Chris Rathje's Blog: From The Gut

http://www.chrisrathje.com/?p=188

I hope you enjoy my idea World Lovination, my thoughts on new show Mental and a look at going to my own beat.

Thanks everybody
Chris

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Savor The Page

Please use the link to go to chrisrathje.com Thanks very much and Happy Mothers Day!

http://www.chrisrathje.com/?p=183

Monday, May 4, 2009

Get Tall

Yesterday I heard the song If Today Was Your Last Day by Nickelback for the first time.

This beautiful song talks about so many things that I find important

Love and Acceptance
Appreciation
Never Giving Up on Dreams
Doing What You Want with Life

After hearing it I emailed and called some friends I had not heard from in a while. I was so excited about this song I wanted to write about it as soon as I possibly could, however I could not come up with the right words instantly.

I realized this was connected to another topic I wanted to write about, but had not been able to fully articulate yet.

I am an underdog. There are hundreds of millions of underdogs in the US alone and billions around the world, but all we ever hear about is top dogs.

That is messed up to me! Why do we care about A-Rod or a slew of Hollywood celebrities so much? The single mom who has two jobs is my hero!

Please, please, do not buy into the BS of what we “should” think is important. Tune into your own life and your own dreams. Anything is possible, but we must focus on what is important to us and give gratitude every step along the way.

Some people are born into a top dog status, but others have had to go along a long path to reach their ultimate goals. I fully believe I am on my journey to all my dreams, but it has not been easy. There have been some major detours that I haven’t known how to deal with, but that is all part of growth.

I think anyone can become a top dog if they:

Follow Their Dreams
Give Maximum Effort
Uplift Others
Give Thanks

When you start out as an underdog you learn to get tough quickly. Resiliency is one of the most important characteristics to success. With resiliency and the habits of success I beg you to GET TALL! Stand tall or sit tall and look anyone you meet in the eyes.

If some cocky person gives you crap; please continue to be tall. Try to bring them up to your level, but if they refuse, just ignore them.

Life is too valuable! Use each day as the treasure it is! Refuse to tune into the frequencies that do not serve you. You are a wonderful child of God! You have earned love and grace. Go get your dreams with real confidence and real swagger!

We have all scrapped and survived, but I have had enough of that! IT’S PROSPERING TIME!

Everyone please get tall and stay tall.

Thanks for reading
Chris
chris.rathje@gmail.com

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Rule The Universe!

The old saying goes, if life gives you lemons, make lemonade. It is so true. However sometimes life gives you way more then a bitter fruit.

Sometimes life gives absolute garbage and sometimes you don’t deserve it. It happens to everybody. The people who truly figure out how to make crapade are the people who rule the universe!

Learn to be a master of crapade and you will be successful in whatever you do. Man, I have taken some hard hits to the gut lately and I am becoming a master brewer of crapade.

That is why I will win today and everyday. I am a victor, not a victim.

If you can imagine it; you can make it happen! I know I have created much of my own problem. I didn’t always show it, but deep down I have always believed in myself. I know I can make anything happen, but for the vast majority of my life I thought I had to struggle to win. I thought taking people’s crap was good. It’s not!
Take care of yourself! Love yourself! It is important to make crapade, but don’t make so much you can barely breathe. Love yourself by sticking up for yourself! You deserve everything you want and by the grace of God you will get it!

Decide today to rule the universe! Yes Sir!

Thanks for reading
Chris

Conan & WALL-E Partying in My Head

Waking up this morning two images were dominant in my head.

First the final slide in my presentation at Northwestern University

“You will see no one has any idea what they are doing. You can allow this to scare you or liberate you.” – Conan O’Brien

Choose Liberation!

Second I realized that life really is like the movie Wall-E. Often times we have to sift through the garbage to find the beautiful green plant of hope.

Once you open your mind up to it you will realize that life is limitless. Free will really exists! However as you go through the journey to fully grasp the concept, the landscape can be quite frightening. With limitless options, am I making the right choice?

