Marathon of Hope - Terry Fox

Terry Fox

 1958 - 1981

" I am not a dreamer, and I am not saying that this will initiate any kind of definitive answer or cure to cancer, but I believe in miracles, I have to." 

- Terry Fox

Terry Fox was born and brought up in Canada. An active teenager involved in many sports, Terry was just 18 years old when he was diagnosed with bone cancer and was forced to have his right leg amputated 15 cm above the knee in 1977. He underwent the physical and mental trauma of chemotherapy for 16 months and during his treatment, he used to feel angry with the fact that very little money was devoted towards cancer research. So he decided to take the responsibility of bringing a change to the society, on his shoulders. 

Inspired by Dick Traum, the first amputee to complete the New York City Marathon, Terry Fox began Marathon of Hope, a cross country run for raising money for cancer research. It was a journey that Canadians never forget. With fierce determination, he ran 42 km per day for 143 days until September 1, 1980, when he experienced a lot of short breaths and with continued chest pain was driven to a hospital where he got to know that his cancer had returned and had spread to his lungs. Terry died in June 1981. His funeral, attended by 40 relatives and 200 guests, was broadcast on national television. 

Many buildings and streets in Canada have named after Terry. The physical memorials in Canada named after Fox also includes his 7 statues. Terry Fox is an inspiration to one and all and he exemplifies that one person is enough to make a difference to the society. To do so, one requires a vision, belief and most importantly a passionate desire.

Rythum Verma

The number One skill in life is- Not Giving Up

Hello everyone. Let me ask you a very simple question. What is the difference between success and failure? The only difference between success and failure is that a successful person "never gives up". He fails 1000 times before succeeding The 1001th times. Let me ask you another simple question. Does giving up helps you achieve your dream or does it accelerate the process ? We all know the answer. It is a big no. Then why give up? Why even raise the question of giving up? My dear friends, the question we need to ask ourselves is " How much importance does your dream hold in your life?" 

I'll tell you a story:

 Socrates was Plato's mentor. One day they were walking down a beach. Then Socrates asked Plato to walk with him into the ocean. They started walking into the sea together. The water started out around their ankles, then rose up to their knees. As the water level rose, Plato wondered, “What is the lesson my master is trying to teach me?” When the water was about shoulder height, Socrates abruptly grabbed Plato’s head and pushed him down under the water. After sometime, when Plato ran out of air, he began to struggle to get his head above water. Eventually, Plato blacked out due to lack of oxygen. Socrates pulled him ashore. When Plato regained consciousness, at first he was extremely angry at Socrates for doing this to him. But Socrates explained, “If that had been my intention, I would not have pulled you ashore. I wanted to teach you that, when you desire my knowledge like you desired that breath of air, then you shall have it.” 

We want to achieve so many things in life but many a times we don't. The reason is very simple, and i.e we don't desire it the way Plato desired that breath of air.

'The only limit to our realization of tomorrow is our doubts of today.'

                                                                                         - Franklin D. Roosevelt

If you have that burning desire, if you have that fire in your belly, then only sky is the limit and nothing can stop you. There are no doubts, there are no fears and thus there is no question of Giving up.

Rythum Verma

Happiness is a choice

Hello everyone. Life is a such a wondrous gift given to us by God. The greatest purpose of our existence is to be Happy and spread Happiness. God would never want any of his/her creations to suffer or undergo any kind of anguish. 

 There is a very simple rule for happiness in life -
"Keep the controllable things under control and ACCEPT the ones you cannot control."


One must never forget 'What you resist persists.' So if you dislike something and you want to change it then the first step towards the change would be to accept it, make peace with it. 'Happiness is not a destination. Its a journey.' One can never achieve anything in life if that person is unhappy and carries a negative approach towards his/her life. Always remember 'Happiness leads to success.' Its never the other way around.So inner happiness actually is the fuel of success. Be happy now. Feel good now. Its impossible to feel good and at the same time be having negative thoughts and remember, you become what you think. If you are feeling good, it is because you are thinking good thoughts. 

Always remember that YOU, yes you deserve all the happiness in this world and the only way to bring more and more happiness into your life is be happy now. Now this does not mean that we cannot have negative feelings at all. We are humans and we all tend to have negative feelings some times in life. Again, don't resist those negative feelings otherwise they 'll persist. Try and focus on things you love, people you love. Think about all the good things life has blessed you with and within no time you will realize that you feel better and the negative feelings are all gone. Its very very easy to change your feelings and hence change your life. Sometimes just by listening to your favourite song you can change your mood. We all know exactly what are favourite things are.

Be happy for no reason, like a child. If you are happy for a reason, you are in trouble, because that reason can be taken away from you.The key to your inner happiness is with you and only you. Be someone who makes you happy. The happiest people don't have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything.

  

Always remember "Happiness is a choice, choose it today."  

Rythum Verma