Saturday, August 9, 2008

~ Of Dreams and Spirit ~




The story of Lopez Lomong is an absolute must read. !




I
dedicate this post not only to Lomong and his
~ Spirit ~, but the

~ Spirit ~
that LIVES in each and every one of us.   





‘True Olympic spirit is often found away from gold medalists
with
their agents and sponsorship deals -- it is found
in its purest sense in
those that come last.’

(Agence -Presse- French
News Agency)



 



Presumed dead in Sudan, Lopez Lomong lives American dream


         
   













   
  Wednesday, July 30th 2008, 10:15 PM
   



   

   











Lopez Lomong, now the pride of Tully, N.Y., goes from war-torn homeland
to representing U.S.A. in Beijing.


Twenty miles south of  Syracuse and 6,000 miles west of East Africa, a
freshly hung flag flies over the tiny town of Tully. It is on the pole in front
of the high school, just beneath the American flag, a big white rectangle with
five Olympic rings, a salute not so much to the Beijing Games that will commence
next week, but to the Lost Boy who found a home and a life and an athletic
calling, and who has made virtually everyone in his central New York state
village proud.


The
village of Tully has 924 residents and one traffic light, and one remarkable
1,500-meter runner, Joseph Lopepe (Lopez) Lomong, child prisoner turned feted
Olympian. He will begin competing in Beijing on Aug.15.


"We've never had someone in the Olympics before, and we probably will
never have another," says Eileen Baldassarre, a Tully resident whose sons are
friends with Lomong. "This is huge, because...those of us who know Lopez know
what a nice and generous kid he is."


Says
Lomong, "I came a long way, for sure, from running through the wilderness to
save my life, and now I am doing this for fun."


At
23, Lopez Lomong is a sinewy 5-11, 148-pounder and one third of perhaps the most
intriguing team of 1,500 runners the U.S. has ever assembled, a melting pot on
the move. The favorite for gold is Bernard Lagat, the defending world champion,
who captured bronze and silver in the two previous Games, running for his native
Kenya before becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen. The runner-up in the trials
earlier this month was Leonel Manzano, a Mexican-American and two-time NCAA
champion for Texas, whose father reportedly crossed the border 16 times before
becoming a legal U.S. resident.


And
then there is Lomong, a man whose journey has taken him from the southern Sudan
village of Kimotong to a Kenyan refugee camp in Kakuma, to the lakeside home of
Rob and Barb Rogers in Tully. He has seen kids in the next bed die, and has
visited his own grave. Why wouldn't he savor his Olympic achievement?
"This
is America, this is the land of everybody," Lomong says.


Lomong's story has been well chronicled, a fact that makes it no less
chilling. At age 6, while attending Mass with his family in Kimotong, he and
some 50 other children were taken at gunpoint by a government-backed militia in
Sudan's long-running Civil War, hauled off in a tarp-covered truck to a work
camp. After several weeks, three older boys found a hole in a fence, escaped the
camp and brought Lopez with them, walking for three harrowing days through woods
and wilderness, before stumbling into Kenyan border guards.


For
the next 10 years, home for Lopez - one of the so-called Lost Boys of Sudan -
was a a sprawling Kenyan refugee camp, where meals consisted of U.N.-provided
corn and came once a day. Soccer provided about the only respite from the
bleakness and boredom. The notion of anything better scarcely occurred to him
until late summer of 2000.


Lomong earned five Kenyan shillings (about seven cents) for moving some
dirt. He didn't spend it until he heard it could buy him a chance to see the
2000 Olympics on a black-and-white TV.


Lomong and a few friends walked five miles to see the Games. He came away
mesmerized by Michael Johnson, running the 400 meters.


He
prayed that God would give him a chance to do something similar. "I saw him run
so fast and I said, 'I want to run just like that,'" Lopez says.


A
year later, shortly after 9/11, an international relief effort began to place
the Lost Boys in American homes. Lomong wrote an essay describing his ordeals.
Rob and Barb Rogers, devout Christians, saw a notice in their church bulletin
one Sunday that Catholic Charities was looking for foster parents for the boys.


Before long, 16-year-old Lopez Lomong was on his way to Hancock Airport
outside Syracuse. He was shocked when the Rogerses met him in their car.
"He
walked to the airport (in Kenya), and assumed he'd walk from the airport
(here)," Rob Rogers says.


Lopez was awed by the breadth and asphalt splendor of Interstate 81, by
electricity and running water. He enrolled at Tully High, became a cross-country
and track star, before moving on to Northern Arizona, where he grew into an NCAA
champion. Lomong's American adventure was just beginning, and it was for the
Rogerses, too; they have since taken in five more Sudanese boys.


Rob
Rogers buys and sells heavy equipment, while Barb manages the 27 apartments they
own, and runs their laundromat, Suds and Bubbles. Uncertain about how a
virtually all-white community would receive their adopted Sudanese sons, the
Rogers have been heartened by the whole experience. Apart from a single nasty
epithet written by two high school kids - an incident that aroused the ire of
almost the entire school - the embrace has been universal.