Please don’t be afraid to make a choice. You are free! Even if you make a “wrong” choice, you can always go back and fix things. Life is not supposed to be perfect!

Life is written in pen, but everybody’s outline has lines all over it, crossing things out and making revisions :)

Life does not always happen in the lines! Sometimes the world’s greatest discoveries were written in the margins as an after thought. Strive confidently in your journey and don’t be afraid to write in the margins. We are all liberated by the grace of God and the limitless options of the universe!

While admiring all the beauty of the universe you realize that life is not always filled with smiley faces and unicorns. Sometimes life throws you pile after pile of garbage like in the movie Wall-E. If you pay attention and listen hard you will always find the green plant.

This is especially true when dealing with other people that you really care about. It can be very painful if people do not share your vision for your life. Be like Wall-E and enjoy the heck out of Hello Dolly anyways!

Even if people criticize you and hurt your feelings they usually have some point of goodness that you can use to your benefit. Please focus on the green plant to make your journey more beautiful and clear the garbage away from your path for a better tomorrow.

Please focus on how liberating it is to find the beauty in everything!

Thanks for reading
Chris

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Stoic is Not The Answer

I am probably the angriest I have ever been. It is because I have had to deal with everything in my life up to this point.

People staring at me in malls, kids making fun of me from when I was five years old and that was the easy part!

Taking ten years to learn to drive and dealing with low self esteem was the hard part. I can tell from pictures of when I was six years old I was a quad and doctors couldn’t figure it until I was 17?

And I’m the idioit here? I sat and took so much in my life. That is my bad.

PLEASE LEARN FROM MY MISTAKE!

Face your problems head on and don’t let other people give you crap. We are all equals we are all God’s children.

Don’t let ANYBODY tell you how to live your life or what you “should” do. No one walks your path except you!

Tell the world how you want to live your life! I have no idea where my path is headed. I feel lost, but I also know I’m going to take so much better care of myself.

Smug a-holes have been pushing me around my whole life and I realize I don’t have to sit there and take it anymore. I am a good, tough person and if someone wants to get fresh with me I’m not going to take it anymore.

I am not a smart man, I am not paticullarly gifted in any one area, but I am tough and I love everybody. That counts for something. I am a good person and deserve to be treated well.

We are all God’s children! Please love yourself. Treat yourself better by letting others know they are wrong about you.

You can be calm and cool when you do it, but you don’t have to just sit there and take it. I hurt myself by taking too much crap.

Please learn from my mistake. You are good and deserve to be treated well.

EVERYBODY DOES! Talk up today so you aren’t filled with rage tommorrow.

We are all flawed, but we are all equal.

Love everybody including yourself.

ALWAYS REMEMBER YOU CONTROL EVERY ASPECT OF YOUR LIFE!

On the road to a better life.

Thanks for reading
Chris

Ownership Isn't Always Happiness

I’m just sitting here in my apartment and man do I feel like an idiot.

I have a ticket to a party that I spent a pretty penny on and I’m not going. I’m so filled with anger I don’t want my toxic feelings to affect others.

Most days I am so f-ing lonely and today I have a chance to change that and I am so filled with rage I can’t be around other people.

The reason I am so angry is because I am just realizing karma does not work how I thought it did.

I really have no idea how karma works anymore. I try to be the happiest, nicest person I can when inside I am sad and tired and running on absolute fumes.

I got nothing people. Make sure to take care of yourself because people can really mistreat you.

God is wonderful, but some of his children need to learn some lessons.

I take complete ownership of my life, but I refuse to be treated like crap anymore. I am going to win people and I’m not going to be a door mat anymore. It is no longer acceptable to verbally abuse me.

I have a very quick tounge I just usually keep it to myself.

I work my ass off and I am going to get mine. I have no idea what tomorrow will bring, but BS ain’t gonna cut it anymore.
Own your life people and strive for happiness. Don’t pigeon hole yourself. First and foremost I’m an athlete and a communicator. They are both very broad terms because no sport wants to fully accept me.

