The Dragon Slayer's Guide to Life

What Ever Happened to the Carnival of Courage Mascots? They're Wanted...WAAANTED

It's true. After I stopped the Carnival, they went on the lamb and were last seen running with Bon Jovi. With the Weilands on my mind, I was just thinking about brothers and sisters and ended up watching my little peewee niece and nephew on a video I took a while back. Yes, they ARE huge American Idol fans as you can tell. I just wanted to pop this up here for you guys because it always makes me smile, especially as little sis gets whipped into a frenzy toward the end. (Think she idolizes her big brother?) It might just be an auntie thing, but between writing about death and grief and all things dragony I thought it would be nice to just rock out a little. Sorry for the panning. I tried to catch their dad who was rocking out with them earlier but he wouldn't play along once the camera got going. Enjoy!

The Carnival of Courage Swan Song: Medical and Disability Issue

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

Greetings, All!

Yes, we all knew it would happen.  I've been threatening to end this carnival for a while now and I just can't take the spam anymore and the complete disregard that most bloggers were showing for the guidelines for the carnival.  So, no, I won't grace you with link exchanges anymore, but thanks for asking.

However, I did get three folks coming in under the wire that I do want to turn you on to. If I had been getting enough of these posts all along, I would have kept this puppy going, but each month there is more of a link feeding frenzy that has soured me on the whole experience.  I remain commited to finding good bloggers out there so don't lose heart. While I go a searchin' please check these folks out...

First up, please meet neoauteur who presents A Healing of the Heart posted at n E o A u T e U r. I had to keep reminding myself that no, I was not reading the biography of St. Clare, but then again...

And a fave of mine from last month, Stephen Hopson returns with a worthy two-fer: Adversity University: Part I - Trust that Bigger Things are in Store for You--The Beach posted at Adversity University. Stephen Hopson presents Adversity University: Have Courage to Be Upfront--New Car Loan posted at Adversity University.

And last, but certainly not least, please do go and check out Craig Phillips at Second Chance to Live.   His story is quite remarkable, as are all of these but this one particularly touches my heart as it harkens back to my days working as a psychotherapist in a rehabilitation hospital.  During my training in grad school and my clinical internship I did work with several brain injured clients and my husband Scott still does, so the issues Craig speaks on are very relevant . In addition, he has the VERY unique vantage point of being a head injury survivor AND a master's level rehabilitation counselor.  In fact, Craig has inspired me to start a separate blog roll for those of you who are looking for disability resources so you can always find him through that link once this post is archived. A good entry point to learn more about Craig is this post.

And now, let us bow our heads and bid our little Superhero mascots adieu...

Carnival of Courage, August'07 Issue

Welcome to the August '07 Carnival of Courage: A Cavalcade of Superheroes!

Greetings, All!

Great issue for you today!  Let's just get right to it, shall we?

What Is Easy, What Is Not

If you are in a hurry and can only read one post, please head here and just print this puppy off and post it somewhere you can see every day.  It's a bit different than the posts I usually accept but it's just so, so true. Easy to read it, so many opportunities to live it passing by...Christine Kane presents What's Easy. What's Not. posted at Christine Kane's Blog.

Where the Lines Get Blurry

This is a first. How could someone who fought for Hitler be a personal hero? Ian Welsh presents a very compelling and thought provoking post entitled My Friend Peter at The Agonist.

One Small Act of Courage, Seemingly Insignificant...

This post wasn't submitted to me for the Carnival, but appeared in the Pursue the Passion blog. It's such a compelling and sobering story, I highly recommend it to you.  (And stay tuned for more on the Brett Farmiloe and his intrepid crew as they make their way across the country in their huge RV...they are scheduled to park that puppy in my driveway at the end of August)

Love This Guy

Okay, am I a bad Carnival mom if I pick favorites every month?  It's a rare thing for me to accept two posts from the same author but Stephen Hopson is so gutsy he just made me smile. Writes well, too.  Hope to see more of him over here as he sure does seem to fit right in here with dragon slaying.  Head on over to Adversity University: Three Words - REMEMBER who helped you along the way... and be sure to check out this next one, too, which is rockin' for those of you freaked out about job interviews. I would have LOVED to have been a fly on the wall for this one.  Adversity University: Trust in Being Brave - The Merrill Lynch Story both posted at Adversity University.

Waiting For the Clouds To Go

Carnival of Courage, July '07 Issue

Welcome to the July '07 Carnival of Courage: A Cavalcade of Superheroes!

Greetings, All!

This Carnival was on the chopping block with my ax raised this time when I received the first few submissions. They were truly awful, poorly written,off topic, link seeking, self-serving and...well you get the idea.  But I persisted in looking at everything sent just in case and, man oh man, there were some beautiful posts hidden in all the muck.  Do check these out, some will make you laugh, and some...well there be dragons there.  Let's just jump right in, shall we?

