In 1997, Pamela Redmond Satran wrote a list for Glamour Magazine. Having already passed her thirtieth birthday,her goal was to tell younger women about “the things I really wished I’d had and known by that important milestone.” It not only resonated, it became a phenomenon. To this day,the now bestselling author’s list continues to make its way across the web, via sites, inboxes, and social feeds, experiencing recurring surges of viral popularity. Yet, up until very recently, in typical not-giving-credit-where-credit-is-due internet form, it was most often shared with either no attribution to Pamela or tagged as someone else’s work, including “Maya Angelou’s Best Poem Ever.”
Here are 15 interesting points from that list …
1)”A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE …
enough money within her control to move out
and rent a place of her own, even if she never wants to or needs to…
……..
2)A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ..
a youth she’s content to leave behind….
3)A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE …
a past juicy enough that she’s looking forward to
retelling it in her old age….
………..
4)A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ….
one friend who always makes her laugh… and one who lets her cry…
………..
5)A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE …
a feeling of control over her destiny…
6)EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
how to fall in love without losing herself..
7)EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
how to quit a job, break up with a lover, and confront a friend without; ruining the friendship…
8)EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
when to try harder… and WHEN TO WALK AWAY…
9)EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
that she can’t change the length of her calves,
the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents..
10)EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
that her childhood may not have been perfect..but its over…
11)EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
what she would and wouldn’t do for love or more…
12)EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
how to live alone… even if she doesn’t like it…
13)EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW.. .
whom she can trust,
whom she can’t,
and why she shouldn’t take it personally…
14)EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
where to go…
be it to her best friend’s kitchen table…
or a charming inn in the woods…
when her soul needs soothing…
15)EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
what she can and can’t accomplish in a day…
a month…and a year…
So much for the creativity passed on without credit.
And here is a dedication to Every Woman out there…Enjoy 💖👍💖
In your growing years, many emotional fluctuations of belief and disbelief will arise from curiosity to concern, from doubt to belief, questioning the purpose of our existence, questioning the powers undefined , the supremeness of it all ..!!!!
May my thoughts be well scrutinized by you in your quest to answers that resonate to your being . But hope to pass on a share of my simple understanding of the complexities of the undefinable ‘Faith’ in the name of God!
To me faith is the hope and strength of divinity in each of us …Without which we cease to exist as living beings .
Acknowledging the presence of divine compassion in our lives is about being able to receive as much easily as much as being able to give.
When we are focused on evolving deeper into our spiritual path of awareness , very often the body is neglected … it could be physically neglected, abused, deprived in more ways than one ,either out of sheer ignorance or due to assumption that austerity and overt practices of discipline over our body will only lead to salvation .
When the very dwelling place of our being is neglected how are the roots going to dig deeper… wisdom is not intellectual understanding alone.
True wisdom is acknowledgement of the divinity in every living being … being able to understand the union of the heart and the mind , and in the awakening of the wisdom one finds the balance in the union of action and thoughts.
Caring for our body,is a prerequisite to spiritual growth .. if you don’t love yourself, how can you love others .Eastern philosophies extoll the virtues of equanimity and the consciousness of the intuitive intellect, a sense intelligence than just rational thoughts … And when we learn that you and I are simply one… the connectedness of consciousness becomes easy to unravel . We are also able see and to accept the reality of the shades of grey in between the black and white of human behavior .
When we are able to do so , the so called negative traits of reaction , rebuttal to an action converts itself to a mindful response with equanimity .
This method invokes a sense of balance in the living being .
Simply adding an element of gratitude to all that we are blessed with will only let us ingrain a spirit of gratefulness in whatever we do …as we learn to respect and love another being as part of the same source … AND THAT TO ME IS ….
BEING HAPPY WHERE YOU ARE, AS YOU ARE, WITH ALL THAT YOU ARE …. LOVING THE SELF …AND CARING ENOUGH TO LOVE THE WORLD AROUND YOU !
AND THEN THE FAITH IN THE GOD -NESS IN YOU AND ME IS ONE !
Love
Mom
Savvy
This is an excerpt from a few reflections written to my daughter in her growing years.
A Face is a canvas
For emotion to play upon
Providing and hiding the clues
To what is in the heart and mind.
A face creates the first impression
At times face can decide and seal the deal
Sometimes a face can charm you
And hold you in its sway.
Faces conjure an imaginary perspective
Of the nature of the entire person
Faces can at times convey
There is more than what meets the eye.
Some faces are arresting
No not just because of their beauty
But because there is an angle
To the structure so intriguing
Deep set eyes, an upturned mouth
Jovial smile , creases & laugh lines
Or a tense brow and wrinkled temple
Sqauare jawline or dimpled cheeks.
The list is endless like creation itself
But do know, there is always a story
Behind every face that we see
And that’s what makes it interesting.
Every face is unique by its own right
Faces can mask a million emotions
In a facade of appearances
But the body never lies, its movements gives it all away.
Lookout for all the subtle signs
A twitch here and a gaze there
A wide smile that never reaches the eyes
Or a vacant stare out in the yonder…
All said and done
There is much that intrigues in a face
For it takes you to that special place
In reflections of the truth in the illusions .