I’m a freaky CP who some think I am lying about my function. This is another gut shot because if nothing else, I am honest.

We all create our lives and I am learning that we must be very specific with our thoughts.

Don’t be naive like me, expect the best, but prepare for the worst. I assumed others had my back and I was wrong.

Take complete control of your life and be happy.

The world is filled with beautiful things. We must be open to many options and not rely on others or outside forces to satisfy our happiness.

I have learned a lot, but I haven’t gotten what I’ve earned. That isn’t acceptable anymore and I need to go back to the drawing board.

A new life starts NOW!

Chris the door mat is over! I’m gonna win people. I’m gonna win!

Thanks for reading
Chris

YOU OWN YOUR LIFE!

This post is dedicated to John C. Mayer of Bridgeport, CT.

He has inspired so much over the last eight years and has written at least half of the soundtrack to my twenties.

I am so honored to be able to follow him on Twitter. John is witty and wise. I could easily write a book on how much he has inspired me and I will someday.

There is nothing in paticular that led me to write this piece it just came to me after reading many different things he wrote on Twitter. John Mayer is so right on the money about so many different things.

Want to change, start today!

Want to eat standing up? Who’s stopping you!

You’re scared to do something that you know is good for you? Take the risk! Do It!

No one is stopping you from doing anything in your life! The economy doesn’t stop you and somebody telling me my hands work better then they do DOES NOT control how I react one iota.

You have to be tough and strong, but YOU CAN DO IT TODAY!

The past is over; don’t like something, CHANGE IT TODAY!

I OWN MY LIFE! WHO’S WITH ME?

Thanks for reading
Chris

Monday, April 20, 2009

Being Uncool, Can Be The Coolest

I am just testing out a theory in this piece and am open to input from the outside world to test my hypothesis.

I heard somewhere in the last seven to ten days that trying too hard to be smart can be stupid. I definitely agree with that statement. In my younger days I was insecure and would occasionally use words I didn’t fully understand.

I am still a very flawed man, but I know every word that I use in my writing. There is nothing wrong with using simple straightforward language and occasionally using a more advanced word for emphasis or to capture a complex situation.

I strive to find the good in everybody, but I struggle to recognize the good in people who act like they are so much better then the vast majority of humanity. I humbly ask if someone constantly acts like they are better then everyone else; aren’t they actually showing that they are worse?

We are all in this together and we are all God’s children. I have found that when someone is trying too hard to be this or that they are actually being the opposite.

I know people mock my enthusiasm, but I can’t hide the joy I get from my life. For many years I hid who I really was because I was afraid of the criticism. People openly would compliment me for holding back my cheering or “playing it cool”.

I know I am a big fat dork and sometimes I act like a four year old on Christmas morning, but that is who I really am! I know I am uncool and for the first time in my life I’m not ashamed to say it. Uncool is the coolest version of me that I can be.

Please don’t be afraid to be who you really are or who you want to be!

Anything is possible!

Thanks for reading
Chris
chris.rathje@gmail.com

Saturday, April 18, 2009

I Am Free!

Writing the last piece was EXTREMELY liberating for me, I have worked hard, played by the rules and I still haven’t gotten a sniff of what I’ve desired.

I’m okay with that because I work in God’s time not my own. I am flawed and I don’t understand why I have to struggle so much when all I do is work my tail off and help others, but that is not for me to decide. I just have to continue to do my best.

I’m a mess up and a screw up, but I’ve yet to meet someone with a bigger heart then me. I REALLY go after what I want with no excuses and no apologies. Many people have said I am so lucky to be at Lakeshore, which I am, but I made my luck. I took less money and had the courage to move down here not really knowing anyone expect Kevin. It doesn’t take talent to be down here, all it takes is determination.

I have had many people back home and other places tell me it takes real guts to move like I did, but I honestly don’t see it. I hated my life before, why shouldn’t I change it?

