With the release of the Happiness Is A Choice - No Matter What, 2011 Option Institute Catalog, staff members at The Option Institute and Autism Treatment Center of America had the opportunity to participate in a fun activity. I'm honored to share with you staff contest winner and wonderful Son-Rise Program Child Facilitator, Kim Korpady’s SWEET and THOUGHTFUL account of her prize winning, Tea With Bears!
"I had the honor and true privilege to spend a morning having tea with Bears! How incredibly sweet and delicious an experience to have... some would say lucky, but I enjoy believing that this experience was brought into my life by my own personal will and want to have incredible experiences happen to me, and also too, my desire to have meaningful opportunities present themselves! I have opened my eyes, my heart, and my mind to practicing being a present, loving, and grateful person (and I truly thank The Option Institute for guiding me in this lifestyle). My time with Bears was spent expanding and adding to ways in which I can fill my life with MORE incredible and meaningful experiences. I dove into this time with him with the desire to grow myself and my life even bigger!
What I asked for help and guidance with from this time with Bears was this... my hope, and desire was to develop more meaningful relationships in my life- and to find comfort in the times I may not find it easy and instantaneous. I spoke of my gratitude for the life I have created here-- with my Son-Rise Program family and at The Option Institute. I spoke of my love for the people I spend my day with and how growing with them daily has helped to create this bond of love, a growing history and familiarity in the comfort of friendships that I share with them. As I write this now I smile, grateful for my life and the people in it. I feel excited by the thought that I have a want in my life to create more of this. I have made this my home and now I want to stretch myself to create bonds of friendship and familiarity with more people- people that I come in contact with outside of my Son-Rise Program and Option Institute friends. I want to stretch myself to create relationships continually and exercise my ability to connect with others.
I shared with Bears this desire to connect with others, and how sometimes I find that when I try to connect I am not always greeted with the same smiling Son-Rise Program/Option Institute warmth and love as I have found with the people I spend my days with here. Bears helped me realize my ability to find comfort in those moments- I realized how no matter what I can continue to show up in my life happy and comfortable in situations where I may not find a smiling face and friendly embrace. These are the tools he gave me:
The greatest gift he shared with me was the awareness to always show up as myself- as I have so much to offer others!
As we spoke of this, he gave me a little (but powerful) saying to take with me in my -social connection adventures- with others : “No, means next”!!! If I don’t initially find a connection with someone or an openness to form a relationship with that person, I simply move on to another person and persevere to find someone I do connect with… This is just like The Son-Rise Program playroom (and here I am simply putting a playroom around my life), when I may not initially find what a child is motivated for I don’t take this as “no” forever or indefinitely, I simply find something else which they may find motivating--- and our connections grow by my desire to discover what that something else is!
Thank you Bears for sharing your knowledge, your love, and all your warmth!
I feel so blessed to have shared this time with you, to connect and deepen our relationship!!"
Much much love,
Kim Korpady
"I had the honor and true privilege to spend a morning having tea with Bears! How incredibly sweet and delicious an experience to have... some would say lucky, but I enjoy believing that this experience was brought into my life by my own personal will and want to have incredible experiences happen to me, and also too, my desire to have meaningful opportunities present themselves! I have opened my eyes, my heart, and my mind to practicing being a present, loving, and grateful person (and I truly thank The Option Institute for guiding me in this lifestyle). My time with Bears was spent expanding and adding to ways in which I can fill my life with MORE incredible and meaningful experiences. I dove into this time with him with the desire to grow myself and my life even bigger!What I asked for help and guidance with from this time with Bears was this... my hope, and desire was to develop more meaningful relationships in my life- and to find comfort in the times I may not find it easy and instantaneous. I spoke of my gratitude for the life I have created here-- with my Son-Rise Program family and at The Option Institute. I spoke of my love for the people I spend my day with and how growing with them daily has helped to create this bond of love, a growing history and familiarity in the comfort of friendships that I share with them. As I write this now I smile, grateful for my life and the people in it. I feel excited by the thought that I have a want in my life to create more of this. I have made this my home and now I want to stretch myself to create bonds of friendship and familiarity with more people- people that I come in contact with outside of my Son-Rise Program and Option Institute friends. I want to stretch myself to create relationships continually and exercise my ability to connect with others.
I shared with Bears this desire to connect with others, and how sometimes I find that when I try to connect I am not always greeted with the same smiling Son-Rise Program/Option Institute warmth and love as I have found with the people I spend my days with here. Bears helped me realize my ability to find comfort in those moments- I realized how no matter what I can continue to show up in my life happy and comfortable in situations where I may not find a smiling face and friendly embrace. These are the tools he gave me:
The greatest gift he shared with me was the awareness to always show up as myself- as I have so much to offer others!
As we spoke of this, he gave me a little (but powerful) saying to take with me in my -social connection adventures- with others : “No, means next”!!! If I don’t initially find a connection with someone or an openness to form a relationship with that person, I simply move on to another person and persevere to find someone I do connect with… This is just like The Son-Rise Program playroom (and here I am simply putting a playroom around my life), when I may not initially find what a child is motivated for I don’t take this as “no” forever or indefinitely, I simply find something else which they may find motivating--- and our connections grow by my desire to discover what that something else is!
Thank you Bears for sharing your knowledge, your love, and all your warmth!
I feel so blessed to have shared this time with you, to connect and deepen our relationship!!"
Much much love,
Kim Korpady
Son-Rise Program Child Facilitator
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