"I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve."
Schweitzer, Albert
HIGHER PURPOSE – Honoring Diana
Excerpted from “A Celebration of Diana’s Life” tribute booklet, November 10, 2002
Diana Cushing Canning, mother of 12-year old Joshua, beloved wife of Emile, and stepmother to Andrew, Sharon, Elijah, and Mira, and cherished friend of so many, died peacefully on November 3, 2002. Diana was born in New York to George and Florence Cushing and was the beloved sister of Maris and cherished Aunt of Dani Tain.
Diana was a peace, environmental, and community activist, spiritual pioneer, and photographer. Her life has been an example of fearless dedication to the alleviation of suffering, particularly for women and children. She created and operated a nonprofit organization, Arete Relief Services, to support humanitarian groups around the world.
She traveled to South Africa, Ethiopia, El Salvador, India, Russia, Israel, China, Bolivia, the Philippines and most recently, the Thai-Myanmar border. In these and other ravaged countries, Diana helped build orphanages, schools, and hospitals, and developed networks of community support. She acted as a bridge between peoples, connecting resources, needs and worldviews.
At home, Diana created an annual holiday dinner, early on in Los Angeles, and in recent years, in San Rafael’s (CA) Canal District for hundreds of disadvantaged people. Her love for women and children continued to shine through her work with her son, Joshua’s schools in Sebastopol, CA, touching students and parents alike.
Diana’s deep empathy for life led her to various healing arts, including midwifery, herbal studies, and spiritual counseling. She guided devotional rituals in sacred sites, honoring the earth with prayer and song. The beauty of nature was her favorite refuge. She renewed herself in body, mind, and spirit through periods of prayerful solitude and deep meditation.
Diana’s life integrated contemplation and action. Each was an expression of the other. She moved in joyful service from a center united with the divine. In all her works Diana harnessed her strength and love to live her vision of devotion and service. May her legacy continue to sustain her community, creating peace within, at home, and abroad.
“The question is not whether we will die, but how we will live.”
Joan Borysenko
MY COMMITMENT: Diana is my beautiful sister and who my Mom referred to as “our” Mother Theresa. In her honor and to keep her legacy alive, I am committing a portion of all of my fees to her memory and the kinds of causes she was involved in.
With much gratitude from Diana’s family!
"Life is a promise; fulfill it." Mother Theresa
Take the first step to living your higher purpose! Call me for your free coaching interview… Let’s see if we are a good fit Contact me at 949-514-0888 (PT) or maris@beyondvisioncoaching.com.
"We make a living by what we get and we make a life by what we give." Winston Churchill
 My Life-Changing CALIFORNIA AIDSRIDE Experience:
"You gain STRENGTH, COURAGE, and CONFIDENCE
by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.
You must do the thing you cannot do."
Eleanor Roosevelt
June 1998
My dear friends and family…
It has been over a month now since that glorious day of riding into Los Angeles with California AIDS Ride 5, and I am still not sure of the words that can really describe this most exquisite experience of my life! The AIDS ride literature describes it ever so briefly as:
“...an exploration into the true capabilities of the individual—to achieve what you may think is impossible. To break out of the routine of routine, to stand apart from the ordinary and accomplish the extraordinary…”
Some of those who have accomplished the extraordinary and inspired us all are…
David… the determined Rider who with no legs… pedaled every one of the 575 miles with his arms.
Susan… the very brave young woman, who, while training for the 1996 TwinCities AIDSRide, was struck by a drunk driver, and although severely injuring and losing a leg, came back to ride not only the ‘97 TwinCities Ride, but this year she is a “Spokebuster”, riding the California Ride and the four other AIDS Rides across the country.time. Please stop by again. Thank you for your interest!
“Chicken Lady”… the renowned Rider with the “chicken” on his helmet, whose personal mission, each year… every AIDS Ride, is to ride each hill up and back down as many times as it takes to encourage every other Rider to successfully ride it to the top.
The Young Man… whose name I never learned, who rode an “antique” bike with an empty child’s trailer attached. He was riding for his own as well as the over 450 HIV+ children living in just the State of California alone.
The Older Woman… who fell on her bike OTB (over the bars) right in front of us on Day One only 5miles out of “Ride-Out” in San Francisco and was badly injured. I felt very fortunate to recognize her working breakfast crew 3days later. When I stopped to talk, she told me she was doing “okay”… we hugged… we cried… and she said she would be back next year... Absolutely amazing!
The Spokebusters… the 20 deeply committed Riders who will be riding each of the five 1998 AIDS Rides across the country, each one with their own story.
