Do you wander or just wonder?
With my words, I hope to throw some oblique light upon your life.
I want to inspire you to see life in a different and/or better way.
Also, that you find joy how you can.
*** Remember, to read past blog posts, go to >> kitsummers.com/blog/
*** If you are reading this through Facebook, check out my blog on my website.
*** If you are not my Facebook friend, yet, please, befriend me.
*** The freedom I am experiencing in my travels is a marvelous thing!
*** Going where I want, when I want, and seeing wonderful places and people.
*** I will have places to show you and tales to tell.
*** I will have secrets to unfold and good news!
I WANT TO TAKE YOU AWAY WITH ME
ON WONDERFUL ADVENTURES!
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INTRO TO THIS WEEK >>
Your home is your castle, as they say; this holds true for me. We spend so much time in our abode that we should always live in excellence. So, for every room in Beth’s home, we are taking things out and redoing the entire room.
In a few months, we are even going to replace the windows throughout the house. They are older and need to be replaced. No, I have never replaced a window, but with YouTube videos, you can learn to do about anything. Do the work yourself, I know you can do it!
WORDS TO INSPIRE YOU! >>
Inspirational quotes and motivational sayings have an amazing ability to change the way we feel about life and can change our thinking. This is why I find them so interesting, challenging, and important on our path to joy and happiness and finding ways to inspire ourselves.
Inspirational quotes and ideas provide us with a quick and timely burst of wisdom to get our focus back, offering the inspiration needed for the day or occasion.
I hope to inspire you with my words.
Words have power.
At any age, you can (and should) make changes to make your life better.
You see, the way you think and feel about yourself, including your beliefs and expectations about what is possible for you, determine everything that happens in your life. It all derives from your quality of thinking.
When you improve the quality of your thinking, you change the quality of your life—sometimes instantly!
Just as positive words can make someone smile, and/or, a well-timed amusing quote can make someone laugh, your own thoughts react to the world in real-time. You have this control! In fact, you have complete control over only one thing in the universe — your thinking — and that’s where motivational quotes come in!
To keep your motivation, you have to use each day as an opportunity for improvement, to be better, to get a little bit closer to your goals. It might sound like a lot of work—and with your busy schedule—next to impossible. But you can do it!
Self-talk is so important—THINK RIGHT!
Motivational words, yes, they’re just words.
But they’re positive words; they will keep you on track.
I hope the words I pick do help you.
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BE INSPIRED BY THESE WORDS>>
From my book series, Beyond Your Potential
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PART SIX – RETURN TO MY WORLD
“Sometimes, one small shift in your forward
momentum and your entire life can change
in enormous and unusual ways toward
reaching beyond your potential.”
Kit Summers
Recovery time, back to life – juggling, performing, women, living alone, and earning an income—so much to think about. My path was forming so down the lane I went.
Back to Performing
It just so happened that exactly one year after my accident it was a Sunday. Previously, when I performed street shows in Balboa Park, which is in San Diego, the best day to perform was Sunday. It was like it was meant to be – I had to get out there and perform one year after my accident. My ambitious goal was set. It wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t by chance. Believing in more than coincidence is a method that others can use to climb out of the dark labyrinth of tragedy, whatever the tragedy might be.
Believe it
As I struggled to regain my former skills, I made progress only because I kept believing that I was going to do this show exactly on the one-year anniversary of my accident. I knew in my heart that I could and I would. I broke my ambitious goal into smaller steps and set due dates for each task that I needed to complete to make my goal by the anniversary date. Step by step I was able to fulfill my schedule of goals and on Sunday, April 3, 1983, exactly one year after my accident, I performed once again in San Diego’s Balboa Park.
Live it
To get in the right mindset for the in Balboa Park show, every day I told my brain that it was possible, and nothing would get in my way. Because I had such a powerful target to aim towards, my subconscious mind went to work for me and helped me to work toward achieving my goal. The first step in the direction of any goal is to see the end in your mind and know that it is possible for you to reach that conclusion. Remember to remove the limits and let yourself soar.
Break it Down
When I thought of my goal to perform in the park, I was still having trouble walking, so the goal seemed mighty large to me. I had to break things into smaller segments and work toward each one. For any goal that is necessary, break it down into smaller, achievable bits. I began by telling my idea to a friend who used to perform with me years before, Randy Foster. He was enthusiastic about my idea. Bolstered by his support, I sat down and worked out a show based on the skill level that I had regained at that point. Generous pre-show publicity from the local media brought many people to witness my comeback to juggling.
A Let Down For Me?
A large audience attended my anniversary show and it went well. At the end of the show, torches were passed around a volunteer from the crowd. It was hard for me to be happy though because my juggling ability failed to match my expertise before the accident. I couldn’t stop comparing my present skill level to my previous world record setting level of juggling. Despite the disappointment at my reduced expertise, I felt remarkably good about having done the show. I could tell that people were sincerely happy to see me out there again.
The Celebration Party
That night I had a party at my house. It was a – we’re-glad-we’re-all-alive party – a fitting name for the celebration. I had a fantastic time that day. In a sense, I was born again. Born, ironically, not to something new, nor to some exotic faith, but to a part of what I once was. For me, that was a rebirth as miraculous as any I could realistically conceive.
