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My Vision for Go Big!
On March 7, 2008 my life got turned upside down. I was unexpectedly diagnosed with a brain tumor which was so not on my to do list! Equally unexpectedly, I had neurosurgery on March 20 and the results of the biopsy indicated that the tumor was benign. Thank God! Along this journey, I have taken solace in the fact that this is a huge opportunity for us all.
I am a clinical psychology doctoral student at Vanderbilt University. For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to make a huge difference in the world. For a couple of days, I actually feared that I had wished this scary and chaotic experience on myself and my loved ones, but then I was reminded that "life prepares life" and it all started making a bit more sense.
In a whirlwind of pre-operative appointments, Dr. Kyle Weaver, my neurosurgeon, told me that I should "hold onto my blood" which was a huge blow to me as I try to be a regular blood donor. Without skipping a beat, however, my advisor, Dr. Bruce Compas, made me an offer to "pick up the slack" which I believe was the impetus for this whole GO BIG challenge as it struck me then that perhaps we can all be doing just a little more.
As a person who hopes to make a profession and a life of helping children and families, I'm committed to helping others in the best way I know how. Consistently, I work with parents and children teaching them to praise the good and ignore the bad. Not my idea, but it is a behavioral principle that works. Now, don't get me wrong--I'm not blind to the evil in this world. In fact, I'm struck by our culture's fascination with drama, hurt, despair, and scandal. It absolutely blows my mind that these negatives suck so much of our attention that we can relatively easily forget all of the 1000's acts of kindness that are going on right this very minute.
My hope is that this website can be a central location for all of us to capture all of the really awesome things that we are already doing and that we can all be inspired by each other's goodness. It's not an original or courageous idea (although some have called it that), it is just an opportunity to do something that I've always wanted to do. And, I'll bet that if I'm anything like you, I'm just doing the best that I can in this moment. Sometimes that means that I offend people. We are all imperfectly perfect and I know that that is where the true beauty lies.
There are no absolute rules because I couldn't possibly predict the creative and imaginative ways that we can each help one another. Well, that's a lie. There is really just one rule: do what you feel in your heart! Try not to feel like what you do doesn't matter. It does! If you don't believe me, read the postings for yourself and see what you think. To somebody in that moment, you will have made a difference and for that I am eternally grateful.
So if you feel it in your heart or your head or whatever pushes you to act, try to do something. Nothing is too small and nothing is too big. Just put one foot in front of the other, and if you wish, take a risk.
Overwhelmed with a sea of emotions and an outpouring of support from our community, Austin, the love of my life, and I have felt so very blessed. I believe that there is always meaning out there in this precious world of ours, sometimes you just have to squint to find it. This past several weeks has been a truly rock ride and my guess is that life always will be. So, step aboard if you are up for the challenge and let's see how far we can get this good to spread.
With great gratitude,
10 comments:
Jenni,
What a great week you had last week.
I am realllllly happy for you.
Not being the kindest person in the world, helping others randomly is a new experience for me. I am amazed at how many opportunities there are to be nice and help others when you are looking for them.
Thanks for the gift.
Tom N
Jenni,
I feel like I now know you on a personal level through Kristen's many kind remarks she has had to say about you. Now that I am back in the swing of things here in Nashville, I am already more in the spirit of kindness. I was extremely happy about the good news you received last week!
My prayers are still with you,
Latif
Happy Spring, Jenni! Even though my kind acts have tended toward the small scale, I've noticed that looking for opportunities to be kind has increased the connection I feel to my (relatively) new community. Thank you for your challenge :)
I hope you're feeling more like yourself every day!
Kari B.
At my last appointment I noticed that my doctor’s office lacks reading material that doesn’t involve “procedures” and “how to prevent the flu”. So on my way to another appointment in the same building this morning, I dropped off a stack of gently read recent magazines to share with patients in the waiting room.
In the last session with one of my clients, he'd mentioned that he would be celebrating his birthday before I saw him next. So yesterday, I went to Harris Teeter and bought him the yummiest-looking cupcake I could find and gave it to him in our session. He was really surprised that I'd remembered and actually gotten him something.
My act of kindness for the weekend happened at the airport on Sunday when I was exiting one of the bathroom stalls and noticed a woman struggling to push her wheelchair into the stall with her. I offered to watch her chair while she used the restroom so nothing would happen to it. She was very grateful. Before GO BIG, I might have walked past without even thinking about how I could be of help.
I love you, J!
K
Jenni, I'm still enjoying the great news about the biopsy! I know I've been absent from the Go Big site lately, but I certainly have been trying to spread a little kindness everyday. Thanks to you for making me realize how important these acts can be. For my act today, I squeezed in a client today so that he wouldn't have to come tomorrow in the rain (he's homeless and tries not to be outside in the rain). Normally, I would worry about boundaries, but I knew this client could use the little extra kindness!
Today while in the office, when one very tiring client requested the same information for the 15th time....I took a slow breath and gave him the information he was looking for. This was truely a great test of my patience, and one small act of kindness.
Tar
Jenni,
My somewhat unconventional post is a practice in awareness. This morning, as I was running late to school and still getting over my cold, this young man was crossing Belmont. No one was coming in the opposite direction (the only direction he was looking) so he came out into the middle of the street and then looked angrily at me and motioned me to slow down (I was going 10 under)...as I drove by and did not stop I thought "that could have been a go big Jenni moment" so rather than get mad, I resolved to be kinder next time. Oh and I've noticed the kindness of several friends who have been so helpful over the past couple of days as I've been sick at home--Sarah even took Rylie for the day! Never been happier to have my dog kidnapped :)
Today I overcame my unease with needles and gave blood. Keep on inspiring!
Hallelujah! Yay Jenni! We've had friends around the world sending you their love and positive energy. It makes me appreciate all the goodness people can do. Thinking of you all the time!
XOXO,
Bek
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