All the Riders… who rode with photos on their bikes, and sadness in their hearts for friends or loved ones whom they had lost to AIDS or AIDS/HIV related diseases… and all those whose lives are threatened.
The Positive Pedlers… the 160+ HIV+ Riders who, with their orange flags of courage, rode every mile with commitment and determination, and prayers from everyone of us for their healthy return to ride again next year!
As I learned, firsthand, of all of these and other incredibly inspirational “heroes”, some of whom against all odds, successfully participate in these AIDS Rides,… I began to realize the depth of the spirit that lives among them all, and further understand that this Ride really is about the spirit of living and the love of life!… And that we must live our own lives with gratitude for all that we are and all that we are so very fortunate to have!
It was on Registration Day at Ft. Mason, when the “opportunity” to wait on line first became apparent. Our days on the ride began in the dark with alarm clocks in Tent City sounding one-by-one… then, Waiting on line for port-a-potties (which were surprisingly very clean)… Waiting on line for a good breakfast to start the day… Waiting on line at the pitstops for more port-a-potties, Clif Bars and Gatorade… (and of course, we couldn’t get through the week without waiting on line for the famed Butt Balm!)… Waiting on line for showers (also very clean)… and YES… we waited on many, many lines, BUT, it was on those lines that we had the opportunity to talk to everyone, hear more stories, and really become a part of this incredible experience! (One of the gifts I am so fortunate to take home from this experience certainly is patience.) The day was not complete, however, without waiting on line for a visit to the Message (as in…to relieve sore muscles) tent, or the Chiropractic or Sports Medicine tents which had shorter lines, and (for those of you who know me well)… my daily visit to the lost-and-found, (which had no line!).
And “serving” the Riders on all of these lines, were many of the remarkable 650 Volunteer Crew members, without whom the AIDS Rides could never take place. Some often “dressed in drag”, and they all certainly kept us entertained… from Chicken Lady to Our Ladies of Perpetual Indulgence. We can’t forget “Mama”, who left her “shmata” on the side of the road to go skinny dipping… or the “beauty queens” who travelled the road with us… Miss Led, Miss Guided, and Miss Demeanor, only to name a few. And what would we have done without the awesome services from the guys at BikeTech,… Thank you, Geoff, for fixing my rear tire (two flats the first two days were more than enough!). We, also, can’t forget our “tough-looking” motorcycle Traffic Crew, safely guiding almost 2700 Riders through difficult intersections and pointing us in the right direction! And, Thank You so much, Judy, for your smiling face each day as we rolled into Pitstop 5… when we were all digging deep for that last bit of strength to get us “home”, you were always there with your genuine love and positive energy cheering us on!
There was our morning “newspaper”… The Daily Ride, hot off the presses, which always had an incredible Rider Profile, our Daily Route, our Daily Dose of inspiration… One of my favorites was from Day One: “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more than the risk it took to blossom.” -Anais Nin, and of course, our Daily Menu. (And I couldn’t imagine starting my day without my personal Daily Dose of inspiration, my cards of encouragement from Jean and Ward.) The evening entertainment always began with the nightly RideWitness News, which included many heartfelt tales of the day’s ride, media updates, and any other important announcements. Needless to say, with rides averaging over 80miles a day, lights-out by 9:00pm was dearly welcomed.
Day Zero had finally arrived! El Nino had finally fizzled and the beautiful sunny day in San Francisco adds to the excitement of Registration, reconnecting with familiar faces from the months of training, and getting to know some of those who would become our Rider Family over the next seven days! With a range of emotions overflowing during Opening Ceremonies, Day One Ride-Out was only the first of each exciting morning, riding out into the streets lined with cheering local residents at every corner, many with huge banners and signs. It was amazing that from North to South, there were thousands of people who so warmly welcomed us as we rode through their towns, cars honking all along the route… and many, many adorable children throughout the state, proudly displaying their hand-made signs, giving us the “high-five” and actually wanting our autographs! And the hundreds of messages painted on the road like “Your mother would be proud of you!” and “Thank you, AIDS Riders, you are heroes!” brought tears daily!
As I would pedal through each day, with fatigue setting in, my neck and shoulders sometimes aching from the day before, I would hold the vision of arriving at that night’s destination to the enthusiastic cheering of the earlier-arriving Riders and Crew alike, many of whom we may not have met, but are still waiting to greet the rest of us in. Throughout training and the Ride, we have experienced the kindness of others… a supportive community where people stop to help one another… and somewhere deep inside we know this is the world as it should be.
