Whenever I receive an Uma update, I feel a multitude of emotions. I feel gratitude for my own lot in life, inspired by the indomitable human spirit, and mostly, I feel an overwhelming desire to take action to help in some way. So even though most of you have no idea who Uma is, I am going to cut and paste the email I received so that maybe together we can change the world by impacting one life. Peace and Blessings to you all - Ilene
Dear friends and family,
It's been a really long time since I've sent out an Uma update. But this is an important one. She's about to start an intense neurological rehabilitation program and I'm hoping to help raise funds to help pay for the program. Many of you know Uma well, but for those of you who are new friends and don't know Uma's story of survival, here's a quick Reader's Digest version:
Back in 2007, while she was in New York visiting her fiancé John, a musician who was in NYC on tour, Uma suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm. She was only 27-years-old. Uma was in a coma for several weeks, during which time she had a stroke. Her doctors told us she would probably die (they gave her a “20 percent chance of living” on two separate occasions). But Uma’s a fighter. She woke up from the coma with aphasia (she was unable to speak, read, or write) and with restricted movement on the right side of her body.
Thanks to the incredible generosity of friends and family and strangers, we were able to rent an air ambulance to fly Uma out to an in-patient therapy center in California, where she started learning how to walk and talk again, with the help of John, who’s always been by her side. They got married on July 14, 2008, in a beautiful ceremony in Eagle Rock, California.
For the last four years, Uma's full time job has been therapy. To get better. And the truth is: she has...to a degree. I've watched her improve in slow increments, but there are still huge neurological deficits that prevent her from being able to read, and write, and most importantly and basically, to express herself. The Uma who I know and love is there, but sometimes it feels like important parts of her are trapped inside her brain, if that makes any sense at all.
I believe that this program could be a miraculous thing for her. She's gonna need help to make it happen. Back in 2007, when she needed an air ambulance to fly back to California, we miraculously raised over $20,000 in less than a week. This new neurological program will cost about $80,000 (for six months of intense therapy) and even though that sounds like an insane amount of money, I believe we can raise it. Since yesterday, John's already managed to raise $1,000, so we're already 1/80th of the way there.
Any help you might be able to offer would be incredibly appreciated. If we can find 4,000 people who'd be willing to donate 20 bucks, then boom: we've made our goal. (And I know that sounds crazy, but I also know that back in 2007, the doctors told us Uma had only a 20 percent chance of survival, so there's nothing crazy about hope. Anything and everything is truly possible.)
Dream big, live big, HOPE big.
If you can donate more than 20 bucks, that's awesome and amazing and much appreciated. If 20 bucks is way too much for you right now (and believe me, I know the feeling), even a five dollar donation would help. Thank you in advance. If you can't donate right now, peace and love and blessings to you still. Please forward this message to friends, repost it, retweet it, facebook it, print it out and tape it to the fridge in your office, any way you feel comfortable spreading the word would be awesome.
We are collecting donations via PayPal. If you don't already have a PayPal account, please follow the simple instructions (listed below) to open an account. It literally takes 1 minute. Then click on the SEND MONEY tab and send your donation via John's email (john.ballinger@sbcglobal.net).
NOTE: If you prefer to donate via check or some way other than paypal, email me at dimsumday@gmail.com and I can give you an address to mail a check, etc.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
In Search of...something to restore your faith in humanity
In the time I've been blogging, I have never posted a link to a video. My friend Nicola was kind enough to share this one with me, and I, in turn, give you a little something to uplift your spirit, make you smile, and restore your faith in humanity if it's been lacking lately. Hugs to you all...
Saturday, April 16, 2011
In Search of...the well being of the majority
So I was watching Shirley MacLaine on Oprah the other day, (and let's face it, who wasn't), and Oprah said that Shirley's book Out on a Limb changed the way she thought about everything and that she viewed Shirley MacLaine as one of her great teachers. Well, who doesn't want to just rush out and read a book after that kind of endorsement?! So I marched myself to the local library the next day and checked out a copy. Boys and girls, Oprah was right, and this book does not disappoint.