I am going on fumes right now, but I have a responsibility to myself and my dreams to keep going. I told one of my best friends yesterday I still plan on going to London and I could tell from his voice inflexion he didn’t believe me. I am SICK and TIRED of people discounting me. I promise you Big Boy we will be in the opening ceremonies together.

I have no idea how this is going to happen, but it will. I want it more then anyone else on the planet. I know how hard people work to make it happen and I work harder then most. Just in case anyone doubts my claims my door is always open in Bama. I promise you will be a better, tougher athlete after one week with me.

Part of me feels lost because I can’t make any traction, but I am also soaring like an eagle. What do I have to lose? Nothing!

I know I am the real deal and for the first time in my life I have the courage to say it. I have tried REALLY hard to please people, but have gotten nowhere. Believe whatever you want to believe. It is your right as a human being. I KNOW where I’m going!

I say it loud and proud everyone will know me before the London opening ceremonies and my dreams will come true in about 3.5 years. I will be a Paralympian representing the red white and blue!

The law of attraction is very real and I will get exactly what I want out of life. I am hungry, I am good and I will win!

No matter what your dream is there is only one opinion that matters. YOURS!

Keep working until you win. I WILL WIN SOON!
Thank You!
Chris
chris.rathje@gmail.com

Please Pass The Tube

I’ve got some recent criticism for not being as happy as I usually am, but I’ve also gotten some praise for being honest. So I am going to continue to speak my truth.

Back in 2001 I was having a philosophical conversation with my friends Grant and Stouty. Grant (T12) and Stouty (T6-T7) happen to have spinal cord injuries. They were both envious of the fact that I didn’t have to catheterize in order to go to the bathroom.

I told them I would gladly catheterize if it meant I could have full use of my hands. I would like to amend that comment nearly eight years later. I would catheterize with pleasure everyday for the rest of my life if people really understood what my hands were and were not capable of.

I am tired of everyone thinking I am just some stupid CP. Every time I mess up it’s because I’m stupid, every time I do something good it is because I have so much function.

Back in early 2008 I had the rugby game of my life to that point. I scored the game tying goal with 3 seconds left to send it into overtime and scored the game winning goal in overtime. Afterwards one of the refs came up to me and said “Man you have a lot of function for a CP.” Is it possible that I’m just a good player? No.

I swear on my life I have below average function for someone with CP. I have worked my butt off since I was nine years old to get every ounce out of my body and I am extremely tired of being punished for it.

Every classification system I can think of is based on the medical world and this is where the problem lies. The medical world has been making terrible assumptions for a long time and it has to stop.

When I was four years old I went to therapy four times a week. At some point I remember just collapsing. I was so tired and so sore I couldn’t stop crying. In my four year old head I was lazy and stupid because I had to go down to therapy twice a week and I still couldn’t walk.

Then when I was seven we did 17 reconstructive surgeries in a very short period of time. During the rehab a substitute therapist pushed me way too hard. It hurt so badly and she wouldn’t let me sit down. I literally punched her in the head four or five times until she would let me sit down. If that wasn’t hard enough my leg reconstruction was cutting edge at the time, so I was the topic at some lecture. Dr. James Fisk actually had the audacity to say I would never live on my own, drive a car or walk. Two of three isn’t bad :) Remember I was SEVEN and sitting right there in the front row. That is emotional child abuse.

I have no idea if that is still happening today, but from talking to many other people with cerebral palsy over the last few weeks I have concluded that it happened for many more years after my formative years.

You can’t miraculously make cerebral palsy go away. I worked and worked and worked and my legs didn’t work and my hands didn’t work. The medical community stripped away my self esteem one session at a time. You don’t grow out of an injury no matter what the origin.

