Courage

When I was younger, someone once tagged me as one of those, “eternal optimists.” It started out like, “you know what you are…” Can you imagine? One of those! I don’t know about the eternal part--that’s a heck of a pace to keep up. Eternity is a long time. But......optimist..............ok...well….maybe I am. Maybe I am not. I guess the truth is in the eyes of the beholder. I like to think that I am I guess. It’s certainly not something I am going to apologize for or something I feel the need to seek emotional therapy for. “Help me, I am an optimist and I can’t stop being positive.” Just…..can’t……do it.

Quite simply, I do purposefully “look on the bright side” of most things whenever possible, or as my mother used to say…….I "accentuate the positive.” Perhaps it’s her fault after all. Yeah…..that’s it, it’s genetic. The reality is that my desire to be inspired is just as strong as it is to inspire others. What’s wrong with that? Consider the alternative…..I’d end up sounding like Ron Smith from WBAL otherwise. Am I alone? Of course not. There are probably thousands of others out there just like me. We're everywhere! ALSO, I know these things to be true: 1-I don’t live in a vacuum, 2-I don't run from the truth 3- I don't take drugs. I am a relatively normal guy living in the middle of nowhere with two kids a wife, a dog, a fish and a house. Life happens to us out here; the good AND the bad.

The purpose of this new blog is to stop now and again (hopefully monthly) to reflect on some of my latest observations and happenings.......even way out here. It's life and death stuff and even far less, but I am going to reflect and there are some interesting, positive and courageous things going on.

First topic: COURAGE. These days, courage may be hard to find but not hard to define. To me, courage is something that CAN develop overnight or in an instant. It's not what happens to you necessarily, it's what you DO about it. There are degrees of course. Courage is fighting someone else’s battle when you know you could just walk away and be fine. Courage is always doing the heavy lifting for those who cannot, thinking beyond yourself, fighting the good fight even against unwinnable odds. Courage sometimes is facing your fears or creating something from nothing simply because it's needed by others. Courage is a risk. Courage is overcoming incredible odds and quietly going on....looking ahead.

Here’s an example: I am currently pursuing a Master's in Education at McDaniel College in Westminster, MD with a group of excellent people; I call us "non-traditionals," all from different places and pasts. We are a mix of all walks of life with a common desire--to work with and inspire children. Not necessarily courageous right? Well.......on September 20th 2009, Kelli a friend and fellow classmate, suffered a life-changing injury while hiking near Portland, OR. She fell 25 feet over a cliff landing head first into the rocks below. She suffered broken wrists, hands and fingers. She broke her cheekbone, all of her teeth, her jaw and several ribs. As a result, she also tore her liver and bruised both lungs. She was saved by the quick thinking and resolve of a friend (equipped with an iPod with GPS-which helped guide the paramedics to her). After 45 minutes she was flown to a hospital in Portland where she weathered the first of many surgeries during her 2 week stay in the ICU. It was a miracle that she survived. Even more miraculous perhaps was her fighting spirit, her determination to live and her sense of humor.

I had the fortune of speaking with her Mom and her best friend throughout her early recovery process. They told me that within the week of her accident that she had begun and was so relentlessly dedicated to her speech and physical therapy that the doctors and support staff asked her to stop. Couple of things here that surprised me: 1-that someone so quickly after a traumatic injury would be motivated to do anything let alone at "too fast a pace" for her doctors to speed along her own recovery. (Last year I ruptured my calf and spent 8 weeks rehabilitating. This makes that look a short little stroll in the park.) 2-According to her Mom, the number of people that knew Kelli and have responded to her and her family has been overwhelming. All without Kelli's request.I guess Kelli has not necessarily reinvented courage for me but through her quiet actions she's just helped me find much more perspective for it and allowed me the chance to have caught a glimpse of raw courage through her story. I feel lucky to know her and to have been able to get to know her friends and family through her amazing story. Even out here, from the middle of nowhere.

I don't know that that makes me an optimist but I can't help but think how positively inspiring she is.Kelli has since been returned to the East Coast where she is recuperating in a hospital closer to home. I have heard that her first priority is getting recovered but shortly getting herself back to her studies and goal of becoming a teacher.