I've resisted writing blogs for several weeks now, because frankly, all I've been feeling is a huge sense of disappointment and despair about our country and about our world. The majority of people, if you ask them, will tell you they are "believers" of some sort. And I want to say, "believers in what?" - greed, mean-spiritedness, war, poverty, stupidity? I look at the world and know that it represents the sum total of the individuals in it, and knowing that has left me at a loss for words.
So there I sat reading Out on a Limb, which came out in the 1980's, some thirty years ago. And my new best friend, Shirley MacLaine, talked about feeling similarly when traveling the globe. But the thing that hit me like a bolt of lightning was when she talked about how we have veered as a nation away from the basic philosophy on which we were founded, and that was "the well being of the majority." I don't remember hearing it ever put like that, and it sums up what should inform our choices on every level.
I don't know about you, but I have not heard ANYONE talking about that. I've heard talk of deficit reduction and spending cuts, but not about "the well being of the majority." So, dear readers, let's talk about that for a minute.
Is it the well being of the majority to cut Medicare?
Is it the well being of the majority to cut spending on education?
Is it the well being of the majority to be at war? (Is it the well being of anyone to be at war?)
Is it the well being of the majority to get rid of the EPA, the only safeguard we have to regulate our incessant destruction of the planet?
Is it the well being of the majority to stay dependent on oil when things like the sun and wind are free and don't destroy the planet and instigate wars?
Is it the well being of the majority to applaud fame over accomplishment, power over peace, hatred and closed mindedness over tolerance and love?
What is truly for the well being of the majority?
And who, if not all of us at this very moment, will have the courage to choose the well being of the majority?
If the majority doesn't speak for itself, rest assured the minority will. And let's be clear that the minority (big business, the uber wealthy, Wall Street, fundamentalist religious groups of all kinds, etc.) has their own interests and not yours as their priority. We (the little people) who frequently feel that our voices do not matter are the MAJORITY!
So I suggest to you that your one little phone call or email to your representatives and my little phone call and email to my representatives, and our neighbors' calls and votes make all the difference in the world.
I grant you that life is busy and our worries are many and well founded, but the people who are making up the rules of the game are put there by us, the majority. And so added to the list of our things we must do, like putting food on the table and gas in the car, is holding the people we put in charge accountable for "the well being of the majority."
We enjoy untold freedoms and outside of those that serve in the military, we somehow share no sense of responsibility for the protection of those freedoms we enjoy. But they come at a price that's not only paid with the blood of our service men and women. The price we must pay for the country we enjoy is the responsibility for seeing to it that it is run correctly, that the values on which it was predicated are not eroded by corruption and greed. This is the responsibility of the population. It is yours and mine - the majority.
So on this beautiful Saturday in April, let's not only take an interest in, but take responsibility for the well being of the majority. Thanks for stopping by. Please tell your friends.
I've resisted writing blogs for several weeks now, because frankly, all I've been feeling is a huge sense of disappointment and despair about our country and about our world. The majority of people, if you ask them, will tell you they are "believers" of some sort. And I want to say, "believers in what?" - greed, mean-spiritedness, war, poverty, stupidity? I look at the world and know that it represents the sum total of the individuals in it, and knowing that has left me at a loss for words.
So there I sat reading Out on a Limb, which came out in the 1980's, some thirty years ago. And my new best friend, Shirley MacLaine, talked about feeling similarly when traveling the globe. But the thing that hit me like a bolt of lightning was when she talked about how we have veered as a nation away from the basic philosophy on which we were founded, and that was "the well being of the majority." I don't remember hearing it ever put like that, and it sums up what should inform our choices on every level.
I don't know about you, but I have not heard ANYONE talking about that. I've heard talk of deficit reduction and spending cuts, but not about "the well being of the majority." So, dear readers, let's talk about that for a minute.
Is it the well being of the majority to cut Medicare?
Is it the well being of the majority to cut spending on education?
Is it the well being of the majority to be at war? (Is it the well being of anyone to be at war?)