THIS Is Why I Am Doing This Carnival

I hate to say it but we can blame it on George Bush's endless conjuring up of 9/11 as some ace in the hole to justify every power play and shit storm he wants to stir up.  The result of that for me is that it numbed me to hearing references to it. Maybe even more than numbed me. It actually started to irritate and annoy me because it has become such a strategic political card.  And then I got this post.  The first line? I was at the World Trade Center when it fell. Penelope Trunk presents 9/11: Digging myself out of the debris posted at Brazen Careerist by Penelope Trunk. Thank you, Penelope, for making this a human event once again and reminding us that individual people who were living every day lives are still finding ways to do that very thing in the ongoing wake of this devastating event. And best of luck in your soon to be new home. Godspeed.

My Favorite Post

I absolutely loved this post.  Just grinned through the whole thing. Well written, charming and made me so glad I'm a woman. Anmol Mehta presents Today I Finally Passed the Test and Have Officially Become a Man posted at Mastery of Meditation, Enlightenment & Kundalini Yoga. Anmol says this post is about "How I finally passed my big test and hints to help you pass yours."  Good luck, gentlemen!

The Best Jobs

I enjoyed reading this for the simple reason that it reminded me of one of my favorite jobs: working in

Carnival of Courage June '07 Issue

Welcome to the June '07 Carnival of Courage: A Cavalcade of Superheroes!

Greetings, All!

Yes, It's been a while since I've put one of these up.  Truth is I got sick of so many inappropriate posts and have been debating ending the Carnival all together.  However, reading over the submissions from the last 6 weeks or so there were some that were just too inspirational and thought provoking not to pass on to you.  While I'm off being a world traveller, please go visit these folks. 

Lessons on life from those who have faced death

Patricia presents Make the Most of Every Moment: Lessons from the Terminal Illness That Wasn't posted at A Better You Blog. The story of how a young woman named Ginny inspired Patricia to make every moment count.

Very interesting submission here. A wife's perspective on her husband's desire to donate a kidney to a girl in their church. No small issue here.  Julee presents Kidney Donation - Our Journey Part One posted at Homeschool Daze.

Carnival of Courage #14

Welcome to the Issue #14 of the Carnival of Courage: A Cavalcade of Superheroes!

Greetings, All!

On the theme of less is more, I am going to keep my thoughts in these to a minimum.

This week, as an experiement, I'm going to present these to you just as they came through.  Travel through the kaleidoscope of this weeks presentation of courageous acts. I'm curious to hear your thoughts on how you are coming to understand the concept of courage as you see how others respond to the prompt. Any elaborations have been provided by the contributors themselves.

Enjoy!

Walks The Edge presents A Lesson in Compassion posted at The Growing Edge.

muse presents Very Public Cancers posted at me-ander.

J Bradley presents Rob 4/4/2007 posted at TAMPA TWO.

Take the first step in Faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” Martin Luther King It takes courage to let go of the anchors that hold you back. Karen Lynch presents The Pursuit posted at Live The Power.

Conan Stevens presents Overcoming Stage Fright posted at Worlds Biggest Action Hero?.

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

Ready to join us?

Next carnival is due out on 4/23/07.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 21st.

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.

Carnival of Courage #13

Welcome to the Issue #13 of the Carnival of Courage: A Cavalcade of Superheroes!

Greetings, All!

Happy Spring everyone.  We are celebrating here with a good old fashioned hail storm complete with thunder and frogs croaking their heads of in the marsh. I'm keeping an eye out for the Four Horsemen.  I'll let you know if I spot anything crazy. 

Smaller carnival today, but some of the submissions were very lengthy reads so you'll have plenty to sink your teeth into.  I'll let you get right to the reads here as it's a hopping day  at old Wellspring as I settle in after my trip to see the little peewees you see in the pic here.  Hate to tell you but that little girl there, now seven, beat all of us bowling.  Parents, brother and me.  PITIFUL.  Yes, she was using bumpers, but then again, so were we.  Like I said: pitiful. 

Okay, let's get to it, shall we?

Courageous Republicans?

Here a Bushie, there a Bushie, but not everywhere a Bushie Bushie.  Dick Cheney was informed that Chuck Hagel decided to put principle over party and vote for the resolution. On this day, Dick Cheney

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

Carnival of Courage #11

Welcome to the Issue #11 of the Carnival of Courage: A Cavalcade of Superheroes!

Greetings, All!

