Some of you might have heard of Professor Randy Pausch’s story and his last lecture at Carnegie Mellon University last September. Randy Pausch passed away on July 25th, 2008, but the ripple effects of his lecture, his book “The Last Lecture”, his story will most probably continue to touch many lives.
I am not here to tell about his life, just how he used these circumstances to create a more positive outcome for others and especially for his kids. I am moved by this courageous man.
Randy Pausch, when he learned that he had pancreatic cancer gave a final speech at the university he was working in, Carnegie Mellon University in the US. And he also wrote a book with the aid of Jeffrey Zaslow and managed to complete and publish it before he passed away. His book became a best seller and it has been available in Turkish for about a few months.
One of my teachers, Moshe Abudaram had shown me the record of the lecture at Carnegie Mellon months ago. The title of his lecture was “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams“. Then I watched him on the Oprah Show when he gave an abridged version of his speech. He used the time he had to share and to tell what was closest to his heart. And he made a difference.
…Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams…
Are we aware that once we really did have dreams?
Do we remember how it felt to be a kid?
How would it feel to be like a kid?
Do we allow ourselves to dream?
What do we allow ourselves to think of?
To imagine?
To want?
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When I was a kid, there were a few things that I really wanted. I wanted to write and I wanted to dance. I have been writing since I was 13 or 14. I used to write for our Turkish and English newspapers and magazines when I was in high school. I wrote a lot of poems over the years. And since 2006 I have been writing for a couple of national magazines in Turkey, and of course for the Land of Lights newspaper for the last few years.
I just love writing. Today is a wonderful sunny summer Sunday in Istanbul. As I am writing today, I look out the window and it is wonderful to watch the sea, shining, and the boats that are going up and down the Bosphorous. Yet, I choose to stay, to stay inside and to write. To share what really excites me and what I believe will make or can make your life better.
What really makes me stay inside and on my own in front of the computer?
As for dancing, I never got the chance to learn or even to find much the time to dance. As a kid I remember that I would put a tape that I loved and dance. I would look for times when there was no one home, so that I could do this more freely. When I was at Cornell University, I remember that Friday and Saturday nights, there would be parties and there would be real dancing. I remember that we would dance till the early hours of the morning. It was such a wonderful feeling.
The last such experience I had was in a training called “The Butterfly Effect.” Our trainers Adi, Adir and Yair had created a wonderful atmosphere where all participants had free space to express their feeling with their bodies in the form of a dance. The music kept changing, and so did the dances. There was such joy, freedom and happiness that we all felt and shared.
Since then when I feel like it, I put on a CD that I like, or I turn the radio to a station that I like and I dance. And I each time I feel born anew…
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This is one of the weeks that I believe less is more, and I would like to request one thing from you:
To remember your childhood dreams and to see what you can do to get a taste of what you really wanted then.
Could you give it a try?
…
Wish you lots of love and luck.
Zeynep
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Angel of the Week: Power
Affirmation of the Week:“Our soul gives us power to accomplish more that we can imagine.”
From The Kabbalah Centre
Quote of the Week:“I welcome all creatures of the world with grace.”
Hildegard of Bingen
Zeynep’s Book Recommendation of the Week:
“The Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch
This book is available in Turkish under the title: “Son Konuşma”.