Is it the well being of the majority to get rid of the EPA, the only safeguard we have to regulate our incessant destruction of the planet?
Is it the well being of the majority to stay dependent on oil when things like the sun and wind are free and don't destroy the planet and instigate wars?
Is it the well being of the majority to applaud fame over accomplishment, power over peace, hatred and closed mindedness over tolerance and love?
What is truly for the well being of the majority?
And who, if not all of us at this very moment, will have the courage to choose the well being of the majority?
If the majority doesn't speak for itself, rest assured the minority will. And let's be clear that the minority (big business, the uber wealthy, Wall Street, fundamentalist religious groups of all kinds, etc.) has their own interests and not yours as their priority. We (the little people) who frequently feel that our voices do not matter are the MAJORITY!
So I suggest to you that your one little phone call or email to your representatives and my little phone call and email to my representatives, and our neighbors' calls and votes make all the difference in the world.
I grant you that life is busy and our worries are many and well founded, but the people who are making up the rules of the game are put there by us, the majority. And so added to the list of our things we must do, like putting food on the table and gas in the car, is holding the people we put in charge accountable for "the well being of the majority."
We enjoy untold freedoms and outside of those that serve in the military, we somehow share no sense of responsibility for the protection of those freedoms we enjoy. But they come at a price that's not only paid with the blood of our service men and women. The price we must pay for the country we enjoy is the responsibility for seeing to it that it is run correctly, that the values on which it was predicated are not eroded by corruption and greed. This is the responsibility of the population. It is yours and mine - the majority.
So on this beautiful Saturday in April, let's not only take an interest in, but take responsibility for the well being of the majority. Thanks for stopping by. Please tell your friends.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
In Search of...an optimistic blog
It turns out, according to the quiz I just took in O Magazine, that I am a “super optimist” not even just a regular one. For those of you that have listened to me drone on about the sure signs of mankind’s impending doom, I’m sure you find this as surprising as I do. But according to La Oprah’s folks, I’m an optimist.
This got me thinking about how, in my own estimation, I am hopeful, but not optimistic. I believe in endless possibilities while acknowledging the likely negative probabilities. I envision a world at peace and without greed, while at the same time knowing that I will not see that in my lifetime. And yet, my soul longs for that kind of world, undeterred by the seeming futility of that desire. This strikes me as just a tad, well, insane, if you will.
The results of my optimism quiz said I likely suffered from “unrealistic expectations.” Well, duh. I don’t know anyone who is in the arts that isn’t tormented and/or slightly delusional. We bridge the gap between the unseen and seen realms, between what is imagined and what is tangible. You need an extra heaping serving of crazy in order to do that!
So in light of the recent tsunami in Japan and start of a new war in Libya, I’ve been thinking a lot about what I’m going to do with the little remaining time we all have here. When I’m not perseverating on radiation leaks, tidal waves, and a dwindling clean water supply, (optimistically, of course), I am wondering what it is that matters in the end. And what I’ve come up with, my friends, is this – not much. Precious little really matters. In fact, I can only come up with one thing – how well we love those we love. When the waters wash away everything, we are not frantically searching for the armoire. We are searching for what we cherish most – each other. The last words we desperately try to eke out are always and only “I love you.” And so it is that we could better spend our final days here on good ol’ Mother Earth trying to embody that which we would say with our dying breath.
So me, Suzie Optimist, will be focusing anew on how best I can fully be present with everyone I encounter. I will not squander the opportunity to connect meaningfully with you, my other fellow travelers, nor will I wait for a “right time” for anything. It turns out this is not only the right time, it is the only time.
As I meet you along the way, I hope I convey that you matter to me. I hope that in the brevity that is each of our lives, I have brought some small measure of those things which I myself have longed to see in the world – peace, love, acceptance, hope.
Hey, it turns out Oprah may be right! I may actually be a super optimist after all, albeit one that's pretty sure the world is immanently ending.
Thanks for stopping by. Please tell your friends.
