist down when a tree fell on him during a training accident last November.

The purchaser, who wishes to remain anonymous, had spoken to Paul briefly during a traffic stop and when he recognised him from a TV report decided he would like to do something to improve the life of Paul and his family.  The car was titled in the name of Paul Meyer and parked in his driveway.

To keep the spirit of paying it forward going the dealership, alongside Toyota, are not only funding all future maintenance bills on the vehicle but have also donated £10,000 to a charity chosen by the nameless purchaser. In this case a fund that assists wounded marines.

Wow. It is humbling to hear of two such huge random acts of kindness in less than a week. Keep it going, no matter what you do, do it with kindness.

Louise xx

An epic pay it forward

I read a news story today that filled me with such a warm fuzzy feeling I wanted to share it with those of you who may not have heard it.

Tony Tolbert, a 51 year old Lawyer in Los Angeles, moved back home with his mum so he could offer his furnished home, rent free for a year, to a homeless family he had never met before. Tony visited a shelter and met Felicia Dukes the lucky recipient of this generous offer. Felicia lived at the shelter with three of her children but the eldest was deemed too old to stay with them.

Growing up Tony's father, Jimmy, always helped people where he could, often offering a spare bed to those who needed it.

"You don't have to be Bill Gates or Warren Buffet or Oprah," Tony said. "We can do it wherever we are, with whatever we have, and for me, I have a home that I can make available."

On hearing the news Felicia recalls "They had a young man that wanted to donate their house to you for a year, and I'm like, what? Like -- Are you serious? My heart just fills up and stuff, um....I'm just really happy".

Tony Tolbert talked to the media about the life lessons he learned from his father, who is now suffering from Alzheimer's Disease.

"Kindness creates kindness. Generosity creates generosity. Love creates love," he said. "And I think if we can share some of that and have more stories about people doing nice things for other people, and fewer stories about people doing horrible things to other people, that's a better world".

How completely awesome is that?

Before you dismiss it as a lovely story but not something you could ever do, take a second to think about it. If you have food to eat and somewhere to sleep you probably have all that you actually need, anything else is a bonus.

Embracing the concept of gratitude fully, and practicing it every day, enables you to open heartedly start sharing the love. Many of us pay it forward everyday without consciously realising it. Imagine what could happen if we consciously tried to do something on a regular basis too? Although it may seem impossible to carry out an act on the scale of Tony Tolbert's don't underestimate anything you can do. What would seemingly seem a small thing to you can make a huge difference to someone's life.

Regardless of your personal or financial situation love and a smile are two things you can share at the very least.

Be kind.

Louise xx

If you pay it forward in some way or hear of any similar stories please post on our pay it forward thread http://www.thehappystarfish.com/community.html or our our Facebook page

http://www.facebook.com/happystarfishpublishing

Love shines on in New Delhi

"Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive". Dalai Lama

I was shocked and saddened to read of the gang rape and murder of a student on a moving bus in New Delhi recently. The sheer magnitude of terror this poor girl and her boyfriend must have experienced is incomprehensible. Such brutality is unfathomable and I send my deepest condolences to their family and friends.

On Thursday a group of 600 guitarists joined together to play "Imagine" by John Lennon. The anthem for Peace, Love and Hope.

The group assembled at a music festival in the eastern Indian hilltown of Darjeeling on Thursday, nearly three weeks after the senseless act brought an outpouring of national anger.

Sonam Bhutia, tourism secretary of Darjeeling and one of the festival organisers is quoted by the media as saying "We chose this song because it talks about hope, peace and promise. The song is so inspiring. It talks about a universe without any boundaries. The tribute was a gesture on our part to show that we are with the victim's family in their hour of unimaginable sorrow".

Whatever tragedies befall upon us, Love can always find a way to shine through.