Success.  How we define it. How we dedicate ourselves to it.  How we relate to it once we achieve it.  How we accidentally toss it out the window when it doesn't arrive quickly enough.  These are the themes most of today's submissions centered on.  I can tell you, patience is not something I see many people learning to cultivate these days so I was pleased to see this theme emerge (do you all set this up behind my back or is this always just a coincidence??).

No entry from me, today, but those of you who read the last couple posts this week on our tax adventure can surely recognize that you don't get to be that calm in the face of a potential crisis without having done a LOT of work on yourself behind the scenes.  Do you have it in you to cultivate your character and to set the foundations for your success?  Will you dedicate yourself to developing yourself for the rest of your life?  What? You have something more important to do with the time??

Before we begin, though I want to put in a plug for a good cause sent by a contributor...

On the national Day To End Sexual Violence scheduled for April 5th, 2007, Marcella Chester will be coordinating a Blog Against Sexual Violence event. The goal is to get as many bloggers as possible to participate.  Read more at Blog Against Sexual Violence Day 5 April 2007 posted at Abyss2hope. This event is an opportunity for all bloggers to get into the trenches and help make the world a safer place by clearly communicating our opposition to sexual violence.

And a Carnival public service announcement for those wishing to submit in the future...

General personal development or coaching articles will not be accepted for this carnival. Well-written personal accounts of courage only, not just general motivation please.  Lots of slipping into gray areas with recent submissions, a couple of which I let slide today because I enjoyed reading them but no exceptions next time.  I can no longer spend time sending everyone e-mails explaining why I won't accept your submission if you don't respect the guidelines.  Thanks! 

And now, on with the show...

Success and the Successful

Walks The Edge brings up some excellent points on the way our feelings about success can hold us back and how achieving success can actually be disorienting if you have spent a life settling for less than you

Carnival of Courage #10

Welcome to the Issue #10 of the Carnival of Courage: A Cavalcade of Superheroes!

Greetings, All!

Oh how I love hosting this carnival. I love it I love it I love it.  I got some great submissions this week.  I let a couple sneak in that are riding the fine line between personal accounts and coaching but they were so nice and original and relevant to what a few of you are dealing with these days that it just wouldn't have been right to leave them out.

I won't add one of my own this week. I am DEEP in Artist's Way AND, mock me if you must, I'm even gaining considerable respect for David Allen (the client I work with collaboratively to implement this is benefitting immensely from the Getting Things Done system).  As a result, I'm asking myself the most basic and fundamental questions I can about EVERYTHING I am doing in my life, including this blog so I'm taking a break to make sure momentum doesn't carry me forward into anything that I am not crystal clear on my reasons for.  I am convinced that what I want to do next here is add audio so that is coming soon. 

I'll make one courageous step here now for you, though. I publicly and boldly announce that I realized I was in a mid-life crisis for the last two or three years.  No, I didn't start wearing mini-skirts or get a tattoo or take a lover twenty years my junior.  That kind of mid-life crisis is for those who are too chicken to do anything but self-medicate in a desperate attempt to convince themselves that they aren't scared shitless by the relentless falling sands of their remaining time through the hourglass.  I happened to be one of the medications of choice for a desperate mid-lifer or two back in the day so that kind of regression held absolutely zero appeal for me.  Besides, I ain't skeert o' no dark night of the soul.  But I had NO idea just how many layers and layers and layers of existential confusion, fear, self-doubt and unconsciousness plague us by the time we reach 40.  And I've been TRYING to be conscious! 

But huge ice berg sized weights have fallen off of me in that last month and I feel like I have woken up from a spell. A spell!  I have never felt happier.  Unbelievable freedom and joy.  Just unbelievable.  I'm done being death maiden and hitting you all over the head with your own mortality.  I mean, we'll talk about it, because we still have to face it but there was this line of ants in the desert on vacation...a line of ants, each carrying a lavendar flower...

You have to learn to watch ants.  EVERYONE is chopping wood and carrying water.  There is joy within your grasp every single day. EVERY day.  But I don't want to write about it, I want to talk to you about it. 

You want to know 'The Secret'?  The secret is knowing how to serve with joy and how to remember to say, "Thank you, but I don't need any more. I have enough.  I have more than enough."

I was asked years ago if I could teach people how to watch ants.  That was why I started my very first blog. 

I finally am ready to do that.  So don't go too far, I'll be back before long in a full technicolor array of joyful, grateful woman on the far side of one hell of an existential crisis.  Can't wait to share some lightness with you (in addition to some way cool podcast guest appearances).

In the meantime, I have some absolutely rocking Carnival submissions for you, any one of which will be a great nudge to keep moving.  We're all about consciousness, personal responsibility and integrity today...(I love how these all end up clustering.)

On with the show...

Holy Sh...!!!!

This one gets the prize for "Oh. My. God."  As if once wasn't bad enough...Karen Shanley presents an