Living Life Without Self Pity
LIVE LIFE-WITHOUT SELF PITY
The early was a day to day struggle
It went from bad to worse, and the pain doubled
Never far from imminent danger
To the tough and unforgiving I was no stranger
Closure seemed unthinkable and not pain free
Rough roads I saw as far as I could see
But these roads meant vicory was possible
And toughness, I had that, and it was plentiful
So I turned the the tough and unforgiving into inspiration
And every day I gave them a game-faced salutation
Hello tough beginnings, you're only a pit stop to my happy life
Because what is victory highway without struggle and strife?
Make it your business to love life.
And live it without self pity.
Here are some stories of people who did and are doing just that.
Stories of the triumph of the human mind and spirit.
Knockdowns, they might have them in trillions
but they are married to a trait called resillience
they know as love comes and passes
they will always take great satisfaction out of rising from the ashes
DJ GREGORY
A 30 year old man living in Savannah, Georgia, DJ was a golf junkie. He wrote about it, he played it, he covered it.
But when most people see him, "golf junkie" is not the first thing that comes to mind.
DJ, like me, has cerebral palsy.
To me, it entangles my muscles in such a way that it feels like a towel would before you'd give someone a rat tail with it.
Wrapped like that, it will get the job done-clean up or dry you off- but it makes any physical task much more arduous-
Much more difficult.
On the edge of catastrophe
A one time everyday calamity
God Bless our friends and family
but our gaits just don't want to work
And what kinds of assumptions do people make from seeing us?
Certainly not that we could walk every hole of the PGA Tour for an entire season.
As his Dad told him "DJ, nobody does this."
But that's exactly what DJ did.
DJ traveled a distance of over 900 miles. On his own two feet.
I'm that annoying cough you just can't kick
I'll piss you off and make you sick
I'll test your will and your character
I'm that weighted test that truly matters
I'll turn a 5 minute walk in the sun
Into a second to second fog-ridden man hunt
Hello, I'm adversity
And I introduce a man to himself
Jim McClaren
Jim was 22 year old man on his motorcycle in New York City.
As he said "It was an evening of endless possibility."
That night, Jim was hit by a city bus.
His body was chalked in the middle of the street.
Shit your pants
Dive in and swin
It's time to find out what lies within
when you are delt a second rate hand
It comes down to the character
Of the man
"After all that happend," Jim said, "All that really happend was that I lost the use of my left leg below the knee."
Jim transformed his body to that of a long distance runner.
Every day
You are going at it all right
Hitting all your marks
Morning, evening, and night
Through sweat, pain, touture and agony
You bring the heat
On the road to who you want to be
Every task, on high alert, never bored
Your next set, that's your reward
And so, from head to feet
He just kept bringing the heat
Jim became the fastest one-legged long-distance Athlete on the planet.
8 years after his first accident, Jim was on his bike on a closed course.
"I saw the grill of a truck coming directly into me," Jim said.
Jim was hit again. This time paralyzed from the neck down.
Even if tough times last
Tough people, they last longer
And as you go down the mogul ridden path
He let his faith grow stronger
Faced with a tragedy that would destroy most people, Jim founded the "Challenged Athletes Foundation," and donated a bike to Emanuel Ofosu Yeboh of Ghana. Emanuel rode this bike for hundreds of miles across Ghana, raising money for disabled children.
He did it on one leg. In Ghana, the disabled were cosidered a curse.
Emanuel, on one leg, rode against the most unforgiving obstacle of all-
Thousands of years of prejudice.
Okay
Spread the news
I'm short
I'm white
I've got a friend
He's 6 feet 10
He's got 19 tattoos
And when I see him
I don't see color
I just think
BROTHER
When asked where he got his strength, Jim MCCLAREN replied, "By believing that I am not my body. I'm a man. Being alive is being alive. It's a good thing."
Terry Fox
An athlete and fierce competitor, Terry contracted cancer as a very young man. In fact, it was so bad that he had to have a leg amputated. Terry did not wallow in self pity; instead, he became inspired by those who he met in treatment- those with worse fates than himself.
He decided to raise money for them by running across Canada.
His talent may have been great
But his makeup was elite
Always thinking about victory
in his most terrible defeat
And run he did. Terry ran 3339 miles across Canada. To this day, the organization in his name continues to raise millions of dollars for cancer research. And with each penny raised, his dream of a cancer free world is closer to being realized.
Last night I laid in bed and looked to the sky
I tell you now what I saw in my minds' eye
A place same in race and creed
A mighty fine place to be indeed
People not thinking of themselves but of the other
That person next to you, without question, your brother
People doing for others as they lived
One word on their minds, that word was GIVE
A place free of conflict and bigotry
Such a pure, beautiful place to see
But also it was a place free of the insidious and the terrible
Free of the obnoxious and unthinkable
Last night I saw a world without a terrible disease
Last night I dreamt of a world cancer free
Drew Hunthausen
From a healthy 11 year old boy one day, to blind, hearing impaired and struggling to find answers, Drew decided to push himself like never before- telling his story from up on stage. Drew went beyond the beyond.
Start the bar high, and raise it
Stretch yourself to the limit, so much you can't take it
Whatever you are facing, it is in trouble
Everything you do, do it on the double
Go Beyond the beyond
Every day, find the extra gear
Four in your mind, the finish line is clear
Ready, set, on your mark
You have the keys, and you are double parked
Go beyond the beyond
For through your pain you will heal
Find your demons and toss them your fears
Ready your self for the ultimate spectacle
Strap it on and create your own miracles
Be the best human you ever knew, a story all can aspire to
Go beyond the beyond
WALKER
Walker was a lacrosse player for his school team in upstate New York.
Without his stick, in street clothes, was a dude, guy, man with partial CP. As his coach Ross Griswold said "He has always impressed me with his unwillingness to slow down."
In a boarding school, Walker had little use of one hand. What did he do?
He found a one handed typing program, and became the best at it.
"He was captain of his squash team for no other reason than he was the best player on the team...he compensated for what he didn't have because he chose to...he made a choice to not allow himself to be limited. "
Walker, you took the path never traveled
You were uniquely you
In a crowd of one million faces
You did what you wanted to do
CHRIS FINN
At 21 lost his ability to walk. One problem. He loved hockey.
So he studied the game. He lived it. He breathed it.
As a coach, he has led his teams twice to world championship.
As LaWanna Parker said, explaining the story to me, "If you have a strong enough passion to do something, you will find a way to do it."
The elevator is closed
Take the stairs
You don't have time to care
It's not about ifs or buts
Fall down twice
Three times stand up
Stuart Lake
My great friend and college baseball coach for over twenty years, Stuart has has to endure many tragedies in his career. Today, as the director of player development for the University of South Carolina Stuart continually preaches accountable urgency. We don’t know when our clocks are up. It behooves us to be the very best we can be to make the biggest impact we can while we are here.
As you rise you unwrap another chance
A time again to adapt and advance
The run rises and you are prepared
No you can erase the past and right the unfair
You open the window, look above and below
A voice in you head says less show, more go
But the trees, grass, and light are anything but lame
So you decide to play the waiting game
What lies out the window gives you a thrill
As you look ahead while standing still
Looking out the window wasn't your original intention
It is just that gives you such a profound present
Attractive are the blue sky and green grass
And seconds, minutes, and hours pass
As you sit here and look out alone
From whichever angle you look at the window, soonit will close