A Father was reading a magazine and his little daughter every now and then distracted him. To keep her busy, he tore one page on which was printed the map of the world. He tore it into pieces and asked her to go to her room and put them together to make the map again.
He was sure she would take the whole day to get it done. But the little one came back within minutes with perfect map……When he asked how she could do it so quickly, she said, “Oh…. Dad, there is a man’s face on the other side of the paper….. I made the face perfect to get the map right.” She ran outside to play leaving the father surprised.
MORAL OF THE STORY:
There is always the other side to whatever you experience in this world. Whenever we come across a challenge or a puzzling situation, look at the other side…. You will be surprised to see an easy way to tackle the problem.
A few musings…
The difference between just looking and seeing is so much in the depth and dimension of expansions in our flow of thoughts .An expansion in our acceptability and flexibility changes the seemingly complex situations to simple solutions .:)
Unconference, the word piqued my curiosity for a while now.
I checked it up on the internet only to find that the idea has gained tremendous momentum across the globe.
The idea of un-structuring the ingrained structure seemed interesting to say the least, in creating spaces and possibilities to honour the learning.
Suffice to say recently, when I came across an Unconference event in the local newspaper I decided I must make a visit.
The venue of this Unconference was the well known Symbiosis School of Liberal Arts in Pune. I reached just in time for the proceedings to untold.
A customary registration ensued and I was greeted by a few volunteers with a relaxed warm and welcoming attitude. Clearly, the Unconference had started right there.
The word Conference kind of stiffens people up. There is a formal attitude, a thick air of competition to perform at their very best. There are fees and strict rules to adhere to. There are super busy organisers scurrying through and tension is writ large on their faces and their bodies as well are stressed out with expectations of the outcome of the event. Suited men and women whizz through looking super important. And yes there would be a Chief Guest of honour and a coterie of important people who need VIP handling… Adherence to their whims and fancies and most importantly their speeches which may or may not be of interest to any. But all must endure as to get up and leave is an offence to the speaker.
On the contrary here there was a prevalent free-spirited feeling in the first place that all were in it together. The sense of community always takes time to build so I stood in that room with a small group of people waiting for the (informal introductory practice,) the opening circle.
The Opening Circle :
Someone from the group had taken an initiative to design a pretty pattern made of flowers in the centre of the space and light a lamp there.
A few introductory rounds later which turned out to be icebreakers with a few games to let loose and get into the flow.
There was a board set up with a mention of few rooms and a time slot to boot. The participants were encouraged to choose to attend or conduct workshops or just wander around and network.
A few people got up to mention their workshops and claim their slot. On a moment’s impulse although I was not exactly in the right attire for a dance workshop I simply decided to go with the flow and offered a Dance connection workshop by me.
Encouraged by a decent number of participants I let the moment take the lead. As I began teaching I witnessed the flow of the energy in the exchange.
I spoke about the dance, hold, frame and positioning and started introducing them to partner dancing and some basic steps. Bit by bit people shed inhibitions as they were getting tuned into the moves.
The moment strangers began to hold hands and face one another… for many, there was harmony to be found in the mirror imaging. For after all the lead and follow were simply an extension of each other dancing as one unit.
The energy in the room turned up a notch with the Achy Breaky Heart country cha sounds of Billy Ray Cyrus for company.
All started sensing the tuning with their partners at that moment. And an all-new dance impression in the expressions birthed itself in their hearts.
After the dance workshop I asked what they felt in that moment and here is what they shared immediately…
Deeply grateful!
The Give and Take
Truly to immerse yourself in that which you love all you have to do is to take a step … for your own good as much as for the others.
Essentially the whole experience was to me simply about honouring life energy in all its uniqueness of expression.
Great experience being a part of this interesting initiative!
WordPress certainly has its unique ways
Of appreciation and encouragement
To support the writers on this platform
There are stats that show up on screen.
So I am told one morning by WordPress
That I am on a three-day posting streak
At first, I was amused and a tad bit confused
For hadn’t I been posting literally every day… for so long…
But guess WordPress took its own sweet time
To catch up to my blog amongst the millions
So I too decided to play along…
Every day since then I have been publishing
A poem written afresh, simply inspired
A continuation from my previous post
In creatives emerging in thoughts.
Perhaps from a readers comment
Or better still in its contemplation.
Today as I complete a 10-day streak
I want to share these published posts
Here together in an attempt to string
These beads of thoughts together
Poetry can be the jewellery of language.
Pearls of fresh thoughts bonded into words.
Creativity strung together in a form.
Like a necklace that is adorned in appreciation.
Creativity is there within
Us all for the taking
And all it needs is a step in
In reflection and action…
It was a joy to play along
Connecting the dots,
Stringing the words,
As they came along.
Kudos to WordPress
Stats for the supportive inputs And my amazing blogger friends
For inspirations along my way.
Savvy
Here are the links of the last 10 day Post streak that I will simply call Creative Enrichments
A few observations …
These ten days I had a purpose steeped in creative enrichment. The idea was to be receptive and responsive to whatever that these posts brought forth.
And I sensed how these Inspirations came my way on its own.
A special thanks to a few WordPress writers who are involved without their own knowledge… that I want to thank here.
for being there with words of encouragement and sharing apt and brilliant quotes in goodwill every step of the way. They are truly thoughtful insights. Do keep them coming.
