Physical & Emotional Abuse Support Group
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Pasted in from today's Wolf's Daily Howl
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I've stayed away from this topic over the last few days, because of the enormity of the pain and loss.
An earthquake devastated one of the poorest countries on earth ----- Haiti.
As of this morning, reports of the tally of casualties range from 50,000 to a projected 200,000.
And remember, this is a tiny country on part of a little island.
The reason I focus my day-to-day efforts on working one-to-one is that when I try and contemplate numbers of dead and dying in the hundreds of thousands, my energy grinds to a stop. My sorrow can't comprehend the volume contained in this many zeros.
I don't have the means to send chunks of cash to Haiti, or to get on a plane and go myself. But my thoughts and prayers go to the surivors trying to pull the pieces of their lives together from the devastation.
Do what you can. If you can't go or send money or goods, then send them loving thoughts.
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Now, on the opposite end of the spectrum, I have been a supporter of women's equality and female empowerment from the time I was a very young woman. Though I was a bit of a skater and a dancer, sports weren't really my area of strength. I came to enjoy tennis and twenty years ago, I began watching college basketball.
It was in my own college days, that legislation was passed which mandated the equalization of athletic opportunity in colleges, for young women.
Fifteen years ago, the women's basketball team of one of the Connecticut colleges began to emerge as a national contender. The rise of the women Huskies from the University of Connecticut, (they're NOT the "Lady" Huskies, as if the men's team were the genuine Huskies and the women's team was the "adjunct) --- shot to the top, earning the NCAA Division A Championship by never losing a single game the season of 1994 - 1995. Since that time, this team has won the Championship title five more times and is working on a seventh.
Today, ESPN is doing something for the very first time ever. They are spending the entire day, an event they call "Game Day," on the campus of the site of a special game ---- a WOMEN'S game.
It happens to be my favorite team of all time, but even if it weren't "my" team, I'd be celebrating this development.
You may ask: What's the big dea? It's only sports.
Sports, athletics, fitness, strength, physical potency, the economics of athletics, complete opportunity, holistic well-being, women networking in all areas of life ------- these are a few of the reasons why sports and women in sports is an important topic and an important advancement.
I began my Howl with a wail of pain and sorrow.
I'd like to end it with a rally Howl ----- a call for women to draw upon their emotional and physical strength, a call for men and women alike to celebrate the emotional and physical prowess of girls and women, a call for women and men alike to bring strength to the table to support and grow and close gaps in opportunity and build bridges between the genders, between colleges, between countries, between generations, to join in unity and victory in conquests over poverty, bigotry, sadness, disease, destruction, ignorance and abuse.
Go HUSKIES!!!!!!!
____________________________________________
I've stayed away from this topic over the last few days, because of the enormity of the pain and loss.
An earthquake devastated one of the poorest countries on earth ----- Haiti.
As of this morning, reports of the tally of casualties range from 50,000 to a projected 200,000.
And remember, this is a tiny country on part of a little island.
The reason I focus my day-to-day efforts on working one-to-one is that when I try and contemplate numbers of dead and dying in the hundreds of thousands, my energy grinds to a stop. My sorrow can't comprehend the volume contained in this many zeros.
I don't have the means to send chunks of cash to Haiti, or to get on a plane and go myself. But my thoughts and prayers go to the surivors trying to pull the pieces of their lives together from the devastation.
Do what you can. If you can't go or send money or goods, then send them loving thoughts.
==================
Now, on the opposite end of the spectrum, I have been a supporter of women's equality and female empowerment from the time I was a very young woman. Though I was a bit of a skater and a dancer, sports weren't really my area of strength. I came to enjoy tennis and twenty years ago, I began watching college basketball.
It was in my own college days, that legislation was passed which mandated the equalization of athletic opportunity in colleges, for young women.
Fifteen years ago, the women's basketball team of one of the Connecticut colleges began to emerge as a national contender. The rise of the women Huskies from the University of Connecticut, (they're NOT the "Lady" Huskies, as if the men's team were the genuine Huskies and the women's team was the "adjunct) --- shot to the top, earning the NCAA Division A Championship by never losing a single game the season of 1994 - 1995. Since that time, this team has won the Championship title five more times and is working on a seventh.
