Wilma's mother, a steadfast voice of possibility, believed in another outcome; that her daughter WOULD walk again. And she did everything she could to make certain it would happen. Very often the physical therapy Wilma endured was painful. Day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, Wilma held to her dream to be like other children. Even with the pain of physical therapy multiple times each day and long stretches of time with no visible change in her condition, Wilma chose, with the support of her mother, to believe in her dream.

Wilma's story is a dramatic one. She went from no hope of ever walking again, to walking with a brace at eight years and by the age of twelve, she ditched the brace altogether and began to enjoy her dream of living like the other kids. She took up basketball in school and in tenth grade was spotted by the track and field coach at Tennessee State. The rest is history... Olympic history! In 1960 in Rome, she took home three gold track and field medals; making Wilma the first American woman to do so in a single Olympic Games.

Here is what stood out to me about Wilma's story...

Even with a strong belief, even certitude in something and tireless, even painful, action toward it, there may be little or NO tangible evidence that change is occurring. Yikes! In our world of instant gratification, THAT is an adjustment! "...little or NO tangible evidence that change is occurring." For me, especially in the last 18 months, this is very familiar! Is it familiar to you?

What is your dream? Whatever it is, I encourage you to keep it close. Take bold action toward it multiple times each day... EVERY day! Yep, even on days it feels painful... maybe even more so on those days! And bless those well intended "voices of reason" in your life who say you cannot achieve  it... they are welcome to their opinion ... while you keep your eye on your desire. They, especially, remind us to surround ourselves with people who DO believe in the possibility of our dreams! And while days, weeks, months, even years may pass without "proof" manifesting in our lives... remember Wilma Rudolph.  Dreams DO come true... and THEN SOME!

Rev Harriet Hawkins shares her spiritual evolution which began with a mysical experience in childhood on her blog... Christ Becoming.

Fallen, Dead Tree... Roadside Art?
It's all a matter of perspective.
What will you see?

Now, I could get all bent out of shape and carry these forward in my day... my week... collect agreement and commiseration from friends and thereby grow these petty annoyances into riveting page turners that well outlive their 15 minutes of fame. OR, after a momentary hissy fit in my parked car, I could opt for new perspectives... "WOW! It only took me three hours to write a letter that insures I get what I require AND has everyone thinking it was their brilliant idea! What a great skill I have and how cool is it, that if I ever need to write a similar letter again... Copy, paste, revise and send! And, instead of sitting through a tedious all-day seminar to learn how to do all this, I did it  in only THREE hours! Woo hoo! Lucky me!"

Or, the other example... "Cool! In only forty five minutes I found out that this one particular service I provide is best reserved for established clients who know me and value my time. With a mere forty five minute investment, I've managed to save countless hours of lost time and frustration in the future! How does it get any better than that? Yippee!!!"

As I mentioned, some days it's a stretch for me to get to this place. Sometimes I'll notice myself enjoying the chemical buzz I get from the anger or indignation and begrudgingly pry myself away from the chemical payoff of the emotions in order to make another choice. This way of flipping things around keeps my momentum forward and my head in a space of gratitude for what is. And in gratitude for what is... WHATEVER it is... SO much more is possible.

Friends know that mornings have historically been a challenge, yet when I start the day out on a high note, I've set the tone for what's to follow! I desired TWO things... ONE, make consitient progress writing my book and TWO, to get outside and be active in this beautiful part of the country. The best time for me to do these  things? In the early morning! Yikes!!! For me to make these mornings happen would require a little help from my friends. Once again, the key was for me to reach out... to connect with other people... to ask for, and actively create support and accountability, as I morphed into my new ways.

So, I took a deep breath and picked up the phone. Things evolved over about a year and now I have two writing partners! One is local  to me and the other's in the LA area.  My Monday partner and I meet in person and on Wednesday it's a Skype video call; bed-head and all! On both days we write 7-10am. Look out world... here comes Intentional Word!

I also have a hiking buddy on Tuesday and Friday. Our current hike of choice is Fremont Older Open Space Preserve where we romp for 90min. We've spoted spotted all manner of wildlife and have enjoyed some beautiful sunrises from the ridge , all because we meet at 6:30am! And let me tell you, as much as I love a good sunrise, it's the fact that my buddy's sitting in that parking lot waiting on me that gets me up and out the door at that hour!

7am Skype video calls are great...
It's coffee & bed-head for all!

Keep in mind... it's ONE guy, ONE guitar, ONE take and NO looping! WOW! Jim, you continue to blow me away!