"We
thought we'd be in the 'out' crowd, and now we're in the 'in' crowd," Rob Rogers
says, laughing. He pauses and talks about how life has changed since Lopez made
the Olympic team on the night of July 6 - exactly a year after he gained his
U.S. citizenship. He did it with a bell-lap charge that carried him from sixth
to third, balky ankle be damned.


"The
highlight of my life is telling CNN I couldn't talk because HBO was here,"
Rogers says.


At
Christmas time last year, Lomong went back to Kenya and Sudan for HBO's "Real
Sports" program, which was doing a segment on him. He reunited with his birth
mother, Rita, and his younger brothers. He even visited the grave his family
made for him, certain that he was dead. It was a small pile of stones that
contained a necklace and childhood keepsakes. They happily took the pile apart.


"They brought me to life again," Lomong says.

 




Thanks to a Tully-wide fundraising effort
spearheaded by Eileen Baldassarre, more than $13,000 has been collected to send
Rob and Barb Rogers to Beijing, along with Jim Paccia - Tully High's track coach
- and his wife, Cheryl. Rob Rogers got in the Olympic spirit almost immediately
after watching Lopez make the team, ordering an Olympic flag and banner on the
Internet for $68. The banner is on the front door, the flag flying in the front
yard.
His foster son, Lopez Lomong, a Lost Boy no longer, will soon be
surrounded by the best runners in the world. He will race hard, and whatever
happens, he will be powered by gratitude, and unencumbered by fear.


"This is payback for the people who helped me
through my childhood," Lomong says.
"Now I am running for America. I'm an
American citizen and I can go out and compete.
I'm so
thankful."









Former 'Lost Boy' leads U.S. team as

Beijing welcomes the world to China

 





Amd_usa
(Photo - Pretty/Getty)






Lopez Lomong, one of the Lost Boys
of Sudan,
leads Team
USA into Beijing's national
stadium.



 



----------------------------------------------------------





http://lopezlomong.org/



 



Lopez Lomong's
web site







" When we were in Africa,
we didn't know what was there for us as kids--we just ran.
God was
planning all of this stuff for me, and I didn't know.
Now I'm using
running to get the word out about how horrible things
were back in
Sudan during the war. Sometimes these things are not on CNN,
so if I
put out the word, I hope people can get the information.
Right now,
similar terrible things are going on in Darfur; people are
running out
of Darfur, and I put myself in their shoes."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Save Darfur

www.savedarfur.org

The
Save Darfur Coalition's mission is to raise public awareness about
the
ongoing genocide in Darfur and to mobilize a unified response
to the
atrocities that threaten the lives of two million people in the Darfur
region.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Olympic Spirit


http://www.olympicspirit.org



Inspire
the Youth of the World



'Our vision and purpose is clear -

To be an icon of Olympic values and ideals, to inspire and motivate

the youth of the world to be the best they can be'




Mark R.
Dzenick

Chairman - Olympic Spirit Group















Thursday, August 7, 2008

'Thank you for everything. I have no complaint whatsoever.'


My dear friend Patricia, from Spiritual Journey of a Lightworker,
wrote a post yesterday....

You Had It All The Time

Patricia shares about a book she is reading,
I Had It All the Time written by Alan Cohen....

In Patricia's words....

'What it took me years to realize and what this book says is, 'I had it all the time.'

'I
spent years running here and there, reading this book, watching that
video on self-improvement. According to Alan Cohen's book, I didn't
have to do any of that searching. I already had it; I just didn't know
it. All I had to do is remember who I really am.'



Patricia's post started me thinking about the many online articles I have read by Alan Cohen.    Cohen has an easy, endearing style to his writing.

THANK YOU Patricia AND Alan !!!  I have no complaint whatsoever.


I found this article of his to share..........



Thank
You
for Everything




by Alan Cohen




The story is told about a woman Zen master named Sono who taught one
very simple method of enlightenment. She advised everyone who came to her to
adopt an affirmation to be said many times a day, under all conditions. The
affirmation was, 'Thank you for everything. I have no complaint
whatsoever.'


Many people from all arenas of life came to Sono for healing. Some
were in physical pain; others were emotionally distraught; others had financial
troubles; some were seeking soul liberation. No matter what their distress or
what question they asked her, her response was the same:
'Thank you for everything. I have no complaint
whatsoever.'
 Some people went away
disappointed; others grew angry; others tried to argue with her. Yet some people
took her suggestion to heart and began to practice it. Tradition tells that
everyone who practiced Sono?s mantra found peace and healing.
'Thank you for everything. I have no complaint
whatsoever.'