And finally, the excitement of Day Seven, Ventura to Los Angeles… the sweet taste of Victory is “only” 67 miles away… the adrenaline rushes as we crest the last of the “Zuma” hills… the all so familiar sights of Malibu quickly turn into Santa Monica… through the tunnel under PCH near Temescal… and up Channel Drive to my first surprise… Elizabeth and Ron waiting on top of Channel Drive with a huge “Welcome Home, Maris” sign, and unknown to me at that moment, still another dozen signs awaiting me along San Vicente! And then, the mounting excitement of arriving at San Vicente and 26th Street in Brentwood where Gail and Ira, Gary, Paul, and many other family and friends of my new Rider Family were there for all of us… Bobbee and “Team Santa Barbara”, Cori and “Team MCBRR”, and… ‘Team’ Ed and Lynn…. waiting to meet, greet, and cheer us all on to the finish. Missing here was my daughter, Dani, who was anxiously awaiting our arrival at Fox Studios, where she had volunteered for the day, with many other of my dear friends; and Anne who actually found everyone for Closing Ceremonies.
And I can’t leave out dear Winnie, one of our great inspiring training partners, who on Day Six, was at the Santa Barbara lunch stop and the Ventura Beach campsite, and on Day Seven at Fox Studios cheering us in with her signs and beautiful energy,… and who, as I write this, is half-way through her six-week “journey” across the country cycling the GTE Lung Association Ride.
What a thrill, riding through L.A. into Century City, to the cheers of hundreds lining our streets… the reality really beginning to set in, that I was really a part of this amazing event!… And then, riding down the Fox Studio hill to see Dani’s face, filled with excitement and tears, and her heart filled with love! How I had been anxiously awaiting that moment! All through the ride, I felt truly grateful to be riding home, and now we were really home… incredibly, all the way from San Francisco to Los Angeles!
If you were fortunate enough to attend Closing Ceremonies in Century City, you know how moving it all was for everyone. The Victory Ride was an awesome sight, with almost 2,700 riders in our rainbow colored Victory shirts and decorated helmets, slowly riding over the hill down Avenue of the Stars towards the cheering crowds waiting with still more signs and banners… the Victory wave of almost 2,700 bicycles proudly being lifted high in the air from the front of the group to the back… bicycles as far as the eye could see… the symbolic Riderless Bicycle being escorted to front stage… and the Riders and Volunteer Crew being so gratefully acknowledged for what we had accomplished brought heartfelt emotion and tears to all.
California AIDS Ride 5 Presented by Tanqueray raised over $9.5 million for the Jeffrey Goodman Special Care Clinic and other local HIV/AIDS related services. It was your most generous support that helped make it possible for me to participate in this amazing event, and I cannot thank you enough! I hope to give back next year by being a member of the Volunteer Crew,… and Dani has been so inspired to want to ride it with me in two years. The only better feeling than my riding into L.A. would be to share the experience and watch my daughter ride her Victory Ride.
I believe the words from Tanqueray describe it best for all of us:
“When we set off as sponsor of the first AIDS Ride five years ago, we, like everyone involved, had no idea how long the road would be, what we would encounter along it, or where it would lead. We did not know that it would make history, and we couldn’t even dream of the number of people that the Rides would touch.
Like those that the Riders encounter, our road has sometimes been bumpy, sometimes smooth. We have gazed at the top of some enormous hills and wondered just how we were going to get there, and whether it was worth the effort. Once there, we sailed joyfully down and our doubts disappeared. The road has led us to many different places. It’s been full of curves and lined with supporters, and we occasionally have to stop to catch our breath. Along the way, we have made many new friends, and have been witness to awe-inspiring levels of courage, commitment and determination.
There have, admittedly, been moments when we’ve come dangerously close to “getting used to it”. Then, from out of nowhere, “on our left”, comes one of the many ordinary, extraordinary people that pedal these roads, and we remember why we started this Ride in the first place.
There are still too many reminders that we can’t yet see the end of this road, and there are still too many reasons to keep riding.”
I hope you enjoyed reading about my “CAR5” experience as much as I enjoyed
“reliving” it. I want to thank you all, again, from the bottom of my heart for your incredible support, encouragement, and love throughout these many months. I couldn’t have done it without you! And for those of you who lovingly volunteered your precious time,… thank you, because they couldn’t have done it without you! And to my new Rider Family, I am so grateful to have shared this wonderful Victory with you… we couldn’t have done it without each other… it will live on in all of us forever!
I love you all… Maris
Take the first step to living your Higher Purpose! And call me for your complimentary Intro-to-Coaching interview… Let’s see if we are a good fit Contact me at 949-514-0888 (PT) or email me at maris@beyondvisioncoaching.com.
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