Life Lessons Learned From Sam
Sam is our family companion, friend and pet. I’m his trainer (or I like to say teacher); however, it occurred to me this morning how much he is teaching us. Here are some of his lessons.
When loved ones and visitors come to your home,
always run with enthusiasm to greet them.
Give of yourself freely to others just because you can.
Thrive on the joy of just being together, of getting
and giving attention.
Remember to let everyone know they are important
and practice loyalty every day.
When someone you care about is happy,
celebrate too.
When someone you care about is having a bad day,
know that just nuzzling close may be all that is needed.
Don’t waste time being angry or sad,
life is way too short for that.
Don’t fret about the little stuff,
be joyous that this is a new day
and a new moment.
Run, romp and play every day.
Show your happiness by waggling your whole body.
Pay attention to everything meaningful.
Take time to sit on a rock and just watch the world
around you.
Lay in the grass and savor the scents carried through
the fresh air crossing your face.
Delight in the joy of a long walk with your favorite person.
Never ever pass up an opportunity to go for a ride in the car.
And don’t ever try to be anyone but yourself..
Just be the very best you can be.
Michael Rubin Took The Good Things Pledge
Michael is a social media strategist for Fifth Third Bank in Cincinnati, and is a member of my Good Things Going Around Facebook community. He is also among the first people who eagerly signed up to take the Good Things Pledge.
“Working in a big company, it’s all too easy to let the drama of others minimize your own sense of worth. The Good Things Pledge serves as a daily affirmation for me that the only one who determines how I feel is me. At the beginning of each day, I have a choice about how I engage with the world and the Pledge reminds me to choose the path of good intention,” he said.
When people provide their name (in the white box on the Good Things Pledge page), I send them a cheerful certificate to remind them of their promise. Michael has his certificate hanging in his office at work…a daily reminder that the world and the day
have a lot of meaningful good. (It’s the colorful page on his cubicle.)
Michael is a great example, showing us that in our busy lives, it’s still important to make that
conscious decision to think about and act upon the good all around.
Meet Greater Cincinnati’s Role Models Who Are All Under 18
I’d like to introduce you to some of Greater Cincinnati’s most outstanding humanitarians. They’re mentors, volunteers, fundraisers, athletes, and scholars. And they are YMCA of Greater Cincinnati’s Character Award honorees. I’ve got to say…one of my pleasures in doing public relations for the Y and working on the bios for this program is getting to know such outstanding role models. Each with their own unique story and gift to this world, they give so much and they truly understand what it means to be a good person.
Take for example…
Raquel Brown (pictured on the left), a student at Cincinnati’s School for Creative and Performing Arts, who has been described as a young woman with a smile that lights up a room and a maturity far beyond her years. Such a deep appreciation for living comes from her own inner strength as her determination overpowered juvenile diabetes that, at the age of 9, almost took her life and required multiple surgeries.
or
Wyoming High School’s Brandon Weiss (pictured on the right), an incredible teen who sees the need of those around him and strives for meaningful ways to make an impact. He has a passion for interfaith relations and spent last summer in Israel and Poland learning about the effects of the Holocaust.
or
Natalie Bryans (pictured below), a student at St. Ursula Academy, who has said some of her greatest inspirations, her heroes, are her friends because ‘they are all so kind and welcoming.’
With youth development being one of the YMCA’s core focus areas, the YMCA Character Awards are an opportunity to celebrate young people who exemplify the Y’s core values of caring, respect, honesty and responsibility. The YMCA Character Awards Event will begin at 6 p.m. on April 11 at the School for Creative & Performing Arts. Tickets are $25 for adults and $10 for youth.
To register, please call the Community Services YMCA at 513-961-3200.
All 40 YMCA of Greater Cincinnati Character Award honoree bios are on the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati website. You may just know one of them.
Are You Having A Good Day?