It is a wrong premise that has to stop today. A very experienced rugby player told me if you play like a certain class after three years of hard work you are that class. Same thing is true with therapy, if a kid can’t do something after five years, adapt, don’t just keep pushing. Therapists tried to get me to walk up until I was 16. My four year old self was a genius for just stopping and crying. In twelve plus years it never got any less painful.

No matter what you are going through long sustained pain is a sign to change or reevaluate. Pain is bad.

I know I don’t have medical credentials, but I have lived my life and that should count for a lot. The sad thing is, as I talk to more people with cerebral palsy I realize my story is way more common then I wish it was.

This goes for anyone. The time to change things is now. I refuse to live in a world anymore where it is okay to call me a spazz. I will live in a world where people stop making archaic assumptions and start really seeing what I am capable of. I am a proud quad and what I have accomplished on and off the court is due to my hard work, not because I am some freak who has all these countless advantages.

This is way bigger then sports, this is about life.

I am so hurt because I deal with all the crap from the able bodied world that every disabled person deals with, but I also deal with this constant misunderstanding of who I am from the disabled world too. It is a sad truth that I relish the able bodied world’s prejudices in comparison to what I get from my disabled brothers and sisters.

Please never call me a spazz again and think twice before you make an assumption. I have bladder spasms just like everybody else.

Thanks for reading
Chris

Friday, April 17, 2009

Blazing a Trail in a Rugby Chair

This past week has been very challenging for me. Not getting a tryout for the Developmental National Team was so gut wrenching it is beyond words. The reason it is so difficult for me is because I KNOW I would be an extremely valuable member of the team.

Unfortunately wheelchair rugby uses a system to classify hands that does not capture the true level of my impairment. All my muscles are still alive, but they don’t work the way they should. They are slow and clunky and get worse with physical exercise. There is nothing I can do to change this at the moment. It just stinks that I have to wait another two years of my physical prime to see some justice. I remind myself everyday to be thankful for God’s time and to not worry about my own.

In a weird way it has been a blessing in disguise. I have had so many people give me their support over the last week it has been incredible! The system is still very flawed, but the love I feel from the rugby world has never been greater.

One of my greatest supporters was Tom Vesco of Vesco Metal Craft. Tom sent me a great message of support and it was very touching to me. After playing one season of rugby in 2004-2005 I realized a used chair that didn’t fit was not going to cut it.

I called around to the different wheelchair companies and finally decided to get a Vesco. I was very nervous about getting a rugby chair because no one had ever built a chair for a cerebral palsy ball handler before in the United States. I was worried chair manufacturers wouldn’t realize I could feel my legs and they wouldn’t realize my legs are constantly jumping up and down out of my control.

Tom and Neil are very solutions oriented people. They suggested I just come out to the shop in San Diego and they would measure me for the chair themselves. My parents gave me my Christmas present three months early that year; I got a plane ticket from Chicago to San Diego.

Tom, Neil and I become a team in how to make me the best rugby chair. We made some assumptions, some were right, some were wrong, but that is what happens when you are trailblazers. Perfection was never the goal, positive growth was. We assumed I would be able to do things with my hands and trunk that I never was able to, but how were we supposed to know this at the time?

I promise making mistakes is one thousand times better then never trying. I look at my 26 inch wheels and wish I had the quick starting of 25 inch wheels. Because of my function loss in my hands I want to move to 25 inch tires, but that doesn’t make my 26 inch tires bad.

I’m proud of my 26 inch wheels because it is a symbol of my innovation and willingness to keep trying things despite barriers.

I was used to 26 inch tires from basketball. When I played college wheelchair basketball I had the worst hands in the league. If anyone touched the ball while I was holding it I was going to turn it over. The one thing I had going for me was my height.

I have long arms and could even block some high function players thanks to my wingspan. I was ALWAYS guarded by shorter players. So I learned to put the ball above my head with two arms that way no one could steal the ball from me. With 26 inch tires I was one inch taller. The way my basketball logic worked back then was all based on stable height. So many people were faster then me, I just didn’t want to cause turnovers the few times I got to touch the ball.

