If you haven't heard that name, I am asking you to please familiarize yourself with it. Take a dose of harsh reality, combine it with sincerity, humor and a real human being and you get Dr. RANDY PAUSCH. You will be awestruck at his courage, but most of all how he "lives" his life. His mental, spiritual and emotional strength will surely bring a tear or in my case, many tears.
I don't know when (if ever) I have been more inspired by a personality, a life story or a human being since I learned about Dr. Randy Pausch. The closest thing I have come to witnessing this kind of strength personally, was when I was actively involved with my best friend Frieda Hudson. Watching her fight for her life and work so hard to recover from her strokes was amazing and I was honored to be beside her.
Pausch was busy living his dreams, building his life, building his family and all was right with the world for him. It was then that he learned he had pancreatic cancer. Dr. Pausch has three small children. He is just a bit older than me and it really made me stop and truly look at life differently.
He advises "us"...his fellow human beings...to find our passions. He advises us to live our childhood dreams. He in fact, actually still has his "list" and he has accomplished the majority, if not all of them.
Randy Pausch is brilliant academically. That in itself is an accomplishment, but out of no where comes this man with this ZEAL, this SPIRIT, this incredible smile....and he is dying. His humor is contagious. His outlook is optimistic when one would think there would be no room for optimism. He was diagnosed in 2006, but in August of 2007, he was told he had 3 to 6 months to live. He basically asserts that if you are given that kind of news and you haven't "lived your life according to your passions," it's too late at that point to start "TRYING" to live. In fact, he infers that you should have been "living" all along...not when you learn that you have an incurable illness. Pausch rejoices that it was 9 months ago that he was told the 3 to 6 month time span.
He's a fighter, he loves his wife, he loves his family and it will be a long, long time, if ever that America sees a hero like Dr. Randy Pausch. I'm just sorry I didn't know about his work sooner. I only learned about him as a result of his illness, his interviews and watching his interview with Diane Sawyer.
Randy Pausch and his wife (Her name is Jai, pronounced "Jay" and he met her while speaking at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.) haven't been married all that long. They were doing what the rest of us do. Or are we? THEY were building their dreams, their lives, and moving forward and out of the blue, as I have discussed in this blog before, everything changed on a dime for that family. We can say we are living our lives to the fullest too, but I doubt we "really" are doing all that we can do in terms of loving, caring, laughing and actually making a contribution to "life."...and as far as we know, we don't have a deadly form of cancer that we are aware of. We just run the routine...day in, day out.
Pausch implores us not to take our lives for granted. He asks us to find our passion and go for it. He asks us most of all to "love."
So many people are motivated by money, things, status, appearances, hanging with the right group, social status, power, control...but none of those things are as powerful as knowing someone LOVES you. Not one of those things matter when life is at its end.
If you haven't read the book, "THE LAST LECTURE," please do so. It will, I believe make a change in your life.
You can go to YouTube and see the ENTIRE last lecture that Dr. Pausch spoke at Carnegie-Mellon University. Pausch had been asked to do a "last lecture," as many professors are, in order to try and theorize what you have to say IF it were indeed your last lecture. He was asked BEFORE he learned of his illness. Initially, Pausch had second thoughts about it after his diagnosis. Who wouldn't? As I said, it was to be a theoretical "last lecture." It is done at many universities and is considered a great honor. But, even knowing it was truly his last lecture, Pausch wasn't daunted. It's about an hour and worth every second of it. In fact, google Randy Pausch and read all you can, learn all you can and take in all you can from this man. His wisdom is so inspiring. There is a link to the right of my posts that will link you to a place to purchase the book. (Carnegie-Mellon is now selling copies of "The Last Lecture" DVD and I believe the money goes to pancreatic cancer research.) I have bought copies of the book for lots of folks, as I believe this story is "that" important. You can find it at all major bookstores. Do yourself and those you love a favor and get it (if I haven't gotten it for you yet! ha!) I gave it to Marah for her own graduation, as I felt it was "THAT" important for her to read as she enters into "the real world." After you have learned about Dr. Randy Pausch, do a favor for me....would you? Get back to me on those "problems" you've been having! We have no problems. We do NOT have any problems. If you don't see what I mean by that upon learning about this amazing man...well...then something is wrong with you upstairs! Or you simply have no heart...and you'd better get that looked into quickly. I don't think you can "live" for very long without a heart either. Pun intended!
In order to pique your interest, please see the video above from the recent surprise address he gave at the 2008 Commencement at Carnegie-Mellon. His charge is short...about 6 minutes and it will leave you hungering to know more about this man and his life. I could go on and on, but what I have to say "about" Randy Pausch isn't important. What is important is that YOU give him a listen..and then be truly thankful.