Make Good Things A Part Of Everyday
With The Good Things Pledge
Warning! People throughout Greater Cincinnati (and beyond) need to be warned, by giving of a few minutes of their time, they are contributing to a rapidly growing outbreak that is highly contagious. But doctors say it is not dangerous, in fact, they recommend following the directions below…
The outbreak is spread through Good Things Pledges. Brand new to our area, people who are being affected by the Pledges are beginning to show up in schools, businesses, community centers and homes; on the streets of Over-the-Rhine and in the suburbs. EVERYONE is susceptible – from little children to adults. People of all backgrounds need to be advised that this epidemic is easily spread from one person to the next with just a simple smile and a positive attitude.
What are these Good Things Pledges and why are they so catchy, you ask? A Good Things pledge is simply a promise – a personal vow that involves liking oneself and others, appreciating the little things that make life special, being kind, and being aware that every small act has the potential for a huge impact. Those behaviors are collectively called Good Things and many people already have them.
The Good Things Pledge
On this day and every day, I pledge to myself…
I will be thankful for what I have,
for people who I love and people who love me.
I will walk tall and not be afraid to fall.
I will be kind and help others just because I can.
I will brighten this day with my smile.
I will do my best to be the best me I can be.
Let’s give this outbreak a boost!
Do your part by taking the Good Things Pledge and spreading the word.
How does one take the Good Things Pledge? Simply go to the Pledge page on this blog and register by scrolling down in the white box to fill in your contact information. EVERYONE who registers will receive a frameable certificate just for taking a few minutes to make the promise; and can download and share an image on Facebook or Twitter that states he/she has taken the Pledge.
Thanks! Oh, and have a good day!
Tami Boehmer Spreads Hope On Surviving Cancer & Winning At Life
Sometimes it’s really hard to make sense from the circumstances life throws our way. We have to do some soul searching, questioning. Lots of questions.
What is our purpose here, really? Why were we presented with such mammoth tests of strength that to overcome seems almost surreal at the time?
Everything that we endure, the people with whom our paths intersect alone the way, the challenges, the defeats and the successes, the joy that comes from pure living – they are all part of this huge classroom that teaches us about our destiny.
What we do with those lessons is completely up to us. We can choose to fail in our exams. Or we can use that knowledge as power to triumph. To make our mark on this world. To lift others up from our own courage and wisdom.
Tami Boehmer chose the latter.
Just shy of her 39th birthday Tami felt a lump. She learned she had cancer. Making plans for a lumpectomy, chemotherapy and radiation weren’t exactly what she and her husband, Mike, and daughter, Chrissy, had in mind for celebrating another year older.
But they caught it early. Doctors were optimistic. The Boehmers were optimistic. Early detection is so important in eradicating breast cancer.
“They say after five years you are pretty much home free,” Tami said on a talk show recently.
Maybe that clock got reset along the way. It was in February, 2008 – just months past that mile marker – when Tami found herself staring into the eyes of a forlorn breast surgeon.
The biopsy showed a tumor nine centimeters in diameter and nine out of fifteen lymph nodes tested positive. Subsequent tests reported that it had also spread to lymph nodes in Tami’s chest and liver.
“My world as I knew it ceased to exist,” she wrote in her book, From Incurable To Incredible. “My first thought was Chrissy, my eight year old daughter. I had to do something to make sure I’d be there for her.”
But Tami soon realized her life had an even bigger purpose. She and Mike got to talking and brainstorming. An idea popped into Tami’s head, “Why not write a book about other advanced stage cancer patients and how they beat the odds?”
“I knew from experience that people needed to hear success stories and the importance of hope in fighting cancer. The empty hole I was feeling started to dissipate. That was the sense of purpose I was seeking,” she wrote in the book.
From Incurable To Incredible was released in 2010. It features 27 cancer survivors who were given a terminal diagnosis but surprised everyone by thriving years past their prognoses. What they share is an incredible drive to stay in the battle.
“These miracle survivors taught me cancer doesn’t have to be a death sentence. From them, I learned cancer was the beginning of a new way of life filled with appreciation, hope and discovering my potential,” Tami wrote.
And now Tami’s potential and inspiration is permeating lives across the country through her talks and interviews. We can all learn from her life experience.
To learn more about Tami Boehmer and her book, From Incurable To Incredible, please visit her blog http://www.tamiboehmer.com