Pushing with 26 inch tires creates interesting advantages and disadvantages. It just seemed like the right thing for me to do to keep doing what I was doing while playing basketball.

I love rugby with all my heart, but it has not been easy. It has been and continues to be a roller coaster. It is nice to have someone to have my back through the twist and turns like the Vescos. I am venturing a guess that no one in rugby has as messed up feet as me that they CAN FULLY FEEL. This creates some interesting challenges and we are still figuring things out. I am currently on my third foot plate and the Vescos have never charged me an extra dime.

People, who know me, know that I am wired differently. I don’t see companies as companies, they are people. Red from Eagle is an excellent man and his son Tate is one of my favorite people in rugby, but I can only have one chair. I’ll keep blazing my trail in the chair with the yellow wheels.

Thanks for reading! Anything is possible!
Chris

Friday, April 10, 2009

I Am A Horrible Whiny Jerk

I feel like a horrible person today. I feel like a shell of myself and I hate it.

My heart is broken. A member of the opposite sex did not cause this break to occur, a sport did! All I have ever wanted to do since 3rd grade is play sports and I have been systematically excluded from success.

It’s all because when I was a baby I didn’t have enough sense to break my neck. Silly me, got oxygen deprivation and hurt my central nervous system instead. I should have known better, but they just don’t teach you these things when you are a minute old.

You know how miserable my childhood was because I could never figure out how to get my hands to work like the therapists said they should.

Do you know how wonderful it feels to be introduced to a community of people who struggle just like you do? And how gut wrenching it is when your new brothers mock you because you can crawl or go down a ramp a little easier.

People seem to forget how hard it is for me to drive and people have no idea what is like to use only one eye at a time or what a startle reflex is really like? A startle reflex is a lie that CP constantly sends to your brain. It tells you to stop every time you do something right. Take a push STOP! Pass the ball STOP! Catch the ball STOP! You try too hard to fight it and some sloppy things are going to happen.

Please ask the Lakeshore staff how many countless hours I have tried to retrain my startle reflex and the ridiculous amount of hours I spend in the weight room and fieldhouse trying to live up to a 3.0 standard I now realize I can not.

The league has no problem taking my 10-20 hours a week of volunteer work, but God forbid I want a fair classification so I have the same opportunities as everybody else. I have big dreams and it is hard to see court time on any team if you are 1.0 higher then you should be. I have gone to ridiculous lengths to get court time on other teams and no body seems to notice.

I am mean, I am horrible and I am not myself because I so distraught. All these negative words describe me because of my mind set, but I refuse to accept that the pats on the heads and the shrugs of the shoulders are going to cut it anymore.

What is the point of a classification system? We would not have a sport if Duncan Campbell and his teammates sat back and did nothing like I and the rest of my CP and polio siblings are being asked to do. Lets try some new things; we just want a fair shot. When people tell me one more year, my response is I have already waited 18.

Basketball punched me in the mouth so I put my hope in track. I was fast among my CP peers after many years of hard work just in time for the IPC to eliminate my Paralympic dreams. For Beijing they kept CP field so I picked it up. In less then a year I broke the US record in four events, but was nowhere near the world record. I knew I wasn’t going to make Beijing last summer by the time May rolled around, but I thought since I had four US Records I would at least go to my own nationals in Arizona. Nope, it was considered an international meet using international standards. I was not allowed to compete in my own nationals after earning four national records.

CPs are systematically kept from success and I am the squeaky wheel that is not going to quiet down until there is change. The next time someone tells me to be patient take a moment to think what I have already endured.

Like I said I am a whiny horrible jerk. I am very very tired and I just want a level playing field so I can close my eyes and see one or two dreams come to pass.

I still love everybody, the status quo of the system just breaks my heart.

Thanks for reading
Chris

Monday, March 16, 2009

The Brenda Lessons

I am an only child. The closest I come to blood siblings is my first cousins. I am the oldest cousin on the Rathje side and youngest cousin on the Nagel side by a considerable margin. The second youngest cousin on the Nagel side, Kim was already driving by the time I was born. I love my Nagel cousins, but I did not grow up with them.

My cousin Andy was born four days shy of my third birthday. I have so many amazing memories with Andy from his fascination with vacuum cleaners and airplanes when we were little to us getting amazing seats at Wrigley Field together as adults, but I do not remember the day he was born.

However by the time Brenda came around over two years later, I was about to go into kindergarten. I will always remember June 9, 1987. I remember being fascinated by the concept of Brenda.

I thought to myself “Look, there’s a brand-new baby and I’m related to it!” It was an absolutely incredible experience.

Growing up as a kid I was the weak one in the family because I lacked so much physical ability. I wanted to help out my younger cousins, but didn’t know how.

Now that we are all young adults I realize that physical strength is still important, but not as important as mental and emotional strength. I would like to empower all recent college graduates and soon-to-be college graduates. This one is for Andy and Brenda.

I originally saw this as several pieces. It started several weeks ago via a Facebook conversation with my grad school friend Casey. It grew two weeks ago when talking to Brenda and was finished in my mind this afternoon after writing another Facebook message to Brenda. Thank you for inspiring me to write this Brenda. Here are five lessons I would like to share.

1. Eliminate fear, love everything in your life. So far in my studies of life I found that every emotion really boils down to love and fear.

Sometimes fear is real, but most of the time it’s not. If you are scared about something go out and do something about it or just have faith pull you through.

Right now my biggest fear is driving. I wish I could rely on my body more as far as spasticity, coordination and reaction time. I know when the time is right, I will be blessed with the right driving teacher and I will eliminate that fear. For now life goes on well up and down Highway 31 as I launch my writing career from my apartment. I pray every time I get into the car. This love and fear concept took me a long time to understand. Spend some time thinking about it and what is right for you will come to pass.

2. Decide the odds don’t apply to you!

I flat out love Grey’s Anatomy. I could care less what the current drama is between McDreamy and McSteamy, however it is an extremely well-written show and there is always two or three wise nuggets of life in every episode. This week’s episode toward the very end had a conversation between Little Gray and Izzy. Izzy has her 5% to deal with and Little Grey’s Mom somehow died with a 0% chance of that happening.

Somewhere along the line of applying to Northwestern I was told they were going to take five students straight out of undergrad. To get one of five spots seemed daunting at the time. They ended up taking 7 of us. Statistics can change! Nothing is certain. If thoughts of the economy freak you out. Do what I’ve done. Shut off the news. I do not control the economy. Try to take care of what you can control and know you can do whatever you want.

3. Follow your heart and make sure your brain is listening. Joy is like a compass and your brain is like a GPS system.

It will take you exactly where you want to go, but you have to give it the right address. If you don’t like where you end up enter a new address, but don’t stay there. Most great journeys only reveal themselves one step at a time. Learn to be okay with this.

4. Treat everyone well and take extra care of the ones that love you.

A couple months ago I was looking for an answer to a question for several months. Out of the blue a person who has treated me like a pile of garbage for several years now just e-mails me the answer to my important question without even realizing that I was looking for that answer. I doubt this person even knows how much their actions hurt me because I rose above the situation so well. If that is not an example of karma, I do not know if one exists. I have been trying for a couple weeks now to come up with the exact phrasing for number 3 with the idea that it would be its own separate piece. I know the only reason I was able to come up with the exact phrase was because I was trying to uplift my lovely baby cousin this afternoon via Facebook. God gives us gifts if we look after those we are supposed to.

5. Follow your dreams, work hard and treat other people like you want to be treated.

I have said this so many times, but it needs to be repeated. I have seen so many people do the last two without doing the first one. Why do so many people ignore their hearts? The universe gives us personalized maps and we sometimes try to look at other people’s. Don’t follow the money! Follow the love; if you work hard at something you love the money will follow. Money after all really is just green paper.

