THE SPARK

A Personal Reflection From Kathy Ozzard Chism, Founder and Director of DREAM ONE WORLD:

"One can say the spark that started this organization was from two hurricanes in 2004 hitting a beloved island in the Bahamas where I once lived, and the help that my friend Virge Cafferata, a number of volunteers, and I gave to the hardest hit settlements there. 

Yes, there is a wonderful story to tell about the Bahamian Children’s Trust Fund we started back then, and the resulting birth of this 501(c)(3) nonprofit from that experience.  However, I now realize the initial spark was actually passed to me and lit within at birth, patiently waiting years to come to full flame."

I was fortunate to have been raised during most of my youth in two very different worlds, not many miles apart.  This particular part of my story starts at age seven when my parents divorced.

My sister had moved out when I was four, (she was 19), so most days I lived alone with my Mom, an artist and shop owner.  She taught me unique ways of seeing the world, its people, and nature, always through very compassionate eyes.  She taught me to think outside the box.  She supported, with love, any direction, education, or venture I wanted to try.  She was positive about any friends I brought home, always seeing the good in people.

Through each change of school, usually two or three a year, she managed to maintain good grades, make new friends, and continually strive to better herself.  She never went to college, but was a voracious reader, and one of the most intelligent and insightful people I have ever known. 

In addition, no matter how low our funds were in the bank, she always gave to organizations she cared about and to people she could help directly.

Our various homes, (we also moved a number of times, always to places that housed businesses or renters to be able to make ends meet), were often meeting places for a wide variety of people - amazing artists, free thinkers, people questioning the status quo, people of all races, gender preferences, religions, nationalities… and all were joined together with large doses of humor, creativity, and joy. 

The comment I hear most often about my Mom now that she has passed, is “She was one of the best people I have ever known, and so far ahead of her time.”  I agree.

What many people didn’t know was that she also had gigantic mental and physical health issues.  For many, many years she was addicted to 18 different prescription medications and on an extremely limited and very bland diet…all to “help” with manic depression, severe arthritis, a dangerously low platelet count, bleeding ulcers, weekly severe migraine headaches, a heart murmur, etc. 

At one point she was hospitalized for six weeks in a mental institution and given shock treatments.  How she managed to function on a daily basis I really don’t know – a sense of responsibility and love for her two daughters is my guess. 

Fortunately, at age 60, she started doing daily yoga…and in only one year had gone off all her medications.  The ulcers were gone, her arthritis was gone, (initially she could barely bend over to touch her knees, yet a year later was doing headstands and able to put her leg behind her head!), her platelet count was normal, (all the doctors had told her this would be impossible), she began eating all the foods doctors had said she would never eat again, (like most fruits, nuts, and vegetables), the headaches were rare, and her heart, well, it improved, although ultimately she was fitted for a pacemaker. 

Best of all, though, was the joy she found at 60 and beyond in living each day…the years and years of depression and suicide threats came to a halt.  She did yoga daily until age 75.  She passed away in 1998 at age 81 of heart failure, in her sleep, the way she had always said she wanted to go when it was her time.

A few of my lessons from being her daughter:

• Live life to its fullest no matter what

• One can turn one’s life around at any age

• There are alternatives to traditional health care

• Accept and love all people

• Allow children to be who they are, assist their creativity, love them unconditionally, and watch them flourish
  

• No matter how bad things are, always help someone else
  

Thanks, Mom.

Every other weekend I spent with my Dad, who at various times was a New Jersey State Senator, President of the NJ Public Utilities, an attorney, and at one point, the Acting Governor of New Jersey. 

In Dad's world I experienced a six bedroom home on "Mountain Top Road," wonderful trips around the country and Europe, occassional limos and drivers, clothing shopping sprees twice a year, dining in great restaurants, beautiful gifts for birthdays and holidays…and when I was ten my father married a very kind and accomplished woman with six brilliant and fascinating children, so I got a big family every two weeks, too!

Along with all the varied riches in his life, Dad never forgot his roots…the youngest of three children whose mother died when he was nine, and whose father abandoned the family when he was thirteen.  

At that tender age he was separated from his older brother and sister, and wound up living in an apartment above a pool hall, poor and all alone.  He continued with high school, worked hard, and graduated at age sixteen.

As a Senator, he fought for the poorest people in the state, vowing that they should never have to pay taxes on basics like food and clothing.  He won.  To this day, there is no sales tax in New Jersey on either, except for non-necessities.  Way to go, Dad!

His values crossed all party lines.  Although Republican, a Democratic Governor chose Dad to be in his cabinet.  He always spoke for what he believed in, and had a will of steel. 

This will became even more evident after surgery to remove a brain tumor in the 80's where he lost partial use of his facial and eye muscles, and during three years at the end of his life wasting away from cancer…and living longer than doctors thought possible. 

He continued to practice law, learn new techniques on the computer, work his crossword puzzles, and go through chemo, right up until passing away in 2002, at age 87.

A few of my lessons from being his daughter:

• Work hard towards your dreams, and you can reach them

• You can be whomever you want to be at any age

• Stand up for your values and speak your truth
  

• Sometimes the best medicine is a strong will

• Love and support your children, and give them as many world experiences as possible

• No matter how good things are, always help someone else
  

Thanks, Dad.

As I write this, it is now 2008.  Four years after creating DREAM ONE WORLD, I realize I have simply been channeling the best parts of my parents and the experiences they provided into this dream of mine - this organization to help people, places, and animals that cannot find help elsewhere. 

My parent’s spirits and their dreams live on within me, and I am so grateful for their love, wisdom, and teachings.

My story is no different than yours, really…just a different cast of characters and circumstances.  We all have our stories, we all have our roots, and we all have choices.  No matter what your past has held, there are always lessons and gifts there to receive and then pass on to others.

Then, when we reach the greater understanding that we are all ONE, we are able to connect and help each other on a much higher level - without barriers, without judgment – always flying the F.L.A.G. of FORGIVENESS, LOVE, ACCEPTANCE, and GRATITUDE.

Every ONE of you reading this has a spark within.  DREAM ONE WORLD is a place to let that spark ignite love and passion, just as it has within me, to change the world for the better.

By sharing my story with you, I hope you will take the step to share your story with us, and discover where you might be of greatest service to our work. 

Whether it is through DONATIONS, volunteering as a DREAMWORKER, or simply by PAYING IT FORWARD, you WILL make a difference.

"A candle loses nothing if it is used to light another one." 

- Father James Keller