My friend Lisa, an attractive woman in her late 30?s, came to one of
my seminars after I had not seen her for a number of years. She informed the
group that a year earlier she had been diagnosed with a brain disorder that
required immediate surgery. The surgery was done, a steel plate was inserted in
her head, and her doctor keeps her under close observation. Lisa reported that
now she lives from day to day. Privately I told Lisa that I was sorry she had
gone through this whole ordeal. "Oh, don?t be sorry," she told me emphatically.
"I?m not sorry at all. This was one of the best things that has ever happened to
me. It really got me to appreciate my life and relationships. I married a
wonderful guy and we are thinking about having children. I wouldn?t trade the
experience if I could.'
'Thank you for everything. I have no complaint
whatsoever.'


Can you imagine what your life would be like if you simply dropped
your complaints? It's a radical proposal, since most of us have been trained to
question, analyze, and criticize everything we see. But then we end up
questioning, analyzing, and criticizing ourselves. Then we miss out on joy, the
only true measure of success.


The ecstatic mystic poet Hafiz proclaimed, 'All a sane man can ever
think about is giving love.'  One evening I received a phone call from my friend
Cliff, a Jewish guy from Brooklyn who discovered
A Course in
Miracles
and became a world-class love exuder. Cliff just went
around finding good and beauty in everyone he met. On the phone, Cliff told me, 'I just called to tell you how much I love and appreciate you.'


'Well, thank you Cliff,' I answered, delighted. 'I really appreciate
that . . . What prompted you to call me at this moment?'


'My knee was hurting me, and I knew that the only way I could feel
better would be to give more love. So I began to think of the people in my life
who I care about, and you came to mind.'   
'Thank you for everything. I have no complaint
whatsoever.'


As we approach the holiday of Thanksgiving, many of us will be
getting together with our families. Perhaps family issues may come to the fore
and we might be tempted to fall into a pattern of rehashing old resentments and
arguments. Wouldn?t it be fabulous if, as we sat with our relatives, we held in
mind,
'Thank you for everything. I have no complaint
whatsoever.'
Imagine
what this Thanksgiving would be like if we decided that no matter how much mom
complained about dad; how much dad bugged us about getting a real job; or how
unspiritual our ex is, we chose to be an unstoppable appreciation machine and
found the good in our loved ones. Indeed this would be a triumphant Thanksgiving
to remember!


Yes, I know, there is a voice inside you objecting, 'But if I did not
complain, people would walk all over me and selfish opportunists would
genetically manipulate my food and terrorists would keep crashing airplanes into
buildings and . . ., . . ., and. . . . Got it. Now if you went to Sono, her
response would be,
'Thank you for everything. I have no complaint
whatsoever.'



 I am simply suggesting that we practice the mantra for an
entire Thanksgiving day. And then maybe one day a week. Then we might start to
feel so good and our lives will become so effective that we want to turn every
day into Thanksgiving.


In my book Handle
with Prayer
I state that the highest form of prayer is
gratitude. Instead of asking God for stuff, start thanking God for stuff, and
you will find that God has already given you everything you could want or need,
including the adventure of discovering more riches every day.


Life is a big treasure hunt. Eventually we grow weary of seeking
treasures outside ourselves, and we begin to look within. There we discover that
the gold we sought, we already are. The beauty we overlooked because we were
focusing on what was missing, still lives and awaits us like an anxious lover.
As T.S. Eliot nobly noted, 'The end of all our exploring will be to arrive
where we started and know the place for the first time.'



Thank you for everything. I have no complaint whatsoever.
Have
a great Thanksgiving.







Wednesday, August 6, 2008

*Water* ~ Magical Connectivity


 





Photographs I took yesterday in my yard.

Don't miss the tiny fly having a sip of water
in the second picture.   







Aug508_038



Aug508_0331_2





Aug508_042_2



 






Aug508_055





Aug508_049








Yesterday, after an overnight rain, I started thinking about water.

Water is a thing that absolutely connects each and



everyone of us.  :)   

There can be a magic to it if we hold ourselves mindful
each time we come in contact with water. 

Please know that I will say a prayer of blessing for YOU,
when I am in touch with water.   Would you do the same ?  :)




http://tinyurl.com/Shower-Praying 





xo xo
Debs-E





Saturday, August 2, 2008

Illusions ~ The Adventures Of A Reluctant Messiah - Quote 3






Richard Bach, author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull  came out in 1977 with
Illusions ~ The Adventures Of A Reluctant Messiah.

Snipped the following from an
Amazon.com editorial...



"Richard Bach takes to the air to discover the ageless truths that give
our souls wings: that people don't need airplanes to soar...that even
the darkest clouds have meaning once we lift ourselves above them...
and that messiahs can be found in the unlikeliest places--like hay
fields, one-traffic-light midwestern towns, and most of all, deep
within ourselves."

The 192 page paper back edition opens with this line...

"There was a Master come unto the earth, born in the holy land of Indiana,
raised in the mystical hills east of Fort Wayne...."

What I am planning on doing is blogging, in no particular order,
a few quotes every now and then
from the book ....


'Your only obligation in any lifetime is to be true to yourself.



  Being true to anyone else, or anything else is not



only impossible, but the mark of a false messiah.'




Rb