Quote of the Day

Source

“When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. A week is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny.”

--Paulo Coelho 

Quote of the Week

Source

The wise man in the storm prays to God, not for safety from danger, but for deliverance from fear.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Finding Andromache

Leaving the familiar to go into the unknown is as alluring as it is daunting. The thought of my loved ones not being a short train or plane ride away scares the shit out of me. Alone at bed at night, sometimes I am filled with doubt and am convinced I should stay in the U.S. and "settle down". After all, I have opportunities here that a lot of people could only dream about. American Privilege. Sometimes I start to believe other people who say that I am a smart woman who has made a foolish decision to move to Turkey for an indeterminate amount of time for no reason other than answering "a call from deep within". It is an adventure, but an uncertainty nonetheless. 

And yet despite these doubts and looks of disappointment, I cannot give in to fear and doubts. I can no longer continually try to fulfill expectations that people have of how I should be. I cannot fall into the trap of complacency and safety. I need to let go…have and want to let go of these safety nets that weigh down my wings. I need to fall—or at the very least experience the sensations of falling—so that I can pull myself up and fly. I need to live and not just go through the motions of living. I need to live for myself instead of be a vessel for other people to live out their dreams. I have to make my own mistakes and not spend a lifetime trying to avoid making the mistakes that others have…mistakes that have defined them into the people that they are now. This lifetime is short enough to spend it worrying about reliving other people’s past, and it is long enough to spend it defined by regrets.

At times I feel like I’m too old for this “finding myself” bit; after all, I did it for a couple of years after high school. But logically, I know that it cannot be true, for since the dawn of time, people have struggled to find themselves. Some have spent a lifetime doing so. Age is irrelevant, as “self” itself doesn’t truly age. 

The hardest part about trying to live up to legacies is that in so doing, you could easily lose track of who you are. To follow in other people’s footsteps more often than not entails setting aside your wants until you just wake up one day and realize that you don’t know what you want. You’ve felt it for so long that somehow, you now believe that your wants have ceased to matter. 

Who am I without my so-called intelligence? Would I still be me? Would I be less of myself had I been more acquainted with the letter grade C than A? Would I still be the golden (grand)child had I chosen writing over game theory, and creativity over pragmatism? What if I believed in kindness and in humanity more than I do in prestige and profits? 

Maybe at the end of this journey and adventure, I'll come back to where it all began. Maybe I already have whatever it is I'm searching for--whatever I feel is missing in my life but have yet to be able to name. Or maybe, just maybe, whatever I'm looking for is on the other side of the world...waiting to be explored. Perhaps in searching for Hector, I'll end up finding Andromache. 

So I'll keep walking, no matter how hesitant my steps. No matter how many times I falter or fall, I will get up and keep walking. I can feel the sun even as I feel uncertainty. I just gotta keep facing forward. 

Makaha Sons, "Kaulana na Pua o Hawai'i" (Famous are the Flowers of Hawai'i

Kaulana nā pua aʻo Hawaiʻi Kūpaʻa mahope o ka ʻāina Hiki mai ka ʻelele o ka loko ʻino Palapala ʻānunu me ka pākaha	Famous are the flowers of Hawaiʻi Ever loyal to the land When the evil-hearted messenger comes With his greedy document of extortion
Pane mai Hawaiʻi moku o Keawe Kōkua nā Hono aʻo Piʻilani Kākoʻo mai Kauaʻi o Mano Paʻapū me ke one Kākuhihewa	Hawaiʻi, land of Keawe answers The bays of Piʻilani help Kauaʻi of Mano lends support All are united by the sands of Kākuhihewa
ʻAʻole aʻe kau i ka pūlima Maluna o ka pepa o ka ʻenemi Hoʻohui ʻāina kūʻai hewa I ka pono sivila aʻo ke kanaka	Do not fix a signature To the paper of the enemy With its sin of annexation And sale of the civil rights of the people
ʻAʻole mākou aʻe minamina I ka puʻukālā a ke aupuni Ua lawa mākou i ka pōhaku I ka ʻai kamahaʻo o ka ʻāina	We do not value The government's hills of money We are satisfied with the rocks The wondrous food of the land
Mahope mākou o Liliʻulani A loaʻa e ka pono o ka ʻāina     [alternate stanza:      A kau hou ʻia e ke kalaunu] Haʻina ʻia mai ana ka puana Ka poʻe i aloha i ka ʻāina	We support Liliʻuokalani Who has won the rights of the land     [alternate stanza:      She will be crowned again] The story is told Of the people who love the land

Sierra Cooper: The Woman Behind the Wish

With less than a month to live, Sierra Cooper lives a dream 

Source: Terre Haute Star Tribune | December 5, 2009

Share Article

• DIGG
  
• DELICIOUS
  
• LINKEDIN
  
• YAHOO! BUZZ
  
• FACEBOOK
  

  Close  

Bookmark Article

Do you want to bookmark “”?

  Bookmark  

  Cancel  

E-mail to a friend

Your E-mail:


Your Name:


To:

(Separate multiple addresses with commas)

Message:

(Maximum length: 1,000 characters)

CC me

Disclaimer: AARP.org does not share this information or keep it permanently, as it is for the sole purpose of sending this one time e-mail.

E-mail to our Author

Your E-mail:


Your Name:


Message:

(Maximum length: 1,000 characters)

CC me

Thank you for submitting your comment or question to AARP Bulletin Today. Your post is now on its way to the appropriate Bulletin writer. Due to the large volume of communications we receive, we regret that we cannot answer or acknowledge all correspondence.

Disclaimer: AARP.org does not share this information or keep it permanently, as it is for the sole purpose of sending this one time e-mail.

By Sue Loughlin, The Tribune-Star

CLINTON December 05, 2009 09:51 pm

— The kiss was unlike any other she had received, and it came from a funny-looking guy with a big nose and rubbery skin.

But the joy on Sierra Cooper’s face was unmistakable as she stood in a pool at the Indianapolis Zoo, and Kimo, the 450-pound bottle-nosed dolphin, lifted his head out of the water and gave her a slippery, wet peck on the cheek.

In late November, the 21-year-old Clinton resident fulfilled one of her dreams by spending a day with the zoo dolphins and getting to know Kimo, Sundance and that mischievous juvenile, 7-year-old Jett.

Donning a wet suit and life jacket, Sierra spent 30 minutes in the 80-degree water with her favorite animals. Beforehand, she attended an educational program about dolphins and then watched a scheduled performance.

Later, she had her own, individualized dolphin experience and got to touch them, feed them and give them commands.

“It was awesome,” she said.

Spending time with the dolphins was not only a dream come true, but also it is one of Sierra’s last wishes.

She is dying, and her health care providers say she probably has less than a month to live.

Continue reading after the cut: