{Take a Deeeeeep Breath and...}

...now, again.... xoxo

{International Day of the Girl}

The United Nations declared October 11 the 

International 'Day of the Girl'...

...so The New York Times "gave young women photographers across oceans and cultures an assignment: show us what 18 looks like in your community." They shared 21 responses "in their own words." Click on the link and enjoy....xoxo 

{to Aspire...}

 

....thanks, Aspire Magazine! xoxo

{Ikigai}

Ikigai. This Japanese concept means searching for that sweet spot, where your passion meets your profession, skills and what you can offer the world. It's your reason of being. The thing that gets you up in the morning. Have you found your Ikigai? 

~Marsha van der Heijde, "Just Go For It"

{The Perfect T-Shirt}

BirthPlace: EARTH

Race: HUMAN

Politics: FREEDOM

Religion: LOVE

{Steph Curry Speaks for His Girls}

On Women's Equality Day last month, Steph Curry, a champion on the basketball court, was also a champion of women's rights. The father of two girls, Curry wrote an essay "This Is Personal" for The Players' Tribune. Vogue's Michelle Ruiz comments in "Steph Curry's Essay on the Gender Gap and Women's Equality Is Gold."

{When They Go Low, We Go High}

Most of us have experienced hearing that people have said unkind things about you...gossipy, mean-spirited, small-minded comments that come from their own smallness, thin-skin ego, and cry for attention.

What Meghan Markle has heard or read that dysfunctional members of her estranged family have said about her is unfortunate...and perhaps not surprising in our rude world of Trumpery.

Read this article by Brittany Wong for HuffPost: "How Meghan Markle Should Deal With Her Family, According to Therapists" to be reminded of handling such cruelty...or like Michelle Obama said amidst the mean and crude comments from Donald J. Trump: "When they go low, we go high!" 

{seekers of truth}

“Youth are natural seekers of truth. Time to empower them with the needed clarity, commitment, and courage to find their truth.”

{Goddess Aretha}

RIP 1942-2018

Aretha helped define the American experience. In her voice, we could feel our history, all of it and in every shade—our power and our pain, our darkness and our light, our quest for redemption and our hard-won respect. May the Queen of Soul rest in eternal peace.

~Barack Obama {on Twitter today}

Aretha Franklin spent the turbulent 60s building her career, and in 1967 released her most famous song, and one that became inextricably linked to the civil rights and feminist movements of the time. “Respect” was originally released in 1965 by Otis Redding; Franklin’s cover of the song came out in 1967, and soon became the most popular version.

“I was stunned when it went to No. 1,” Franklin told Elle in 2016, “and it stayed No. 1 for a couple weeks. It was the right song at the right time.”

Franklin, who Elle noted had it written into her contract in the 60s that she would never perform for a segregated audience, was glad that the song became linked to feminist and civil-rights movements. She added that the line “you know I’ve got it” has a direct feminist theme.

“As women, we do have it,” she says. “We have the power. We are very resourceful. Women absolutely deserve respect. I think women and children and older people are the three least-respected groups in our society.”

[Excerpt from Hilary Weaver's "Aretha Franklin’s History with Civil Rights, from Martin Luther King Jr. to Barack Obama" for Vanity Fair - August 16, 2018]

{Female Scientists}

"Dr. Jess Wade, British physicist, wants to share female scientists' stories and get young girls to consider a career in STEM." (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) "So she wrote 270 Wikipedia profiles." Read Jenna Amatulli's article on HuffPost.

"You're equally as good (if not better) than the boys around you. You may not feel it now, because growing up is super awkward, but you'll realize how brilliant you are one day." 

{Celebrating America...}

"Celebrating America When You're Feeling Less Than Patriotic" 

[Bridget Read, Vogue, July 4, 2018}

Listen to people who are brave and kindhearted...

{pictured here: U.S. Representative John Lewis at the U.S. Capital}

show your love...xoxo

{Building Walls.....}

Your opinions are a wall, not only for others but also for yourself. A closed mind means closed possibilities.

~Sadhguru

{Winging It}

{Channeling Kindness}

In celebration of the upcoming royal wedding, I'm writing a limited-edition series, "Why Royal Weddings Matter," for Confluence Daily. I've reprinted one of the columns here...because "kindness" is at the heart of why I began this blog after the election in 2016! Enjoy....

.......................................................

Channeling Kindness

“Well, is he nice?” Meghan Markle asked about Prince Harry of Wales when a well-connected friend offered to arrange a blind date between the two famous thirty-somethings. Only familiar with the royals via media headlines, she explained, everything else about the prince was a moot point for her “if he wasn’t kind.”

