IF LIFE IS A GAME… THESE ARE THE STORIES True Stories by Real People Around the World About Being Human This book is dedicated to all people throughout the world who believe it is possible to live together in peace on this planet. Respect is the key that can help us transcend our differences and live in harmony. As we hold the vision, believe in the dream, and walk our talk, we will eventually evolve into peaceful people. It may take time, but it is possible, and we can never give up hope! CONTENTS Acknowledgements RULE ONE: YOU WILL RECEIVE A BODY When There Is a Will…There Is Always Some Way by Marilyn August (France) Learning to Fly by Janine Sheperd (Australia) A Letter for My Daughter by J. Nozipo Maraire (Zimbabwe) The Ultimate Gift by Bernard Lernout (Belgium) Mahaba by Keith Fleshman, M.D. (Ethiopia) Mr. Vijay Goel by Shubhra Agrawal (India) Facundo‘s Miracle by Pamela Daugavietis (Argentina) Nobuko by Lois Logan Horn (Japan) And the Beach Goes On by Tom Aspel (Israel) RULE TWO: YOU WILL BE PRESENTED WITH LESSONS Global Village by Donella Meadows and David Taub (Whole World) Human Family by Maya Angelou (United States) Going the Extra Mile by Bob Steevensz (The Netherlands) There Are No Bad Days by David Irvine (Canada) Transcending Fear by Elizabeth Zamerul Ally (Brazil) A Little Boy Who Inspired a Dream by Nkosi‘s Haven (South Africa) RULE THREE: THERE ARE NO MISTAKES, ONLY LESSONS There Are No Accidents by Nupur Sen (Pakistan) Values Passed On by Razzan Zahra (Syria) Alien Soldier by Gunter David (United States) Stop and Listen by Martha L. Name (United States) The Story of Emily by Reverend Michelle Woodhouse (United Kingdom) The Doorman by Jean Brody (France) Against All Odds by Mollie Ahlstrand (Ethiopia) RULE FOUR: A LESSON IS REPEATED UNTIL LEARNED You Don‘t Need Words by Phillis E. Johnson (Serbia) The Eleventh of August by Dr. William T. Moore (United States) Horses as Healers by Jack Lovick (Australia) Romanian Rainbow by Michelle Constanescu (Romania) The Power of Prayer by Giselle Tonee (Australia) No Future without Forgiveness by Desmond Tutu (South Africa) RULE FIVE: LEARNING DOES NOT END Boat Ride to Health by Diane Gloria Alegre-Pestano (Philippines) Seize the Moment by Joanna Slan (France) Alive and Well by Luis Alberto Py (Brazil) A Mother‘s Love by Eri Adrian (Indonesia) Awakening by Blair P. Grubb, M.D. (Germany) Preserving Human Dignity by Ichak Adizes (Albania) RULE SIX: THERE IS NO BETTER THAN HERE The Difference Between Rich and Poor by Jan Toncar (Czech Republic) I Choose to Stay Behind by Jane C. Willhite (Russia and United States) It‘s All in Your Attitude by Amisha Kanoria (India) Plates of Love by Lilia Reyes Spindola (Mexico) Thief in the Mosque by Abdulhussain M. Tejani (Tanzania) RULE SEVEN: OTHERS ARE ONLY MIRRORS OF YOU Awful Neighbors by Astrid Stahlberg (Sweden) Trust by Linda Coverdale (Jamaica) An About-Face by Lee Hill-Nelson (United States) Trust Thy Neighbor by Charles Kastner (Seychelles) Beyond Words by Francesco Garripoli (China) RULE EIGHT: WHAT YOU MAKE OF YOUR LIFE IS UP TO YOU Seeds of Solidarity by Maria Tereza Maldonado (Brazil) Lettuce in Cairo by Christine Wotowiec (Egypt) It‘s Never Too Late by Gabrielle Haubner (Austria/United Kingdom) My First Apple Tree by Anne Colledge (United Kingdom) Tea Time by Errol Broome (Australia) No Limits by Rob Reynolds (Lithuania) RULE NINE: ALL YOUR ANSWERS LIE INSIDE OF YOU Listen to Inner Messages by Sibylle Alexander (Germany) Teddy Bears by Jan Burnes (Romania/Australia) When the Time Is Right by Meguido Zola (Kenya) The Brownstone by Barbara A. Davey (Ireland) Candy from Heaven by Melanie Stunkel (Germany) Dreams Do Come True by Peter Kayser (Switzerland) The Festival by Mark Dias (Nicaragua) RULE TEN: YOU WILL FORGET ALL OF THIS AT BIRTH We Are a Nation of… by Franklin D. Roosevelt (United States) Return of the Brother by Sibylle Alexander (Ireland) Birth in Any Language by Joyce Denton (Nepal) Adoption Crosses All Borders by Heather Black (Vietnam) One World, One Heart by Susan Polis Schutz (United States) For Those in Search of Meaning by Cherie Carter-Scott, Ph.D. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The contributors to this book have waited patiently, believed in the process, and been willing to support it through the twists and turns in the road. They really get the credit for trusting me with their precious stories and sharing them with the world. I also wish to thank: Elizabeth Pomada and Mike Larsen, my agents who believe in and love this book. Jean Lucas, my editor, who sees the vision and values the mission. Courtney Moilanen for all her marketing efforts. To Jack Canfield, Patty Aubery, and the entire Chicken Soup for the Soul family, who started me on the journey of this book ten years ago. Lynn Stewart, my sister and business partner for thirty years who continues to be the ―wind beneath my wings.