This got me thinking about how, in my own estimation, I am hopeful, but not optimistic. I believe in endless possibilities while acknowledging the likely negative probabilities. I envision a world at peace and without greed, while at the same time knowing that I will not see that in my lifetime. And yet, my soul longs for that kind of world, undeterred by the seeming futility of that desire. This strikes me as just a tad, well, insane, if you will.
The results of my optimism quiz said I likely suffered from “unrealistic expectations.” Well, duh. I don’t know anyone who is in the arts that isn’t tormented and/or slightly delusional. We bridge the gap between the unseen and seen realms, between what is imagined and what is tangible. You need an extra heaping serving of crazy in order to do that!
So in light of the recent tsunami in Japan and start of a new war in Libya, I’ve been thinking a lot about what I’m going to do with the little remaining time we all have here. When I’m not perseverating on radiation leaks, tidal waves, and a dwindling clean water supply, (optimistically, of course), I am wondering what it is that matters in the end. And what I’ve come up with, my friends, is this – not much. Precious little really matters. In fact, I can only come up with one thing – how well we love those we love. When the waters wash away everything, we are not frantically searching for the armoire. We are searching for what we cherish most – each other. The last words we desperately try to eke out are always and only “I love you.” And so it is that we could better spend our final days here on good ol’ Mother Earth trying to embody that which we would say with our dying breath.
So me, Suzie Optimist, will be focusing anew on how best I can fully be present with everyone I encounter. I will not squander the opportunity to connect meaningfully with you, my other fellow travelers, nor will I wait for a “right time” for anything. It turns out this is not only the right time, it is the only time.
As I meet you along the way, I hope I convey that you matter to me. I hope that in the brevity that is each of our lives, I have brought some small measure of those things which I myself have longed to see in the world – peace, love, acceptance, hope.
Hey, it turns out Oprah may be right! I may actually be a super optimist after all, albeit one that's pretty sure the world is immanently ending.
Thanks for stopping by. Please tell your friends.
Friday, March 11, 2011
In Search of...time well spent
We live in a society that determines success by quantifiable results. It you do this, you get that. If you've accomplished this, you are successful. Societally, we really don't consider poverty to be a virtue, nor do we consider wealth to solely be measured by the size of our bank accounts.
Years ago, while participating in a three month leadership training, I had to check in with someone every day and they asked me one question: What are you going to create today? It's been a long time since I've thought about that, and an even longer time since I've begun my day asking myself that question. But it is a valuable one to ask ourselves each day because it sets the tone, not only for those results which are economically quantifiable, but for those things like our relationships that are not.
As a songwriter, or writer of any kind, for that matter, it is murky water we tread in to determine the value of what it is we create each day. The fun is in the creation of it, the moment you get a spark of an idea, a fleeting glimpse of eternity and the experience of true magic. Most people aren't lucky enough to have that opportunity, but those of us prone to the joys and heartaches of creating something out of thin air hang on to those moments for dear life. They are what sustain us.
That brings me to this...a bunch of songs I wrote for my cousin Matt Angel to record. Now, normally I would refer to this as a "shameless act of self promotion," trying to downplay the fact that I have created something that I want people to spend their hard earned money on. But the truth is I'm proud of what we've done. I loved the time I spent writing and co-writing all the songs with my friends. I loved the joy of working with my cousin and of the studio experience. And yes, I love the outcome. It was a project created from a place of joy, and so when I look back on it, it was time very well spent. I hope when you listen, you find that to be the case as well.
Here's the link for it:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/matt-angel/id424309349
Whatever it is you choose to create today, I hope it brings you much satisfaction. Thank you for sharing a few minutes of your time on this blog. I appreciate it more than you know. Peace and Blessings to you all.
Years ago, while participating in a three month leadership training, I had to check in with someone every day and they asked me one question: What are you going to create today? It's been a long time since I've thought about that, and an even longer time since I've begun my day asking myself that question. But it is a valuable one to ask ourselves each day because it sets the tone, not only for those results which are economically quantifiable, but for those things like our relationships that are not.
