Saving Lives for Mother's Day and Every Day

Sure, Mother's Day is nice.... but it seems that each year brings more hype, expectation, and commercialization of what I've learned began with far different intentions. The founder of Mother's Day,  Anna Jarvis  wanted to honor her Mother, a woman who organized an association of women on opposing sides of the Civil War with disarmament and peace being the central goals. In 1914, after Jarvis's petitioning, President Woodrow Wilson officially declared the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day. The focus shifted to a public declaration of honor and thanks to mothers in general. To Jarvis's dismay, within a decade of the official declaration of Mother's Day, rampant consumerism incited her to criticize a confectioner's convention in 1923 by stating, "You are using a beautiful idea as a means of profiteering and as the founder of Mother's Day, I demand that it cease."  She didn't have much sway with the momentum inherent in making a buck.

When my two kids were young, Mother's Day was an excuse to be pampered  and to expect some better behavior out of  them. Now as  an empty-nester, mother to twenty-somethings, a phone call from them wishing me a nice day sits well. Cards and gifts aren't necessary. It feels weird to have my own Mom gone these last two years; the ritual pull of  selecting a card and stopping by or calling is forever a memory.  Recently MM and I  sorted through hundreds of greeting cards Mom had saved through the years. Many were Mother's Day cards from the two of us. We threw them out after looking at each one for a last time.

When I read this powerful Op-Ed piece published in the Sunday NY Times entitled Saving the Lives of Moms, it hit me: this is what we should be thinking about on Mother's Day. Instead of spending money on flowers, candy, and cards we should be thinking about how to change the lives of girls forced into motherhood at  young, grossly inappropriate ages and whose lives are made a living hell by obstetric fistulae. The article commends the dedicated work of Dr. Arrowsmith, a urologist who has devoted his professional life to repairing fistulas at the Addis Abba Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia. The hospital was founded by Drs.Reginald and Catherine Hamlin years ago. Dr. Hamlin says;


"These women are the poorest of the poor. They're alone in the world without hope, without friends. They bear their sorrows in silent shame. Their miseries, untreated are utterly lonely and lifelong."


I'm going to honor my Mother by sending a donation to the cause. I'm confident she'd be pleased.

Let's think about how we celebrate. 18 billion dollars was spent to honor our mothers yesterday. Think how even a fraction of that amount might change the lives of less fortunate women who live a hellish nightmare as a result of becoming mothers.

Thoughts to Consider

"We cannot do great things on the Earth, only small things with great love."


"There is a terrible hunger for love. We all experience that in our lives--the pain, the loneliness. We must have the courage to recognize it. The poor you may have right in your own family. Find them. Love them."

--Quotes from Mother Teresa (1910-1997)

This is the second day I've focused on quotes. I'm going within. Thinking. Pondering. Some people say it so well.

Great Question: Great Answer

Always in search of a pithy, powerful quote on the meaning of life, I came across this fifteen word sentence that made me sit back and smile as I invited this thought into my mind. Yes; if this isn't "it", then it's close enough for me.

See what you think.....

"The central purpose of each life should be to dilute the misery of this world." 

Karl Menninger spoke these words, He was born in 1893 and went on to become a famous psychiatrist. He was a co-founder of the Menninger Clinic in the 1920's, a clinic with a revolutionary approach to the treatment of persons with mental illness.  The Menninger Clinic, opened in Topeka, Kansas but more recently relocated to Houston in affiliation with the Baylor College of Medicine.

This quote resonates with me. I've not read or heard a more succinct statement of why we are here on this earth.  There are endless ways to dilute misery. Every one of them counts. Life and love are verbs. Let's, all of us, get going.

Never Forget

September 11, 2011

September 11, 2011

Staying in the Present Moment

"Unease, anxiety, tension, stress, worry — all forms of fear — are caused by too much future, and not enough presence. Guilt, regret, resentment, grievances, sadness, bitterness, and all forms of non forgiveness are caused by too much past, and not enough presence."
 –Eckhart Tolle

Window onto the ocean; old gold mine, ARUBA

Mindfulness

"If you're not NOW HERE, you're NO WHERE."

Gretchen Rubin from The Happiness Project

Chinese Proverb about Stress

I found this quote today; like it I do. I can relate completely.

"Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are."
Chinese proverb

I run around tense most of the time. Why? Because if I'm doing little, I think I should be doing something productive and if I'm doing something, I think it should be a bit better.

Conversely, when I lose myself in something (like playing Scrabble last night with my husband and daughter over a bottle of wine), I am relaxed. Was it the losing myself in who I am or was it the wine? I constantly second guess my success.

I need to work on this. A lot.

8 Second Rule

This I believe about (most) first impressions.

http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/TV_Shows/Connect_with_Mark_Kelley/ID=1378930834

Life Force

..........from Martha Graham, famous dancer and choreographer (1894-1991)

“There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique, and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium; and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, not how it compares with other expression. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open."

Einstein Says....

"Computers are incredibly fast, accurate, and stupid. Human beings are incredibly slow, inaccurate, and brilliant. Together they are powerful beyond imagination."

Albert Einstein
US (German-born) physicist (1879 - 1955)

Couldn't have said this better myself. Don't you agree?

P.S. My Mother shook hands with Einstein in New York City at an event where he was present; she was very proud to have met him, albeit ever so briefly.

Personal Thought for the Day # 25

It occurred to me that a positive spin I might take on this annoying condition known as frozen shoulder is that all the exercising and stretching might bring me a bit closer to Michelle Obama arms over the next 47 days. At a minimum, I can dream.

Personal Thought for the Day #24

Me thinks that the "pot is calling the kettle black" when I'm referred to as the "drama queen" around here.

Personal Thought for the Day #23

I don't need to have nightmares; the day-mares are plentiful.

Personal Thought for the Day #22

When the enemy sends you flowers, do you question why?

Personal Thought for the Day # 21

"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right. "

This statement was made by Henry Ford. I want to believe it is true. I wish it hadn't been spoken by Henry Ford however. I have great ambivalence about this man even though many of his one liner quotes are terrific.

Personal Thought for the Day #20

Waffles with maple syrup washed down with 2 cups of coffee at breakfast followed by a lunch consisting of steak fries, catsup and sugar free Sierra Mist soda is probably not the diet designed to encourage max "brain power" on the job today.

Personal Thought for the Day # 19

It is gratifying to notice that the split second reaction of my brain to a totally unexpected, random face to face (boom!) encounter with someone who has been a huge thorn in my side and the focus of much angst over the last 6 months was pleasant and accepting. Nature or nurture or neither?

Personal Thought for the Day # 18

If I would live in the present moment instead of railing against the past or fighting off the future, I would experience a wealth of calm and peace.

Personal Thought for the Day # 17

I wonder if craving carbohydrates is a sign of anything. Or, is it just the "State o 'Maine"?

Personal Thought for the Day # 16

The closer I get to the finish line; the vacation, the reunion, the holiday, the break from something that needs to end, the whatever it is that I WANT so desperately, the harder the waiting becomes.
24 more days; each one 24 hours long.