Category Archives: Compassion

Just Dance! – Lessons learned from Ellen

Ellen Degeneres.
Is there a negative thing you can say about her?

She is passionate about life.
She encompasses so much courage and compassion
She does not hide behind anything or anyone. She is pure and real
She cares about her fans and humanity more than most can ever comprehend.
She is a genuine bright spot in a world that sometimes needs a little sunshine to fall into its laps.

She isn’t a daytime talk show host, an actor, an activist for gay rights, a seeker of talent but a woman with a heart of gold that celebrates life with so much vigor that it becomes contagious to anyone around her.

I would like to say I am an avid viewer of her show but I rarely find the time to watch any television. At the request of a very close friend, I had to watch to finally see Sophia Grace and Rosie.

I will admit, they were adorable in that Mutt and Jeff, Laurel and Hardy, Odd Couple kind of way. They can even sing and rant and rave with an infectious British banter.

So why the craze for Ellen and how can we translate all the positive energy she exudes into our own lives?

Excellent question, Mr. Blogger. Let us begin by outlining some of the lessons we can learn from Ellen.

1. Ellen believes and exercises the notion that we should always dance. Music is all around us and dance is a celebration of life. Whether you are in a group or by yourself in front of the mirror, you should always let yourself go at least once a day and dance until you drop.

2. Acceptance. Ellen accepts all partnerships, preferences and beliefs. There is no prejudice in Ellen’s world. To her, love is universal.

3. Ellen brings out the best in all her guests and fans. You will never see a guest enter the stage without a kicking move and a smile. She is so unconditionally genuine and sincere that no matter how popular the celebrity, she brings out their inner child.

4. She values her fans as if they are her own family. Without the fans, she knows she would not enjoy the success and impact she has in the community. With a shower of thank yous and gifts, Ellen continuously reminds her fans how much they mean to her.

5. She has a heart as big as The Grinch (at the end of the story). She does not seek out human interest stories for the sake of ratings or sensationalism but uses her influence to raise awareness and provide comfort when it is truly needed.

6. Happiness isn’t a goal; it is a way of life. On or off camera, Ellen is genuinely happy all the time.

7. Ellen evolves and adjusts. Effectively utilizing social media to reach a much larger fan base, Ellen is visible everywhere from Facebook, to Twitter, to YouTube.

8. We are all stars. Ellen believes we all have amazing talents. She searches far and wide to find and expose new talent. She is like American Idol without the 13 weeks of waiting.

9. She can pull off her own style with just one name (aka Madonna and Prince…and look what became of them).

10. Ellen is a trend setter. Whether it is fashion, music, alternative lifestyles or comedy, Ellen has the power of persuasion. What a great asset to have in your marketing pocket.

Each and every day, Ellen has a simple message. Whether it is with a band, a funky dance, a humorous interview, or a game, the goal is simple, bring happiness and laughter to millions.

How many times do people tell us that when times are down, we should laugh and smile a little to take our mind off of things? Why should things be bad to seek out happiness? We should be happy each and every day of our lives and never ever forget to dance.


What is your journey? – A Testimony to Life

“A man sooner or later discovers that he is the master-gardener of his soul, the director of his life.”
-James Allen

We all have a journey.

Some have a bucket list, some a mission and others are just content being ignorant assholes that are so narrow-minded by prejudice and stereotype that they contribute to the hatred in our society.

Throughout this journey of life, we will all get lost. Each day is a path of twists and turns, corners of darkness and visions of light. If a day did not go by where we thought for a brief moment, an end would simply and shorten the madness we love and hate so much we would not be human. In the end, the journey is about something. It is a quest for moral right and a rendezvous with destiny.

It all works out though.

Some have a short journey while others are long and full of evolutionary change.

Life is never about you!

We all find what we are looking for and in the end, it is never about us. Think about it. Is it about your daughter who looks at you each morning with her baby blue eyes and smiles at the sight of your morning glow? Is it your partner for life who you sacrificed your soul to spend every breathing day of your life with? Is in your mother and father who led by example and shaped you into the person you are? Is it the refugee camp that is suffering from death and disease that you have dedicated yourself to saving? Is it your true love who soul was brought to you in an act of fate? Is it the music and lyrics that touch millions of lives and turn a lost soul away from the bridge to live one more day?

We are here with purpose.
We are given the gift of breath.

What fascinates my mental being is how some of us choose to get lost in the sea of uncertainty. All too often we guess and second guess our own purpose in life without accepting that we are fulfilling it through our passions, our actions, our unselfish hand and ultimately the lives we help bring meaning to.

We are all granted the ability to be angels on earth with a chance to hold out our hand and offer shelter to those in need.

I love that we all have gifts and talents. Some is through song, some strength, some compassion but at the end of the day, the gifts we use are not for us, not for self-fulfillment or any personal pleasure. They are for the stranger in the street, the homeless child, the girl with the broken heart, the sick friend.

Find your purpose and share it.

It’s all about love

How amazing is a life where we have this much power to help others. No matter what our talent, no matter what we say or do it is all guided by one common force that brings us all together; love.

Love is and will always be the answer to life’s unanswered questions. No matter which direction we go, love is all around us.

How can you not wake up each morning and smile with that thought dancing in your head.

I know I can’t.


The Will Of Human Compassion is So Strong: How high school lacrosse gave a dying man one last smile

As reported by sports columnist George Diaz at OrlandoSentinel.com

It’s not lacrosse season, but last week Winter Springs (Fla.) High School played one of the most significant girls lacrosse games in memory. The score didn’t matter in the least. The significance came from the game’s sheer existence.

The Winter Springs girls lacrosse team played a special scrimmage at halftime of the Winter Springs junior varsity football game on Wednesday night. The Bears varsity squad squared up against their JV counterparts, the only way the school could logistically hold a scrimmage months out of season on short notice. And the most important spectator at the game was Carl Defoe, a middle-aged man devoid of body hair after five rounds of chemotherapy, cheering on his daughter for the first — and in all likelihood, the last — time in his life.

Defoe is dying of lung cancer, and he knows that he doesn’t have much time left — six weeks, eight weeks, maybe more. The cancer has spread from his one remaining lung to his brain stem and spinal cord. While Defoe insists that he isn’t done fighting the disease yet, the one thing that left him most anguished was knowing he’d never get to see his daughter, Heather, play in a high school lacrosse game.

Somehow the Winter Springs High School administration heard about Defoe’s last wish. The school quickly sprung into action, contacting the notoriously rigid Florida High School Activities Association to ask for special approval to hold a one-time, out-of-season lacrosse scrimmage. Amazingly, the FHSAA approved the request almost instantly, with one condition: They wanted a photo from the game.

So, on Wednesday, at halftime of the Winter Springs junior varsity football game against Oviedo High School, the two girls lacrosse squads faced off in a brisk, seven-minute scrimmage. Heather Defoe played for the varsity squad instead of the junior varsity team she’s scheduled to play with this spring … and she scored three goals.

Then, when it was all over, the two teams gathered around a happy man in a wheelchair, posed for cameras and the whole special event was gone, over as quickly as it had come.

Gone, but not forgotten by anyone there, not least of all Carl himself. If there were ever questions of whether sports can change a person’s outlook on life, they should be quieted by what Carl Defoe told Diaz just after the scrimmage wrapped up.

“I feel lucky,” Defoe said.


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