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When my wife visited a friend who was diagnosed with an aggressive recurrence of breast cancer, she brought several heart-shaped beans and asked her friend to choose one. It's a special thing she does when she wants to encourage someone. At the time, we lived on the east coast of Florida, where we loved walking on the beach. Sometimes we walked briskly, for the exercise. Other times we strolled, enjoying the air, the ocean, the people and whatever we found in the sand. Sometimes we saw a heart-shaped sea bean. My wife saves every one she finds, so she has quite a collection. This smooth, hard brown bean is about an inch in diameter. She cleans and polishes them and puts them in a large bowl. Once, when her latest treasure kept rolling off the top, I asked, “Do you have enough sea beans now?” Her answer was simply, “No.” The bean’s more familiar name is “sea heart.” The seed of the liana vine, it ripens along the banks of rivers in Central and South America. Some of the seeds fall into the river, where they are carried to the sea. The beans are hard and buoyant, so they float on the surface. Ocean currents carry the beans for as long as a year, eventually depositing them on distant shores, where they sometimes grow into new vines. Years ago, when my wife had chemotherapy for her breast cancer, she would hold her favorite sea bean in the palm of her hand. To her, the bean symbolized endurance and hope. This little form of life had survived a long sea journey, and so would she. Fully recovered, she now shares her sea beans with friends in crisis. The body’s immune system, which works to repair damage and fight disease, is intricately connected to the brain. Thoughts trigger neurotransmitters, which send signals to discharge various hormones and other chemicals, which trigger emotions and other visceral experiences. These activities are monitored by the brain, which regulates chemical levels in the body. Scientists know that the immune system regularly requires a peaceful, relaxed mental state to regenerate. Thus, prolonged, unrelieved stress can weaken a person’s ability to fight disease and recover from illness. People who lose hope lose the desire to fight. Their thoughts, feelings, hormonal activity and immune response are not the same as those of people who believe that success is possible. Hope has a physical dimension. Hope can be a vital element in a person’s recovery from illness. You don’t have to close your eyes to the harsh realities of life to have hope. When bad things happen, the good in your life hasn't vanished. Even though you may be challenged, you haven’t lost all your strength. Tough problems may arise, but there are usually solutions. In times of adversity, you may feel discouraged. A difficult or frightening situation may leave you feeling overwhelmed. Loss may sadden you, even depress you. As soon as you can, look for what's real, true and possible. Take charge of your situation. Get information. Find out what you can do. Set goals. Do the work. Hope is real.
Article Source: http://www.articledestination.com
Dennis E. Coates is CEO of Performance Support Systems, author of MindFrames, a brain-based personality assessment system (www.initforlife.com) and co-founder of the Train-to-Ingrain alliance (www.train-to-ingrain.com, info@train-to-ingrain.com, 800-488-6463), which delivers a reinforcement-centered approach to learning and development that achieves permanent, measurable improvements in workplace behavior and positive impacts on business results.
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