Carnival of Courage #12

Welcome to the Issue #12 of the Carnival of Courage: A Cavalcade of Superheroes!

Greetings, All!

As you read this, I will be getting ready to go visit the little peewees in this picture so it is only fitting that today we will feature several posts related to courage and children. You do all call each other to decide your own theme for every carnival, I am convinced of it.

I plan to annhilate my nephew in a fierce game of lazer tag (No, he gets no sympathy for being 11, certainly not now that he is starting the eye-roll attitude thing with his mom...oh, it's worth the air fare just to see that live!)  Of course, his sister may get a helping hand from me because we're girls and that's how girls are supposed to do things, she tells me.  Who am I to argue? 

So without further ado...

Out of the Mouths of Babes, and the Books They Read...

“Pooh, Promise me you’ll always remember: You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”
-Christopher Robin

Scott Davis leads us off with “How Winnie the Pooh Taught Me Courage” at Finding Your Marbles

Trinity fell into a campfire and got third degree burns. Luckily, they only cover her arm and hand. Her arm is pink now, but it's okay, because she says pink is still her favorite color. Jewel Ciappio presents Courage Carnival posted at Pink is Still Her Favorite Color. While the post will end up shooting you back over here, it's a fine place to enter this blog and follow Trinity's story so surf around over there.

We've got two posts from Megan Bayliss. While I generally have a one post rule but there was absolutely

no way I could leave one of these out. Georgie Girl. An Interview with a Young Woman Meeting her Mother After Georgie Has Grown Up In Out of Home Care and Kidnapping. Saying "NO," is Child Protection.  are both posted at Child protection: serious business.

The Courage to be a Friend

Now this is what I'm talking about. For those of you wondering what to do with your 7000 MySpace friends, how about finding the one you would want to sit at your bedside when you have just six hours left to live?  Thanks, Craig, for this post and it's wonderful perspective on what really matters.  And for those of you who have yet to read The Little Prince, what, pray tell, are you waiting for?  Craig Harper presents What Really Matters.... posted at Renovate your life with Craig.  Says Craig, "My first employee was a young trainer named Matt. He was nineteen, good looking, built like superman and had the personality and the charisma to match. He was cheeky and very lovable. He was like the younger brother I never had (I'm an only child). One day I was at work and the phone rang..."

Sometimes sympathy is not what you need (Oh I feel so bad for you). Nor is empathy (Oh, I feel so bad with you, I feel your pain). Sometimes you need someone to kick you in the butt when no one else will have the courage to do so. Tough love can be life saving. Dr. Hal deepens the discussion of Steve Rom's battle with leukemia with Rod Payne's strong coaching support in North Star Mental Fitness Blog: Accountability versus Empathy posted at North Star Mental Fitness Blog.

Sometimes it takes courage to ask for help but often people will amaze you with their love. Karen Lynch presents Open Up to the Love of the Universe posted at LivethePower.

Thoughts on Service and Self-Care

What do you do with your life when you grow up with six older brothers? You start a school in Tanzania for the poorest of the poor! You raise funds and you build, build, build. Starting with 3 students in 2002, the school now has 870 and it is still growing. The courage, commitment and talents of Gemma Sisia, a young Australian woman, are the reason for its success. Check out a success story from Africa. Gillian presents School of St Jude: School founder posted at School of St Jude.

Sometimes it takes courage to walk away. This is a huge issue for helping professionals of all sorts.  How do you balance your needs, your family's need and those of your patients and their families? TherapyDoc presents The Living and the Dying posted at Everyone Needs Therapy.

Healthy Lifestyles as Acts of Courage

It takes courage to be different and not eat the processed and fast foods that are such a large part of current society. JoLynn Braley presents It Takes Courage To Go Against The Norm posted at The Fit Shack.

The Courage to be Honest with Yourself, O Naked Emperor...

Alan presents Made to Be Great » Blog Archive » The Worst Boss Ever - Sound familiar? - Keys to Unlock your Inner Potential posted at Made to Be Great.

Defining Courage

Gary van Warmerdam, who presented an interesting article last carnival on courage as he learned it from a marine staff sergeant elaborates further on the relationship of courage and fear in Real Courage posted at Happiness.

On The Courage to Pursue Your Passions

When you discover your passions, it'll transform your fear into boldness and action. I had to smile at this post. How many times do we do similar things, settling for nothing less than THE horse, only to find we don't yet know how to ride.  Can I get a witness? GP presents Passion of Horse Sense posted at Fish Creek House - INNside Innkeeping.

The Courage to Speak an Unpopular Opinion

Are conspiracy theorists kind of crazy or are they on to something? I will admit that I had a little hesitation in including this post because I tend to be biased on the side of conspiracy theorists being a little close to the edge, but why is that? Do I trust the government? Hell no!  Do I think our current administration is capable of horrendous clandestine acts while being cocky as hell and rubbing our noses in their seeming untouchability every single day?  God yes.  So, why the inner cringe when someone goes deeply into a search for truth and starts to wonder about the odd untimely death or two?  I'm still mulling over where that line is for me where I want to discount and turn away and I invite you to as well. Paul E. Coughlin presents SaneThinking.com "Inspiring Courage in Others" posted at Paul E. Coughlin at SaneThinking.com. Paul states, "This is an actual call to be courageous and to do just a little work for yourself and not rely on the "News" outlets. If this article is true then it is the most shocking thing to realise. I assert it is true but decide for yourself and don't just take my word for it."

Public Service Announcement

IMing for charity? Not sure why this got submitted to this carnival but the idea was so intriguing that I thought I'd pass it on. Microsoft Live Messenger has a new function to help people. Zechary elaborates in Chat to help people posted at Zechary White.

That concludes this issue. Thanks again to all who submitted!

Ready to join us?

Next carnival is due out on 4/3/07.You are welcome to submit any courage related post you like, whether it's your own act of bravery, big or small or that of someone who has inspired you. Share your tales from the trenches as you wrestle with those things that are stretching and challenging you.

SUBMIT TO THIS CARNIVAL by April 1st. No foolin'. (Ha! See what I did there? Yeah, I've still got it.)

Because I am so awesome: I know several of my readers do not have blogs but do have stories to share. If you feel inspired to share, please e-mail me your spell-checked and well-written submission for me to consider posting on your behalf. I want to give everyone a chance to participate but I'm a one-woman show here so pieces that require heavy editing will be returned to you for fixing.

For more on me, visit Wellspring Coaching.

Comments

[Megan Bayliss]

It is great to have all courage related articles in one space. Thank you so much for all the work you've put in. I'll work my way through all the posts over the weekend.
Megan from Australia

[JoLynn]

Hi Laura,

Thanks for including me in your carnival. Hope the laser tag was fun (I love laser tag)! :)

JoLynn