Till next time...make your moments count for something,
Annie

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I do.
Today was one more great big giant step in the healing of Frieda Hudson.
First and foremost, I want to say THANK YOU on Frieda's behalf for those who have prayed for her, believed in her and most importantly believed without fail that she WOULD get better.
Today was a HUGE day. We went together as friends for an afternoon OUT. I've spent hours now trying to find words to express the hundreds of feelings that I am experiencing after today's outing. I cannot even try to imagine what it was like for Frieda.
We have waited for a long while to take Frieda someplace...any place that was outside in fresh air, sunshine, cars, buildings...LIFE. We wanted so badly to get her out into the world again and out of the facility. I am SO happy that today was the day that happened for Frieda and in fact for ALL of us. We were out as FRIENDS...just like we used to be. We have all waited so long for this day.
So, today we decided was "it." Wayne and Buddy had made a ramp and we took Buddy's van up to Washington. JUST IN CASE the headroom wasn't working in our favor, we carried a measuring tape. We had agreed not to "say" anything until we were sure the chair would work. Well, that was dumb on our part, because as soon as Buddy took out the tape, Frieda knew exactly what he was doing, what was going on and she was ready to roll. She even indicated that if the power chair was too tall...too "ANYTHING," that she could use a regular wheel chair! What a riot that was! She was DETERMINED that she was OUTTA THERE and that was that.
So, we got into the van with absolutely no problems whatsoever. What was precious was a family standing outside the door. There were about 15 people out there and they were on the sidewalk. When we came out, I said excuse us and that we were excited, as this was our first outing. The folks got on each side of the walk and as Frieda and I passed by them, they began to CLAP and shout AMEN!!! We were just overwhelmed...but in typical FRIEDA FASHION, she began to "parade wave" as we went through the group of people! I followed suit and said to Frieda, "I'll bet you never expected I'd have a parade arranged for you, did you?"
The folks laughed, we laughed and we were on our way to the van with soaring hearts!
As I said, there were no problems getting in the van. We road to Washington Park and around Washington. We went past Wal-Mart and Frieda made it CLEAR that she wanted to stop. So, we did. She wanted to go straight to electronics and dvds and such. We parked where the curb was high at the garden center and while the guys parked, we headed inside. She was moving through the place like a pro. It was incredible. After snooping at all kinds of stuff, we made our way to the electronics department, where we had told Wayne and Buddy to meet us. We went through EVERY dvd in in the place I think..even all the cheapy ones. Frieda picked out several dvd's and soon we were on our way snooping our way back out of Wal-Mart. Next, she wanted to go to Blockbuster. So, there we went. We looked over all the twofers, the fourfers and all points in between. She picked out a few more dvd's and the next thing you know, she wanted to go outside. She sat there in the sunshine, just letting it warm her, hit her face and she took good deep breaths. I had asked her what the fresh air was like for her and she was LOVING IT! We had carried blankets, etc to make sure Frieda was warm. After all, it has been nearly 8 months since she had been exposed to the outdoors to amount to anything. I had carried her into the courtyard on warmer days back in the fall, but of late, it had been too cold. Frieda is hot natured, so she was fine. She even rolled her eyes at me when I asked her for about the hundredth time "if she was warm enough."
After a while, we headed back to the facility. It was a great day. She wasn't exactly ready to go back, but because it was her first outing since learning a while back that she could leave, we didn't want to over do anything. We assured her that we'd do it again on a regular basis and we got an "OK" sign and a thumb's up with that. She said words for us today. That is still SO wonderful to hear Frieda using her voice!!! I've never been so thrilled to hear "ANNE." She wrote sentences and we "talked" about some things in that way. Frieda reads, writes pretty much what she wants and so communication is getting easier and easier. It never really felt "hard" to me. You just had to pay attention and focus on FRIEDA. She's always let you know what she wanted...it just took a bit more effort a few months ago.
I am SO proud of the FIGHT that Frieda Hudson has in her. I have never doubted for a second that she would do everything in her power to improve to the best of her ability. Frieda has had people who have prayed non-stop for her, believed in her and asked God to restore her to His will and His plan for her. We cannot say just how far Frieda will go with all of this. All I know is that she improves DAILY and from my vantage point, there is no stopping her.
I want you all to know that you were with Wayne, Buddy and me in our hearts as we made this incredible journey today.
We take short rides, short runs to Wal-Mart, Blockbuster, etc. for granted. I saw what those simple outings meant to my precious friend today and as I said earlier, I am so emotional, I'm still more or less at a loss for words.
Words are not necessary, as Frieda has shown us over and over again. Commitment, love, support BELIEF and PRAYER, however are what keep us moving forward each and every day.
We love you SO much Frieda. We are so happy to have shared such a NORMAL day with you. I look so forward to many, many more days just like today and even BETTER!!!