‖ Her support is unsurpassed. Michael Pomije, my beloved soul mate and partner who supports my visions, dreams, and goals every day of his life. Jennifer Carter-Scott, my daughter, who has believed in and supported this dream becoming reality. All of those who have dedicated their time, efforts, and energy to this project, including: Leah Nichols, Rachel Goldberg, Danielle Aberle, Ueli and Trix Egger, Jilian Dowling, Connie Fueyo, Elizabeth Keedy, Katrina Goddard, Renee Noel, John Sheehan, Hedy Tillmans, Roy Martina, Patricia Martina, Norisca Rodriguez, and Barbara Del Monico. And finally, Leah Simpson, who relentlessly supported the completion of this book above and beyond the call of duty. RULE ONE 1 YOU WILL RECEIVE A BODY You may love it or hate it, but it will be yours for the duration of your life on Earth. Life has its challenges – for each of us. They say you never get more tests than you can handle; however, each one of us has a different tolerance for stress. It takes incredible willpower to make the seemingly impossible happen when your options are extremely limited. WHERE THERE IS A WILL… THERE IS ALWAYS SOME WAY France To achieve great things we must live as if we were never going to die. Vauvenargues Jean-Dominique Bauby lived with his wife, Sylvie, his eleven-year-old son, Theophile, and his nine-year-old daughter Celeste, in a suburb of Paris. As the chief editor of Elle magazine, his life was demanding. Between his family, his job, his travels, his hobbies, and his sports, he barely had time to fit everything in. On a gray December day in 1995, Bauby was driving on an icy freeway when, without any warning, he suffered a massive stroke. He managed to stop his car and send Theophile for help before he collapsed in the backseat. Three weeks passed before he regained consciousness from his coma. Upon awakening, he found himself drastically different from the healthy, robust man who had been driving his car to Paris. The stroke had severely impacted him; he was unable to speak or move – his entire body was paralyzed. He noticed that he could control only the movement of his left eyelid. Fortunately, his brain and his memory were intact and functioning perfectly. Determined to find a way to communicate, Bauby set out to write an entire book by dictating with his left eyelid. Le Scaphandre et le Papillon (The Diving Suit and the Butterfly), is a poetic and imaginative voyage through the mind of a man whose thoughts are trapped in a paralyzed body. He wrote, ―When the diving suit becomes less oppressive, the mind can flit about like a butterfly.‖ Bauby met with Claude Mendible for three-hour daily sessions in his hospital room as he blinked out his text, letter by letter, using a special alphabet designed for the blinking of one solitary eyelid. The 137-page text is the result of over 200,000 blinks. His keen literary mind turned him into a cosmic traveler, whirling through time and space. While nurses and aides exercised his inert limbs, childhood memories, fiction, and unfulfilled fantasies danced in his head. His legacy he leaves us with is: Nothing is impossible. Marilyn August Santa Barbara News-Press March 11, 1997 It is wonderful to have dreams and goals, yet things don’t always turn out as we had wished. The best-laid plans, the best formed goals, and the best-fashioned dreams are sometimes dashed by circumstances beyond our control. Perhaps there is a purpose for everything…even overcoming unfulfilled expectations. How does one deal with shattered dreams? What do you do when you cannot control what has happened? One thing we can control is our attitude. When tragedy, failure, and setbacks occur, we have the option of turning those liabilities into incomparable assets. Janine Sheperd’s story shows how she took a devastating tragedy and turned it into a triumph. LEARNING TO FLY Australia I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do something I can do. Helen Keller Janine Shepherd has long pursued uncommon dreams. While her hometown of Sydney is a place of surf and sun, Janine found her passion on snow. A champion athlete, she was determined to win her country‘s first medal in the unlikely sport of cross skiing. She said that she ―wanted to show the world that an Aussie could ski, could be the best at winter sports.‖ But that unusual dream ended during a training bike ride in 1986. Janine‘s bicycle was hit by a truck.