Today, ESPN is doing something for the very first time ever. They are spending the entire day, an event they call "Game Day," on the campus of the site of a special game ---- a WOMEN'S game.
It happens to be my favorite team of all time, but even if it weren't "my" team, I'd be celebrating this development.
You may ask: What's the big dea? It's only sports.
Sports, athletics, fitness, strength, physical potency, the economics of athletics, complete opportunity, holistic well-being, women networking in all areas of life ------- these are a few of the reasons why sports and women in sports is an important topic and an important advancement.
I began my Howl with a wail of pain and sorrow.
I'd like to end it with a rally Howl ----- a call for women to draw upon their emotional and physical strength, a call for men and women alike to celebrate the emotional and physical prowess of girls and women, a call for women and men alike to bring strength to the table to support and grow and close gaps in opportunity and build bridges between the genders, between colleges, between countries, between generations, to join in unity and victory in conquests over poverty, bigotry, sadness, disease, destruction, ignorance and abuse.
Go HUSKIES!!!!!!!
The images of their predicament are SO horrifyingly awful..
I am also from a small Island...(Ireland) With only a poplation of 4 million...
We have had very heavy snow recently..that has now led to water shortages.
People have been moaning and whining about slipping on the ice..and not having enough water to flush the toilet, or to use the dishwasher...
The calamity in Haiti sure has suddenly made us all feel pretty humbled, and in ways also ashamed of ourselves..We have it made in comparison.
People there are not only coping with the loss of many of their loved ones..(Many of who have not even been found or even buried yet?).
But they are also frying in the merciless sun without decent shelter, and some are also trying to survive without any food or even one drop of water to drink...
We, the privilidged take our luxuries so much for granted as if they are our necessities?...
I totally agree..Let us all think of them..and my country..as many are..Thankfully now doing all we can possibly do to help.
Its a lovely analogy lleneW thanks..
Empowerment is so necessary and helpful for all vulnerable groups of people...
Also your idea of how empowerment should be a global and inclusive concept, whereby any form of it, enlightens and progresses humanity, and all societies and civilisation in general. Is really great.
Like women, the haitians were once the underdogs. But they very bravely and eventually broke away from being slaves for the French, to then find themselves broken confused unsupported impoverished and totally ignored neglected and abandoned by the wealthy western world.
80% of Haitians live on less than 2 dollars a day, and seemingly children last year were actually eating mud pies thinking that would keep them alive, and there were riots with people scrabbling for scraps of food..and at least one child a day dies there, from starvation.
Its very hard to comprehend that just around the corner from Haiti in the Carribian, very very wealthy people loll around and sun themselves and eat and play and enjoy many luxuries and excesses...
If ANY good will come out of this, it will be that the world might finally wake up to the plight of these very poor and impoverished people, and assist them long term in empowerment and in aquiring a decent and humane quality of life, something we all expect and see now as our right.
Many women are still also in need of support and help.
And any celebration of our strengths, and our coming togther, is a great symbol and example for the world in general.
Equality and empowerment is something we all should be entitled to...and something I totally agree that we should (and can) all come together to aspire to.
I say up the huskies!!! (Even though I haven't much of a clue about American sport)...But hey!! I still totally support them all the way!! :)
There are things that happen in life, "acts of God," that we can't control, the places where we were born, the way the earth moves.
There are things in life that, once we grow up, we CAN control ---- such as what we decide to learn more about, what activities we invest ourself in, who we allow into our bedroom.
All day I've been thinking of the people on the island struggling to survive.
Tonight, for a couple hours, I'll be totally focused on cheering for my lovely, hardworking team and rooting for them keeping their winning streak intact and continuing on in their promising season.
Then my thoughts will return to doing what I can to support those less fortunate and privileged than myself.
Thanks for giving a nod to what's been on my mind, today.
Go Huskies!!!! What a nice post and call to action. Thanks Ilene for a very motivating post! HUGS!
On the other subject....GO HUSKIES!!!! My son came running down the stairs yesterday to tell me about it! They are right now 55-0, they have not lost a game in 55 games. Make that 56-0, they won yesterday, of course!!! They are incredible. And, I love that their games sell out as the men's games do. It's awesome. I have a number of friends who have season tickets to the women's games...not the mens.
Thank you for tooting the CT Huskies horn. Amazing things are possible.....