This is very emotional so, that's about it for this post. I just knew I owed it to the faithful readers and those of you who have consistently prayed, loved and believed in Frieda's recovery to know that she had a TREMENDOUS step forward today.
God bless you all. We love you and FRIEDA loves you for sticking with her. You can bank on that!
Till next time,
Annie

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"Wisdom." According to Merriam-Webster, this word is a noun. So, we know that wisdom is a "thing." The definition of wisdom is as follows: 1 a: accumulated philosophic or scientific learning : knowledge b: ability to discern inner qualities and relationships : insight c: good sense : judgment d: generally accepted belief 2: a wise attitude, belief, or course of action 3: the teachings of the ancient wise men.
Wayne and I met once again with a gentleman that I refer to of late, as a mentor. He is a business advisor, but to me, the meetings are so much more than that. He goes into the depths of "the business of life" and how to live a good one. I have considered since our meeting on Friday that life is a business. You can fail miserably at life or you can lead a very successful one.
And like business, you get one shot at it. If you begin a business and it is not nurtured and does not operate from a solid foundation, of course, the business will fail. The same goes for life.
We all walk around with a certain degree of knowledge of what our lives are about. I won't call it a fundamental knowledge of what our lives are about, because I believe it is too easy to fool even ourselves when things aren't on an even keel. We can convince ourselves of most anything...we've all done it. That's the easy part. Looking at facts and reality is the hard part.
In this meeting, I was taking notes. I'm a note taker from way back. I've been known to take notes about the notes I take!
I had referred to our mentor's discussion on simplicity in a previous post. He said, "Simplicity is the key to everything."
So, with this post, I want to share with you more quotes that impacted me greatly. I feel they are universal and will impact you as well. It is never too late to continue the discovery of your best life (or even begin discovering it!). In fact, there is never a time we should stop learning and discovering. When we stop learning, we become complacent. That's deadly in the business of "business" as well as the "business of life and living."
Speaking of complacency, this wonderfully astute, bespectacled, bow-tied gentleman offered these words as we sat down to begin our meeting. "Life is about change." Consider those three words. I mean REALLY consider them. How adaptable are we? As a rule, not very. We like our routines, we get bent out of shape when things don't go the way we expect them to and we just aren't so willing to conform to anything out of our own comfort zone. But, "life is about change." If you're not willing to accept that, I suppose the race is over right out of the gate.
We discussed a Swiss psychiatrist, whose works our friend has read extensively. Psychiatrist Paul Tournier said, "Fear creates its own fear." He also said, "Whatever we pay attention to grows." Again, I ask you to think about those two statements, both separately and how they directly relate to one another. When we are gripped with fear, then our focus is "fear." If what you pay attention to grows, then the focus on our fears grow and grow, flourishing negatives and paralyzing us in ways that "change" never has a chance be considered, much less attempted. Shouldn't we be paying attention to what we really want in life? Shouldn't we be taking honest looks at what we love, what we enjoy, what makes us feel great as human beings and pay full attention to those things so that we can grow? We think when we stay focused on our problems that it shows we are focusing on solutions. After our meeting on Friday, I had to consider that focusing on problems is PREVENTING me from looking beyond my problems to find solutions. Not good. Not good at all.
Our discussions led to what we "settle for." Our advisor responded simply, "Settling is not in the interest of justice and truth."
Therefore, if we do not seek our own truths and we do not seek justice from within, we cannot truly know who we are as individuals. It would appear to be an impossibility. There is no way to live your best life and compromise justice and truth at the same time. To live a compromised life is to lie to ones' self.
I will close in saying that there is a vast difference in being self-absorbed with a poor attitude and living a life that lends itself to being the best person you can be. For all I know, I'm self-absorbed and I'm too self-absorbed to see it! (attempt at humor!).
We have to be willing to take the hard looks inward. I heard it said once that it's easier to point outward than inward. Try it. It's true...literally and figuratively. On that note, I will leave you with a final thought to consider, again, a fabulous quote from
a very wise man. "People wrapped up in themselves make a very small package."
I want to be a BIG package! I want to share, I want to live and I want to succeed. I am so thankful that Wayne and I have been given the gift of wisdom from one very wise man. He has been "the gem we both needed to find and never expected to find," all at once. What a blessing!
As we left our meeting our friend made a request. He asked that Wayne and I turn our thoughts to what we can do for other people. So, I am in hopes that in sharing these wonderful quotes is a start at doing just that. There's no way that I can keep all this amazing, peaceful wisdom to myself. That would be such a selfish thing!
I wish you all peace, love, bounty and that you open yourself to seek change, for therein lies "wisdom."
Thanks for stopping by! Till next time...
Annie

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