As a songwriter, or writer of any kind, for that matter, it is murky water we tread in to determine the value of what it is we create each day. The fun is in the creation of it, the moment you get a spark of an idea, a fleeting glimpse of eternity and the experience of true magic. Most people aren't lucky enough to have that opportunity, but those of us prone to the joys and heartaches of creating something out of thin air hang on to those moments for dear life. They are what sustain us.
That brings me to this...a bunch of songs I wrote for my cousin Matt Angel to record. Now, normally I would refer to this as a "shameless act of self promotion," trying to downplay the fact that I have created something that I want people to spend their hard earned money on. But the truth is I'm proud of what we've done. I loved the time I spent writing and co-writing all the songs with my friends. I loved the joy of working with my cousin and of the studio experience. And yes, I love the outcome. It was a project created from a place of joy, and so when I look back on it, it was time very well spent. I hope when you listen, you find that to be the case as well.
Here's the link for it:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/matt-angel/id424309349
Whatever it is you choose to create today, I hope it brings you much satisfaction. Thank you for sharing a few minutes of your time on this blog. I appreciate it more than you know. Peace and Blessings to you all.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
In Search of...the best show on TV
Okay, so I’m prone to a little exaggeration now and then, but let’s be blunt: the majority of what passes for TV shows these days is, oh how to put this delicately – crap.
When I say that, I mean no disrespect to those precious few who work on The Good Wife, that last bastion of intelligent writing on television. No, I’m talking about the Bachelor, Bachelorette, Housewives of Who Cares Where, and His Majesty, The Donald with all his fake Apprentices.
They bring me down. They bring us all down. It is a backstabbing, mean-spirited, chauvinistic, stupidity-glorifying world that these people inhabit with no discernible redeeming qualities. And because I have been inundated with this kind of behavior on TV for so long, I was starting to think that it was I who was going slightly mad.
You see, I envision not only a TV program, but a world that does not aspire to the lowest possible common denominator, but to just the opposite – reaching for the stars, for the noblest, highest portion of our best selves. The only Amazing Race I want to see is the one to cure cancer and heart disease and worldwide hunger. There will always be survival of the fittest, but just once I’d like to see a mindset that says, “Together we will all flourish or perish.”
That’s where Secret Millionaire comes in. Imagine a show that glorifies people who are quietly saving the world one person at a time. Picture the two ladies in their eighties who are cooking and delivering meals for the hungry and housebound. Or the lady who, with her family, creates fantasy bedrooms for dying children. Imagine people who have made their own way, surmounted impossible odds to become rich, seeking out ways in which they can volunteer to give back with not only their money, but their time and energy and love and hearts. This show makes you want to give more, live better, love unconditionally from wherever you are with whatever means you have. If ever there was a role model needed, this show provides the best one. It exemplifies what we should all aspire to – the very best in us. It answers the question most of us ask in our heads when we are overwhelmed by the enormity of need in the world: What can I do? It turns out we can do a lot. I believe it is nothing short of miraculous that a show like this could make it to air, but it is here.
So Secret Millionaire is my current pick for the best show on TV. Check it out next Sunday. I guarantee when you’re done watching, you’ll want to do something to help someone right now. And that, my friends, is a good take away.
Here’s to kindhearted television that impacts a better world. Thanks for stopping by. Please tell your friends.
When I say that, I mean no disrespect to those precious few who work on The Good Wife, that last bastion of intelligent writing on television. No, I’m talking about the Bachelor, Bachelorette, Housewives of Who Cares Where, and His Majesty, The Donald with all his fake Apprentices.
They bring me down. They bring us all down. It is a backstabbing, mean-spirited, chauvinistic, stupidity-glorifying world that these people inhabit with no discernible redeeming qualities. And because I have been inundated with this kind of behavior on TV for so long, I was starting to think that it was I who was going slightly mad.
You see, I envision not only a TV program, but a world that does not aspire to the lowest possible common denominator, but to just the opposite – reaching for the stars, for the noblest, highest portion of our best selves. The only Amazing Race I want to see is the one to cure cancer and heart disease and worldwide hunger. There will always be survival of the fittest, but just once I’d like to see a mindset that says, “Together we will all flourish or perish.”
