Chicken Soup for the Soul 20th Anniversary Edition by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Amy Newmark, Heidi Krupp Page A
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admiration, and thought, “Wow. I want to be like that.”
The years went on, and like trees planted too close together, we slowly grew apart.
When I left home at 22 after years of hurting and hiding, I wondered if she’d miss me at all.
I never knew how she felt about anything, and she never knew me right back.
She didn’t know why I didn’t love myself. She didn’t know that I didn’t believe in myself. She didn’t know that I wanted to help myself, but couldn’t seem to figure out how.
After years of moving, stumbling, and growing, I started finding my way. And I decided to do my best to help others who might feel a little lost.
Though I hoped I did that through my writing, I also reached out to my sister, who was going through a tough time and needed support.
Whether it was advice or an opinion or simply an ear, I wanted to give it all.
Five Christmases ago she gave something back, the best gift I’d ever received. Amid the boxes and bags and stockings and cards, there was a paper addressed to me.
It read:
There is a girl who inspires us all
She’s blonde and stands around 5 feet tall
She’s seen exotic locales and far away places
But she’s grounded in life with the issues she faces
She’s affected so many, especially me
Her story is one of great victory
Let’s examine the journey that has been her life
It’s had many highs, but also some strife
Academically talented at a very young age
Even early on, she made her way to the stage!
She traveled quite often and lived on her own
It’s wonderful to see just how much she’s grown
She is a success in the true sense of the word
To call her anything less would just be absurd!
I look up to her despite my being older
She’s always been there for me, and offered her shoulder
I can’t say enough on how much good she has done
When it comes to compassion, she is second to none.
What lies ahead for her you ask?
Her future is bright; she is up for the task
I love her so much and she makes me so proud
I hope she realizes, it is I she has wowed!
Tara has given me more than she may realize. After all those years of looking up to her as my sister, I’m grateful she’s by my side as my friend.
~Lori Deschene
The Golden Buddha
And now here is my secret, a very simple secret; it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye.
~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
I n the fall of 1988 my wife Georgia and I were invited to give a presentation on self-esteem and peak performance at a conference in Hong Kong. Since we had never been to the Far East before, we decided to extend our trip and visit Thailand.
When we arrived in Bangkok, we decided to take a tour of the city’s most famous Buddhist temples. Along with our interpreter and driver, Georgia and I visited numerous Buddhist temples that day, but after a while they all began to blur in our memories.
However, there was one temple that left an indelible impression in our hearts and minds. It is called the Temple of the Golden Buddha. The temple itself is very small, probably no larger than thirty feet by thirty feet. But as we entered, we were stunned by the presence of a ten-and-a-half-foot tall, solid-gold Buddha. It weighs over two-and-a-half tons and is valued at approximately 196 million dollars! It was quite an awesome sight — the kindly gentle, yet imposing solid-gold Buddha smiling down at us.
As we immersed ourselves in the normal sightseeing tasks (taking pictures while oohing and aahing over the statue), I walked over
to a glass case that contained a large piece of clay about eight inches thick and twelve inches wide. Next to the glass case was a typewritten page describing the history of this magnificent piece of art.
Back in 1957 a group of monks from a monastery had to relocate a clay Buddha from their temple to a new location. The monastery was to be relocated to make room for the development of a highway through Bangkok. When the
The years went on, and like trees planted too close together, we slowly grew apart.
When I left home at 22 after years of hurting and hiding, I wondered if she’d miss me at all.
I never knew how she felt about anything, and she never knew me right back.
She didn’t know why I didn’t love myself. She didn’t know that I didn’t believe in myself. She didn’t know that I wanted to help myself, but couldn’t seem to figure out how.
After years of moving, stumbling, and growing, I started finding my way. And I decided to do my best to help others who might feel a little lost.
Though I hoped I did that through my writing, I also reached out to my sister, who was going through a tough time and needed support.
Whether it was advice or an opinion or simply an ear, I wanted to give it all.
Five Christmases ago she gave something back, the best gift I’d ever received. Amid the boxes and bags and stockings and cards, there was a paper addressed to me.
It read:
There is a girl who inspires us all
She’s blonde and stands around 5 feet tall
She’s seen exotic locales and far away places
But she’s grounded in life with the issues she faces
She’s affected so many, especially me
Her story is one of great victory
Let’s examine the journey that has been her life
It’s had many highs, but also some strife
Academically talented at a very young age
Even early on, she made her way to the stage!
She traveled quite often and lived on her own
It’s wonderful to see just how much she’s grown
She is a success in the true sense of the word
To call her anything less would just be absurd!
I look up to her despite my being older
She’s always been there for me, and offered her shoulder
I can’t say enough on how much good she has done
When it comes to compassion, she is second to none.
What lies ahead for her you ask?
Her future is bright; she is up for the task
I love her so much and she makes me so proud
I hope she realizes, it is I she has wowed!
Tara has given me more than she may realize. After all those years of looking up to her as my sister, I’m grateful she’s by my side as my friend.
~Lori Deschene
The Golden Buddha
And now here is my secret, a very simple secret; it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye.
~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
I n the fall of 1988 my wife Georgia and I were invited to give a presentation on self-esteem and peak performance at a conference in Hong Kong. Since we had never been to the Far East before, we decided to extend our trip and visit Thailand.
When we arrived in Bangkok, we decided to take a tour of the city’s most famous Buddhist temples. Along with our interpreter and driver, Georgia and I visited numerous Buddhist temples that day, but after a while they all began to blur in our memories.
However, there was one temple that left an indelible impression in our hearts and minds. It is called the Temple of the Golden Buddha. The temple itself is very small, probably no larger than thirty feet by thirty feet. But as we entered, we were stunned by the presence of a ten-and-a-half-foot tall, solid-gold Buddha. It weighs over two-and-a-half tons and is valued at approximately 196 million dollars! It was quite an awesome sight — the kindly gentle, yet imposing solid-gold Buddha smiling down at us.
As we immersed ourselves in the normal sightseeing tasks (taking pictures while oohing and aahing over the statue), I walked over
to a glass case that contained a large piece of clay about eight inches thick and twelve inches wide. Next to the glass case was a typewritten page describing the history of this magnificent piece of art.
Back in 1957 a group of monks from a monastery had to relocate a clay Buddha from their temple to a new location. The monastery was to be relocated to make room for the development of a highway through Bangkok. When the
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