Guest guest Posted March 9, 2001 Report Share Posted March 9, 2001 March is disability awareness month. This weeks story comes from the movie " Kids Like These " . Welcome to Holland I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability to try and help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this... When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip to Italy. You buy a bunch of guidebooks and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo . The gondolas in Venice. You may even learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting. After months of eager anticipation the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, " Welcome to Holland. " HOLLAND?!?!?!? you say. What do you mean Holland? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy. But, there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay. The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place. So you must go out and buy new guidebooks. You must learn a whole new language. You will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met. It's just a different place. It's slower paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for awhile and you catch your breath, you look around. You begin to notice that Holland has windmills, Holland has tulips, Holland even has Rembrandts. Everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy, and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there and for the rest of your life you will say, " Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned. " And the pain of that will never, ever, go away, because the loss of that dream is a very significant loss. But, if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things about Holland. >> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 20, 2002 Report Share Posted November 20, 2002 " The future belongs to those who see possibilities before they become obvious. " Sculley Business Executive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 27, 2002 Report Share Posted November 27, 2002 " The deeds you do today may be the only sermon some people will hear today. " St. Francis of Assisi 1182-1226, Italian Preacher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 28, 2002 Report Share Posted November 28, 2002 " The game of life is the game of boomerangs. Our thoughts, deeds and words return to us sooner or later, with astounding accuracy. " Florence Shinn 1871-1940, Writer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 5, 2002 Report Share Posted December 5, 2002 " You can conquer almost any fear if you will only make up your mind to do so. For remember, fear doesn't exist anywhere except in the mind. " Dale Carnegie 1888-1955, Speaker and Author Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 9, 2002 Report Share Posted December 9, 2002 " Determination and perseverance move the world; thinking that others will do it for you is a sure way to fail. " Marva Educator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 24, 2002 Report Share Posted December 24, 2002 " The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones. " Faulkner 1897-1962, Novelist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 9, 2003 Report Share Posted January 9, 2003 " I know for sure that everything has a reason. This took me the longest to accept. It meant that even the things that seemed to be the most terrible (my need for a transplant being one) had purpose and could bring good. " Sheets Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 20, 2003 Report Share Posted January 20, 2003 " Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. " Melody Beattie Author Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 29, 2003 Report Share Posted January 29, 2003 " Become a possibilitarian. No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are, raise your sights and see possibilities - always see them, for they're always there. " Dr. Norman Peale 1898-1993, Author of " The Power of Positive Thinking " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 30, 2003 Report Share Posted January 30, 2003 " The highest reward for a person's toil is not what they get for it, but what they become by it. " Ruskin 1819-1900, British Artist and Author Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 11, 2003 Report Share Posted February 11, 2003 " I have made it a rule of my life never to regret and never to look back. Regret is an appalling waste of energy...you can't build on it; it's only good for wallowing in. " Mansfield 1888-1923, Writer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 18, 2003 Report Share Posted February 18, 2003 " Failing does not make us a failure, the only time we do become a failure is when we decide to stop trying any more. " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 25, 2003 Report Share Posted February 25, 2003 " I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do. " Helen Keller 1880-1968, Author and Lecturer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 6, 2003 Report Share Posted March 6, 2003 " When we see problems as opportunities for growth, we tap a source of knowledge within ourselves which carries us through. " Marsha Sinetar Writer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 17, 2003 Report Share Posted March 17, 2003 " With ordinary talent and extraordinary perseverance, all things are attainable. " E. Buxton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 27, 2003 Report Share Posted March 27, 2003 " Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I shall have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it, even if I may not have it at the beginning. " Mahatma Gandhi 1869-1948, Indian Nationalist Leader Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 10, 2003 Report Share Posted April 10, 2003 " Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strength. When you go through hardship and decide not to surrender, that is strength. " Arnold Schwarzenegger Bodybuilder and Actor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 23, 2003 Report Share Posted April 23, 2003 " To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream, not only plan, but also believe. " Anatole France 1844-1924, French Novelist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 24, 2003 Report Share Posted April 24, 2003 Every achiever that I have ever met says, " My life turned around when I began to believe in me. " Dr. H. Schuller Minister Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 24, 2003 Report Share Posted April 24, 2003 By the way, I wonder what the context of this statement is. I would think a minister of Jesus Christ would take this and show how a believer's life would say instead " My life turned around when I began to believe in Jesus Christ " ......anyway, for what it is worth! > Every achiever that I have ever met says, " My life turned around when I > began to believe in me. " > > Dr. H. Schuller > Minister > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 28, 2003 Report Share Posted April 28, 2003 " Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out if they've got a second. Give your dreams all you've got and you'll be amazed at the energy that comes out of you. " 1842-1910, American Philosopher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 1, 2003 Report Share Posted May 1, 2003 " Even a mistake may turn out to be the one thing necessary to a worthwhile achievement. " Henry Ford 1863-1947, American Industrialist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 13, 2003 Report Share Posted May 13, 2003 " If you really want something, work hard, take advantage of opportunities, and never give up, you will find a way. " Jane Goodall Scientist and Researcher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 19, 2003 Report Share Posted May 19, 2003 " The victory of success is half won when one gains the habit of setting goals and achieving them. Even the most tedious chore will become endurable as you parade through each day convinced that every task, no matter how menial or boring, brings you closer to achieving your dreams. " Og Mandino 1923-1996, Author Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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