Michelle Candland

Not Alone Recent news reports have been filled with larger than life events – situations that most of us cannot begin to imagine, ranging from hurricanes and floods to earthquakes and wars.  Each report includes at least one heart wrenching story about an individual whose existence as they know it has been horrifically altered.  In our own world, in our own way, many of us have been faced with what we would consider a life altering experience.  It will change us, it will test us, it will stretch us, but we must not allow it to define us.  Strength comes from struggling through adversity – we reach deeper, try harder, count more blessings, and pass along our hard earned lessons to others so that their physical or emotional wounds may be salved.  We are resilient, we are empowered and we are not alone.

The Meeting

It’s still difficult to get my arms around the fact that it’s August – already!  I’ve been doing a fair amount of speaking of late and thought I would share some memorable snippets .   My topic is overcoming adversity and my audiences have been members of organizations attending their regular meetings such as Rotarians, Kiwanians, Lions, Women Who Launch and a plethora of radio programs.

At the close of the program of a recent Lions Club meeting,  a blind woman came to the front table, told me how much she enjoyed my talk and wanted to purchase one of my books.  She said, “I know I can’t see any more but my husband reads to me and he does a splendid job!”  That brought tears to my eyes –

At another, a gentlemen was commenting on a portion of my talk that involved the power of touching people’s lives, both in a good and bad way.  He said an old friend had called to tell him that he was dying and wanted to make sure he knew what a positive impact he had made in his life.  The gentleman I spoke to said he never even knew what he had said or done to impact his friend’s life but was grateful he had made “the List” of special people.  We’re all touching lives, every day – as Catherine Aird said, “we can either be a good example or a horrible warning!” …

Maybe now more than in memorable history we are all acutely aware of how fragile our freedom and democratic way of life has become.   Lessons of the past have been replaced by lessons of the here and now – horrific demonstrations of beliefs passed down through generations and cultures exemplifying stark differences in our view of right and wrong, differences in opinions exploding into the heart wrenching loss of countless fathers, mothers, children and friends alike.  Why do we keep defending our freedom and that of millions of others we’ve never even met knowing the possible consequences?  Because we know the possible consequences – peace, human dignity, honor, respect, living without fear, full bellies, education for all, and helping because it’s the right thing to do.  Our brave military professionals don’t risk it all for the medals; they do it for the greater good, so their families can enjoy the freedoms that so many want and so few enjoy.  Say “THANK YOU” to those who are standing in the line of fire every day defending our right to be an American.  Say “THANK YOU” to their families for sharing the sacrifice they make in the name of peace.

Thank You!

Sunday was a lazy day around our house, until I looked out the window and saw a hillside across the ravine going up in smoke.  I could see a man trying to put the fire out but it was clearly burning faster than he could extinguish.   We weren’t the only ones who called 911 – Within minutes an army of fire fighters from our area were on site dragging what seemed like miles of hose up the hill, a helicopter was hovering over a nearby lake filling its tank with water and a plane with fire retardant was circling in preparation for a pinpoint drop. The fire sped up the rocky brush covered terrain and I could hear the large Sumacs crackle as they fueled the flames. If the wind had shifted, if the fire fighters hadn’t responded so quickly … the tiniest changes in the situation would have put the fire in our backyard.  We watched with grateful admiration long into the night as the fire was extinguished and the serpentine of headlamps descended down the slope and we counted our blessings.  We talked about what really mattered, what was important to us, what we could do without.  We fell asleep holding hands reminding one another to take nothing for granted.