Your History Isn't Your Destiny... Here's Proof
Last Sunday, we were invited by my friend Molly Buccola to attend a gathering she led that was inspired by the film Space, Hope and Charity.
It took us a few minutes to catch up. It turns out everyone else at the event had seen the movie earlier that weekend, or was in the film and/or helped to make it.
The story is remarkable, and I want to elevate your day by sharing a few elements from it.
Charity Woodrum was raised in poverty, the first in her family to graduate from high school. In her mid-20s, she was married and nine months pregnant when she decided to return to school to study physics.
Life felt perfect.
Then, the "The Worst Day" happened, to use the phrase she has adopted when speaking of that terrible moment. She lost her husband and 3-year-old son in an instant.
She had climbed over incredible obstacles to reach a state of bliss. She had discovered her true self. Disaster struck.
She crumpled, but did not break.
Dr. Scott Fisher, with whom she had been studying, suggested that her love of the stars and of science could be the only thing that hadn't changed as a result of The Worst Day. Maybe, he said, we could be a bridge for you to the rest of your life.
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He was right. Today, Charity is a Doctoral Candidate and National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow at Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, working under the supervision of Professor Marcia Rieke.
She is also a member of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Near-IR Camera (NIRCam) science team.
By turning to her friends and colleagues for support, Charity was able to keep her spirit alive. In a highly personal and vulnerable manner, the film documents her journey forward. The mere fact that it exists is testament to Charity's utter refusal to allow her history to define her destiny.
I treasure the people who cross my path who have acquired this ability. It can be so tempting to use the past as an excuse. Those who soar don't do that. They face their pain, accept it, and keep going.
As Charity said last Sunday, “All we have is a short amount of time, and each other.”
In a followup to the session I attended, Molly wrote that during cleanup on Sunday, they found a small slip of paper that reads, "Like the universe and all its galaxies—life and each of us is ever-expanding—full of possibility.”
You can watch the film here.
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In other news, today I launched a new web site, Flash Fiction by Bruce Kasanoff. It features very short stories I've written that describe the type of world in which I want to live. My intention is to uplift you and spark your imagination. Please stop by, and drop me a note telling which is your favorite.
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1 个月History will repeat itself, because her life isn't complete, for her woes as a child and what she went through to get her dream job and be supported by her colleagues and friends. The point where she got that job working for NASA and enjoying her job, lets face it not many people actually enjoy what they do. But she got to the winning place. She will return to the earth in another life to correct what happened as a child. She will continue to get what she wants in life, and she will not fall down the pit fall of having a child and losing a husband, She will still do that, but she will change something so it doesn't happen like it did the first time. We all come back as somthing in our next life, the lucky ones come back as humans, the unlucky ones are animals or insects. But our spirits always return. We have to consider people who say they were born as someone else or have experienced things years beyond theirs. They are not the brain playing up. So in the sense that history will not repeat itself Bruce, in this life she may not repeat her failings but in the next she will come back to correct them and history will repeat itself for her to correct it.
I help individuals and small groups cultivate space to be and become their inspired selves.
1 个月Bruce! I'm grateful you and Joan joined our community gathering on Sunday. And, thank you for sharing here. I'm in awe of Charity Woodrum. There's something in her story for all of us. I'm especially moved by her sense of awe, wonder, and reflection on our interconnected nature. Charity gracefully holds life's most difficult moments while also honoring hope and life's gifts. And, Sandy Cummings, the film's Director, Producer, and Writer, brings her brilliant heart, artistic eye, and years of storytelling expertise to shine a light on Charity while deeply connecting each of us to something greater. Thank you, Bruce Kasanoff, for continuing to elevate peace and potential.
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1 个月Thanks for sharing this powerful reminder that tomorrow isn't guaranteed to anyone, but the power of passion, friendship, and resilience can get us through anything. I look forward to watching the whole film.
Mental Health Counselor MA Counseling Psychology
1 个月Thank you for sharing, Bruce. Love the story. Inspirational.