No matter what age we are we are responsible for our little corner of the world. If everyone takes care of their own corner, all the sudden the world’s problems are lessened. This is a reality in our lifetime and any lifetime. The purpose of life is not perfection it is growth. Anything is possible!

Thank You Brenners, Thank You Everyone!
Chris

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Darwin Was Right . . .

But that’s not the whole story. Darwin was right because only the strong survive, but the way he presented his conclusions indicated that there must be weak creatures for the strong to dominate.

That might be how the animal kingdom works, but that doesn’t mean human kind has to be run like that.

God gave us big brains, free will and dreams planted in our hearts for a reason! The universe wants us to step it up. Only the strong survive, but we can all be STRONG.

Let’s set our minds for success! The beautiful thing about the dreams planted in our hearts is that we all have different dreams. So we can all be champions in the fields we choose from our hearts. As my wonderful teacher Joel Osteen says God plants dreams in our heart for a reason and he gives us all the tools to see them come to pass.

Sometimes barriers arise and we fall down, but please always have the courage to get back up. Some think it is weak to fall down, but this is not the case. It is only weak to stay down. Getting up is the strongest thing anyone can do! If you set your mind for strength no obstacle is too large to overcome.

Strength does not mean perfection. I know I am strong, but I mess up in ways that frustrate me to the core.

Just this evening I had a hard time catching the ball at rugby practice. I know I let my cerebral palsy programming take over waiting for the ball and wondering if I was going to catch it instead of flat out willing myself to catch the ball. I can use positive energy to catch the ball, but instead I let myself slip back into old habits.

I compounded the problem by getting mad at myself. I know better then that, but I got caught up in the moment. I couldn’t see the blessing in the moment, but I see it now. I know I will be hard at work in the Lakeshore Fieldhouse today because I messed up so royally. I expect my next tournament to be my best to date. It will be in part because of the mistakes I made tonight.

Evolution did not happen over night and neither does true strength. Having a truly strong mind is a long time commitment that is worth it in any way you can think of.

Are you strong? Do you want to be strong? It’s all up to you. Choose to be strong. I promise you its worth it.

Thanks for reading!
Chris

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Shine Some Light on It

This morning I was up in the wee hours. I only had one light on in my bedroom and the rest of my apartment was dark. As I was leaving the bathroom in semi darkness I flashed myself a quick smile in the mirror and freaked myself out.

I had some major self esteem issues growing up so I never thought I looked good at all, but even in that storm of self doubt I always felt I knew how to present a good smile, which allowed some of my genuine nature to shine through. This long standing belief being challenged is why I became so uneasy in the early hours this morning.

The smile that was reflected back to my eyes did not match what I have come to expect. My smile looked so fake, glassy and posed. It bothered me to the core. I asked myself has my smile changed? Have I changed?

Then I realized that my smile did not match what I have grown to expect because my face was so poorly lit. There was only direct light on half of my face. I was not seeing a clear picture because I did not have enough light to see properly.

I think this happens a lot in life. At times, people are too quick to judge and you never really know if you have enough light for the situation. First impressions can be misleading, a social butterfly could become Debbie Downer if her cat just died that morning and that happens to be the day you meet her for the first time.

This is not just a case with people; it is also the case with situations or decisions. Ask the universe or God to shine light to get a full perspective. The light will grace your situation.

Learn from my mistake. If you see something that you don’t expect make sure there is enough light to get a clear view of what is going on. If you conclude there isn’t enough light turn another switch on. If you can’t find another switch have faith that it will appear.

Light is like love, we can always find more, but we might have to wait for the sun to rise.

Strive to look at things from several angles and have confidence in your observations when it feels right.

We are all wonderful! Sometimes life tricks us into believing lies, but I challenge you to have the faith and courage to smile anyways.

Get your cameras ready. Make sure the flashes are on and smile big!

Thanks for reading
Chris

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Saturday, May 30, 2009