Alex and his grandmother always had a unique bond with each other. He would spend hours with her, listening to his grandmother’s stories of a lifetime. She once told him that she had met his grandfather a long time after graduating from high school. This was also the reason why she was never asked out to go to prom. When the day of Alex’s prom had arrived, his grandmother was so excited for him. She had watched him save money for months so that he could afford a tuxedo and even a limousine. His grandmother eagerly waited to find out who Alex would be taking to the prom. But to her great surprise, he told her that he would be taking her to prom. He told her that every woman deserves to go to prom, no matter if they are 18 or 80.
There are people who say love can move mountains. This might not be physically possible, but Dashrath Manjhi, also known as the ‘Mountain Man’, came quite close. In one day of his life, his wife fell while crossing a nearby hill and hurt herself seriously. She needed quick medical assistance, but that wasn’t possible due to the hill that isolated their small village from the next town. Tragically enough, his wife died from the serious injuries before Dashrath could do anything about it. It was the night when Dashrath Manjhi decided to carve a small path through the mountain in order to give his village easier access to medical assistance.
It was an ambitious plan and he was heavily ridiculed for it. But after working for 22 years with the greatest determination and willpower, a path was carved into the hill. Even though he was initially mocked and ridiculed for his mission to give his hometown easier access to the nearby town, he finally succeeded. His life’s work helped to reduce the distance between the two towns from 55 km to only 15 km, so that never again such a thing would happen.
True determination is a combination of single-mindedness and flexibility. When we are sure of what we need to achieve, we are able to move toward it. When we find an obstacle in our way, we are able to take it in our stride.
Like a river cuts its own path through the land, each of us is able to create our own route toward our destination.
A'HO Legends of the Kainai: Stories from the Blackfoot people of southern Alberta
These legends are only a small part of the many hours of stories told by Blackfoot elders of the Blood Tribe (Kainai), in their original language. It is the hope that these precious recordings will help preserve the endangered language of the Kainai and will showcase the traditional lifestyle, history, values and creation myths as they were shared by the Blackfoot for more than 10,000 years.
Once referred to as "Lord of the Plains" the Blackfoot Confederacy were one of the most feared and respected warrior nations. They dominated the plains from the Rockies to Saskatchewan, living nomadically in Niitoyisi (tipis) made from buffalo hides and poles. With the assistance of dogs and later horses, the Blackfoot followed the herds of buffalo, which provided them sustenance. They lived in camps made up of families and clans, adhering to a complex governing system and protocol. They shared stories, traditions and celebrations that reflected their vast knowledge of the land, sky, plants and animals. This knowledge helped them thrive for thousands of years on North America's prairies.
Compared to other First Nations the Blackfoot were colonized relatively late. Although there have been generations of assimilation through residential schools and other means, their cultural and sacred traditions, along with their language, remains intact. This continues to be threatened by dominant English media. Many traditional Blackfoot stories are still told today that explain rituals, sacred duties and ceremonies practiced since the beginning of time. Involvement in these sacred societies, such as the Horn, Dove and Crazy Dogs is often mandatory and it is these societies that have protected the cultural pride, belief system, songs, stories and Blackfoot ways of life, even though they were outlawed until recent times.CLEAR VISION
Never believe anyone who says we cannot change. Vision is one of the secrets of personal transformation. We are all artists, our mind is the arena of creation and vision is what we are constantly creating.
What is your vision of yourself today - patient, relaxed, positive or tense, tight and negative? What do you prefer? So be creative - what does patience look like, feel like, what are you doing that is different when you are patient and you are expressing your power to ...wait?
Always start with vision not action. See it and you will be it. Be it and you will do it. This is how we create our own life.
Dinner for Two by Sharon Farmer from Sun City, Arizona
I stood in the kitchen, preparing a dinner of meatloaf and loaded baked potatoes for my husband, Nick, and me. I’d loved cooking ever since I took home the Crisco Home Economics award in high school and had enjoyed making hearty meals throughout 50 years of marriage. Well, almost 50 years. Our wedding anniversary was coming up, just a few days after Valentine’s Day. I’d been excited to plan a delicious meal for our romantic evening, but now I wasn’t even feeling the joy of cooking a meatloaf.
A few days before, I’d seen a talk show segment about calculating how many dinners one had made. After subtracting the weekly night Nick cooked, takeout meals and dinners out, I had my number: 17,000! The number left me feeling exhausted and not in the mindset to be in the kitchen.
The oven timer dinged, and I tested the meatloaf. It was saltier than I liked. I sighed and turned to prepare the condiments for the loaded baked potatoes. I opened the new carton of sour cream and stopped. There on the top of the cream was a perfectly raised heart. Or was it the shape of angel wings?
I returned to cooking with renewed energy. And sure enough, Nick proclaimed that meatloaf one of my best. Just wait till he tasted the anniversary dinner I had in mind for us valentines. My angel sous-chef and I had big plans.
