Peacebuilding can be a reality if we work together. It starts with each one of us. Are you are peace when you wake up? Are you at peace when something happens in the first few minutes of the day when something negative happens to you or a family member?
Be at peace during those times. That is the place to start. As the Director for the Gulf Coast region for the Peace Alliance, I am inviting each of you to become engaged during this next month. Help us ask our legislators to co-sponsor and support funding for the Youth Promise Act and the Department of Peacebuilding.
I am a peacebuilder. I have been a peacebuilder all my life. Here is the story of a peacebuilder. Enjoy.
http://fop.kontribune.com/articles/1750
Join the movement: Click below and learn more about the Faces of Peace. Tell your story.
The Peace Alliance
Be at peace.
Sher
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Sounds of Storytelling
Aloha! Today is such an awesome day. Yes, the sky is cloudy and gray. Yes, it will probably rain today. Yes, you might be tired. Yes, someone in our lives creates drama today and is probably thinking of it right at this minute. Yet, with all of the chaos in our lives right at this moment, be grateful that you are alive and able to take one breath, and then another.
Yesterday, I was asked to tell a story about laughing at myself. It is something that I have used over the years to get through those times when I felt sad, or when the need to redirect my thoughts seemed important. So, I laughed. There are many times in my life when I can laugh and know it is ok. The story I told was about living with dentures at an early age and being single. For the past several years, I have worn a partial denture. Several years ago, I was injured during a Mardi Gras parade when someone from the second tier of a float threw an entire bag of beads toward me. I am sure he did not think it would make an impact but it did. Just not the right way. I was not asking for beads; he just threw them I guess trying to be nice.
Needless to say, the bag came directly at my face and hit my nose and lower jaw and lips. There was an immediate swelling of the face as I continued to walk to the convention center where the parade ended. I was not able to talk nor eat for several days. The secondary trauma to my jaw and my teeth has caused me to require a partial denture. The dentist says that I need a full denture within the next year, both on top and bottom.
The second part of the story relates to a question quandary. How does a person tell someone they want to date that they wear a partial denture? What does one do with a first kiss? At 61, you would think I would have the answer. WRONG! I am glad that this is a long-distance relationship until I figure this one out. Or if he reads this blog. Oh well, the info is out of the bag now.
If my readers have any ideas, let me know.
Back to the story... that is the story I told at Toastmasters on Wednesday. I joined the Downtown Mobile Chapter last July. This group is one of the happiest groups I have met. It is easy to get to know the members; they welcome everyone at the meetings. I always look forward to Wednesday as it makes the rest of the week go by quickly. By nature I am happy, and use the happy gene that God gave me each moment. Several Wednesdays I have not felt so happy, but left happier as the members are caring and show it. Their smiles are so important. If you are ever in the downtown Mobile area at noon on Wednesday, come to the 34th Floor and stop in at the Bienville Club and join us for lunch.
I was involved in Toastmasters many years ago in college and when I moved to Columbus, Ohio. Until I rejoined, I did not realize how much I missed it. It makes sense that if I had stayed, I might be farther along in my speaking career and taken it more seriously over the past twenty years. Although it was a goal in my career plan, I put it on hold and didn't pursue it. Now, I am doing so. My ultimate goal is to travel and deliver keynotes and speeches and conduct workshops. While I help other speakers and authors become successful and fill their schedule, I have not worked on my own schedule. For 2014, that is what I am doing.
Do you have a fear of speaking? Want to learn how to become a better speaker and enhance your leadership skills? By joining a Toastmasters Club, you gain both skills. Toastmasters International
Now, what story to you have to tell? I love to share stories. As I move into writing each early morning, I will share my life stories as they are written for my new book due in the fall titled 59 Voices: It's My Turn. Evan Porter wrote on his Nebo Blog about storytelling and I wanted to share his words with you. http://tinyurl.com/dya2wd8.
Now, share with me your story. Write it down and start your legacy book to share about you with your children and your family. Do they know all about you?
Namaste,
Sher
Yesterday, I was asked to tell a story about laughing at myself. It is something that I have used over the years to get through those times when I felt sad, or when the need to redirect my thoughts seemed important. So, I laughed. There are many times in my life when I can laugh and know it is ok. The story I told was about living with dentures at an early age and being single. For the past several years, I have worn a partial denture. Several years ago, I was injured during a Mardi Gras parade when someone from the second tier of a float threw an entire bag of beads toward me. I am sure he did not think it would make an impact but it did. Just not the right way. I was not asking for beads; he just threw them I guess trying to be nice.
Needless to say, the bag came directly at my face and hit my nose and lower jaw and lips. There was an immediate swelling of the face as I continued to walk to the convention center where the parade ended. I was not able to talk nor eat for several days. The secondary trauma to my jaw and my teeth has caused me to require a partial denture. The dentist says that I need a full denture within the next year, both on top and bottom.
The second part of the story relates to a question quandary. How does a person tell someone they want to date that they wear a partial denture? What does one do with a first kiss? At 61, you would think I would have the answer. WRONG! I am glad that this is a long-distance relationship until I figure this one out. Or if he reads this blog. Oh well, the info is out of the bag now.
If my readers have any ideas, let me know.
Back to the story... that is the story I told at Toastmasters on Wednesday. I joined the Downtown Mobile Chapter last July. This group is one of the happiest groups I have met. It is easy to get to know the members; they welcome everyone at the meetings. I always look forward to Wednesday as it makes the rest of the week go by quickly. By nature I am happy, and use the happy gene that God gave me each moment. Several Wednesdays I have not felt so happy, but left happier as the members are caring and show it. Their smiles are so important. If you are ever in the downtown Mobile area at noon on Wednesday, come to the 34th Floor and stop in at the Bienville Club and join us for lunch.
I was involved in Toastmasters many years ago in college and when I moved to Columbus, Ohio. Until I rejoined, I did not realize how much I missed it. It makes sense that if I had stayed, I might be farther along in my speaking career and taken it more seriously over the past twenty years. Although it was a goal in my career plan, I put it on hold and didn't pursue it. Now, I am doing so. My ultimate goal is to travel and deliver keynotes and speeches and conduct workshops. While I help other speakers and authors become successful and fill their schedule, I have not worked on my own schedule. For 2014, that is what I am doing.
Do you have a fear of speaking? Want to learn how to become a better speaker and enhance your leadership skills? By joining a Toastmasters Club, you gain both skills. Toastmasters International
Now, what story to you have to tell? I love to share stories. As I move into writing each early morning, I will share my life stories as they are written for my new book due in the fall titled 59 Voices: It's My Turn. Evan Porter wrote on his Nebo Blog about storytelling and I wanted to share his words with you. http://tinyurl.com/dya2wd8.
Now, share with me your story. Write it down and start your legacy book to share about you with your children and your family. Do they know all about you?
Namaste,
Sher
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)