That’s where Secret Millionaire comes in. Imagine a show that glorifies people who are quietly saving the world one person at a time. Picture the two ladies in their eighties who are cooking and delivering meals for the hungry and housebound. Or the lady who, with her family, creates fantasy bedrooms for dying children. Imagine people who have made their own way, surmounted impossible odds to become rich, seeking out ways in which they can volunteer to give back with not only their money, but their time and energy and love and hearts. This show makes you want to give more, live better, love unconditionally from wherever you are with whatever means you have. If ever there was a role model needed, this show provides the best one. It exemplifies what we should all aspire to – the very best in us. It answers the question most of us ask in our heads when we are overwhelmed by the enormity of need in the world: What can I do? It turns out we can do a lot. I believe it is nothing short of miraculous that a show like this could make it to air, but it is here.
So Secret Millionaire is my current pick for the best show on TV. Check it out next Sunday. I guarantee when you’re done watching, you’ll want to do something to help someone right now. And that, my friends, is a good take away.
Here’s to kindhearted television that impacts a better world. Thanks for stopping by. Please tell your friends.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
In Search of...perseverance
As I watched George Stephanopoulos race Apolo Ohno to the top of the Empire State Building this morning on Good Morning America, a couple of things occurred to me. First, George is in way better shape than I am. And second, perseverance trumps everything from age to athletic prowess.
I can assure you that I mean no disrespect to George when I say this. In fact, it was a lesson in grit and determination to witness someone nearly twice the age of an Olympic gold medalist cross the finish line before him. To be fair, Apolo may have held back or stopped for a bagel and coffee on floor 47, who knows, but I'm going to go with the notion that George won fair and square and in earnest.
This got me thinking...does the best person always succeed or just the one who doesn't give up? Can we accomplish more than we have the natural inclination for simply because we work harder and longer at it? What determines our achievements? Is it how badly we want something, what we're willing to sacrifice to get it...or is it the kind of dogged persistence that defies all rational thinking but somehow says to an ever-listening universe "I will not stop until I achieve this goal." I believe it's the last one.
As I huffed and puffed on the treadmill, newly inspired by George's win over Apolo, I gave some thought to what it is I would be willing to go the extra mile for. With iPod blasting and sweat pouring off me, I felt rejuvenated and inspired, ready to rise one more time than I've fallen, bound and determined to make it to the top of my very own Empire State Building so that breathless and spent, I can enjoy the magnificent view of what it is I've created with sheer perseverance.
Whatever it is that you long for, I wish you the fortitude to see it through so that, together, we can create of world in which all things are truly possible.
Thanks for stopping by. Please tell your friends.
I can assure you that I mean no disrespect to George when I say this. In fact, it was a lesson in grit and determination to witness someone nearly twice the age of an Olympic gold medalist cross the finish line before him. To be fair, Apolo may have held back or stopped for a bagel and coffee on floor 47, who knows, but I'm going to go with the notion that George won fair and square and in earnest.
This got me thinking...does the best person always succeed or just the one who doesn't give up? Can we accomplish more than we have the natural inclination for simply because we work harder and longer at it? What determines our achievements? Is it how badly we want something, what we're willing to sacrifice to get it...or is it the kind of dogged persistence that defies all rational thinking but somehow says to an ever-listening universe "I will not stop until I achieve this goal." I believe it's the last one.
As I huffed and puffed on the treadmill, newly inspired by George's win over Apolo, I gave some thought to what it is I would be willing to go the extra mile for. With iPod blasting and sweat pouring off me, I felt rejuvenated and inspired, ready to rise one more time than I've fallen, bound and determined to make it to the top of my very own Empire State Building so that breathless and spent, I can enjoy the magnificent view of what it is I've created with sheer perseverance.
Whatever it is that you long for, I wish you the fortitude to see it through so that, together, we can create of world in which all things are truly possible.
Thanks for stopping by. Please tell your friends.
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