As most of the world now knows, the couple got engaged last fall and will marry in May. It appears Meghan, an activist and humanitarian, found a common spirit in her kind-hearted prince. They have already made a dynamic partnership in their altruistic work together focused on the youth of the world. “Meghan is going to be a force,” People magazine reported, citing a palace source. “She will help him define his role and relate to the public in a way that he wouldn’t have been able to do before. It was worth the wait.”

Harry and Meghan want as many people as possible to benefit from the generosity of spirit that bubbles up around wedding celebrations. So, continuing the precedent set by William and Kate (and now the trend with regular couples, who were, in turn, inspired by the young royals), they are asking the public to “channel kindness,” noted Natalie Hinde in Huffington Post, requesting any wedding gifts be made in the form of a donation to one of their personally selected charities—they chose seven “which reflect their shared values.” (Plus, I doubt they really need any household items or another cut crystal bowl!)

Considered a “personal” wedding (distinct from a “state” occasion where it’s appropriate to invite heads of state from around the world), Harry and Meghan’s ceremony is rather small compared to other Windsor weddings. (Only 600 friends and family members received the coveted invitations to attend the wedding service at St. George’s Chapel and following reception. Yet Harry, who remained close to his mother’s family, invited the Spencer clan—Diana’s three siblings and their families—to both wedding and reception, including the evening’s let-your-hair-down party for 200 at Frogmore Hall.) Nonetheless, Harry and Meghan have extended special invitations to almost 2700 people “from every corner of the United Kingdom”—people of all ages and backgrounds who have served their communities, plus members of the royal household—to be part of their wedding by gathering on the grounds of Windsor Castle to watch the comings and goings of the day’s festivities. (I’d like to be part of that group!)

I find it a pleasure to be drawn into the love story of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Given the archetypal nature of royalty, representing something stirring in the collective consciousness, it’s most heartening to know that a deep level of “kindness” is brewing on such a glittering world stage to help counteract the harshness that’s been unleashed in the world of late.

Kindness has indeed taken a hit recently in the rude realm of “trumpery,” but as British novelist Amelia Edith Barr wrote: “Kindness is always fashionable.” Both of Princess Diana and Prince Charles’ sons inherited a tender, thoughtful side from their parents—and both William and Harry attracted life partners who seem to nurture and encourage that tenderness. (The expression “real men are kind” comes to mind!)

“Channel kindness” is an apt directive today—and perhaps a reason so many people are captivated by this vibrant couple who are creating such joy in being in service to others. I say let’s all enjoy and celebrate this royal wedding, immersing ourselves in heart-centered energy—and feel the spirit of kindness rising in the world, then pass it forward.~

  

[I'm working on a new book, A Memory of Beauty: The Spiritual Mission of a Princess—which explores the transformational nature of kindness. www.CorneliaPowell.com]

{Etgar 36: An American Journey}

My friend Barbara delights in talking about her children and grandchildren in the most loving and supportive way. She especially lights up when she shares about her youngest son Billy’s work with students at Etgar 36: An American Journey. “Learn about history, politics and activism...and change the world,” the website declares. 

"There is more that unites us than divides us." Listen to Billy's ELI talk (think TED but Jewish based) and hear his passion for equality and kindness, tolerance and connection. And be changed....

Students on "An American Journey"

{Feminists Men and the Women They Attract}

“Meghan is going to be a force,” People magazine reported about the upcoming marriage of Prince Harry of Wales and Meghan Markle, citing a palace source. “She will help him define his role and relate to the public in a way that he wouldn’t have been able to do before. It was worth the wait.”

Meghan Markle as a UN Women spokesperson

{Messages From Some Heroic Fellows}

{Enough Is Enough}

March 24, 2018 will be remembered as a watershed day thanks to the bold courage of a few rallying the courage of many.

{a debt to a woman}

 

"Every man or woman who is sane, every man or woman who has the feeling of being a person in the world, and for whom the world means something, 

every happy person, is in infinite debt to a woman."

-Donald Winnicott

English pediatrician and psychoanalyst 

{as featured in the wonderful brainpickings by Maria Popova}

{International Women's Day}

My Mother told me to be a lady and for her 

that meant be your own person, be independent.

-Ruth Bader Ginsburg

We must evolve society for women to play a rightful role—not through quotas or reservations, but through education and empowerment.

-Sadhguru

{Please}

{Old Friends}

Your heart and my heart are very, very old friends.

-Hafiz

Hmmmm....what if we treated everyone as an old friend....xoxo

{Listen....The Girls Are Speaking!}

Little girls with big messages during the weekend's second (annual?) Women's March!