Learning Twice
Maybe you think this is too lofty a view toward learning to juggle, but take it from one who knows – it is not. I should know, after all, I am one of the few people in the world who learned to juggle . . . TWICE!
Other Skills
I was a good runner before the accident. When I got back to running after the accident, I would run for a little bit, then walk for a while, then run again. At first I needed to run and walk until my endurance and strength were built up. I kept it up though, and there were times when I walked when I really didn’t need to, I just thought I did. As we all know, it is much easier to walk than run. It was when I pushed myself beyond my wanting to walk that I saw progress.
Push Yourself Forward
Life’s the same way. You can either walk through life and let things happen, or you can push yourself to run through and get the most out of it. I’m not saying to go quickly through life, but to push yourself to be all that you can be. Push past that point where you don’t think you can push anymore and you will be surprised at what you can achieve.
Back on the Cycle
Five months after my injury, my friend Dave Held helped me to ride a bicycle. He held the bike steady for me as I climbed on. Although I wobbled, I was miraculously able to balance the bike! The joy I felt must have rivaled that of any five-year-old as he learned to ride for the first time. I met another goal! Next, I decided to tackle the unicycle. I started by riding in the hallway of my house using the walls to steady myself. In a day, I was able to ride the unicycle once again. Another goal was achieved. I guess it’s true when they say, “Once you learn to ride a unicycle, you never forget.”
Back to the Hospital
About eight months after my accident, I had a chance to fly to Atlantic City, New Jersey to see some old friends. It was a nice trip. While I was in the area, I decided to visit the hospital rehab center I had been in after the accident. Strangely, I didn’t remember much of the scenery in the hospital – the halls, the pictures, the furniture. None of it seemed familiar. I did remember the voices of three of the nurses that worked there. I began talking to them about some of the progress I had been making since my discharge. They couldn’t believe that only a few months before, I was only able to use a wheelchair in the hall of the hospital and now I was riding a unicycle down the hallway. Yes, I was showing off, but when you push yourself toward something like that it is immensely beneficial mentally.
Back to Riding
After my Atlantic City trip, I was going to Sharp Hospital in San Diego to continue my rehabilitation. I wasn’t able to drive yet, and sometimes I rode my bicycle for the twenty-mile roundtrip. I have to admit, when I first thought about taking that long bike ride, I was a little nervous, but I knew the route well and had a ton of experience on a bike prior to the accident. Getting back on the bike helped to build up my strength, and it also helped to develop my coordination. What to others might have seemed a hardship was for me another goal. My therapists couldn’t believe it. We have to always keep challenging and pushing ourselves to higher levels.
Back to Driving
Next came driving. I have always felt very comfortable behind the wheel of a car, and I was determined that that was not going to change. A few months after my accident and with the help of some friends and family, I attended the International Jugglers Association Convention in Santa Barbara, California. I had to use a wheelchair to get around during that convention. The following year, the convention was being held in New York and I made it my next goal – to drive from my home in San Diego to the Convention in New York. The drive went smoothly, and I saw many friends. At the convention, I performed on stage and even rode my unicycle. From four wheels the year before (the wheelchair) to one wheel this year (the unicycle.) Once again, I experienced the joy of setting and attaining another goal.
Forward Thrust
Coming back from any life change needs a plan. You must drive forward and push yourself and your life to an achievable point. Things will get bad sometimes, but you will get better and better. Keep pushing forward and do the best that you can.
At any age, you can make the change and aim your life anew.
Now, it’s time to get out there and do
something incredible that you can rejoice in!
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MY DAILY JOTTINGS >>
8/14—In working on the kitchen floor I wanted to include a red-colored line on the molding that went around each doorway. I knew that if I had used paint I would have to tape off both sides and carefully paint.
Then I thought of buying some red electrical tape and using that for the highlight lines. From the photo you can see how the kitchen turned out, we are quite happy with it. So, remember, when you need a line, rather than paint it, you can use colored tape.
Seems that most homes are painted with a certain color and the molding in the gloss of the same color—which is really quite boring. Get inventive, get creative. You can make a home of magnificence!
8/15—Went to Hamilton Branch State Park, which is close to where we live. There are local parks near you, I would think. Have you checked on that? Here is about this lovely park >>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mp5CIenDnL4
8/16-19—Not much has happened this week. Did much work on Beth’s home. The skills I am applying to the work on Beth’s home can be garnered through YouTube and/or the internet. As I have said before, “If someone else can do it, so can you, you just have to find the way”.
8/20—Leaving today to visit North Carolina, I’ve heard good things about the state. We are on our way to see Beth’s mom and sisters who abide there. First time meeting this, hope they like me, and, more important, I hope you like me.
I would l0ve to hear from you!
Either through Facebook or email – kitsummers@gmail.com
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MY CHALLENGE FOR YOU THIS WEEK >>
This week, flowers are the thing. Buy a nice bouquet just for yourself, enjoy the look and the smell this week. You are that important, remember that.
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NEXT BLOG >>
Going to see Beth’s mom and sisters in Randleman, North Carolina. You will hear about our visit in the next blog.
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THIS WEEK MAKE YOUR LIFE
SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN WRITE ABOUT!
