When I wake up in the morning I smile.
Twenty-four brand new hours are before me.
I vow to live fully in each moment,
And to look on all beings with the eyes of compassion.
-Thich Nhat Hanh

Five years ago, when she was eighty-five years old, Dr. Gladys Mc Garey went to war-torn Afghanistan to help mothers and children. She was willing to sleep on the ground, go to the bathroom in the bushes and ride a donkey to help others!!! Follow-up studies show that infant and child mortality rates were reduced by 47% wherever Dr. McGarey went!

Dr. Gladys Taylor McGarey
The “mother of holistic medicine”!

I met Dr. Mc Garey ten years ago when she was eighty and she was on her way to the Taj Mahal (her place of birth) to celebrate. I invited to write her story for The Spirit of a Woman, and she answered as she hugged me “Sure, I have many stories! I could not help but notice that she radiates loving-kindness.

In the ten years it took to complete The Spirit of a Woman, Dr. Mc Garey’s was one of the first stories I received. She was never impatient with me while waiting for the book to be published but she was always supportive!  Many times when we talked she would say “Keep up the good work.”  And when I recently thanked her for being so positive with me all these years she answered. ”We need each other” Yes, Dr. Gladys, we do.

And this is why www.iSupportHolistic.com is important. We need each other to make changes in healthcare. Dr. Gladys is creating a space for “living medicine” in America!  It is time to re-dream our lives and create something healthier than a “disease model”! I can’t think of anyone more capable, connected and who is coming from the right (heart) place to make these changes than Dr. Gladys. You can read more about her Gathering of the Eagles and her other humanitarian works at www.McGareyFoundation.com.

It is an honor and a blessing to have Dr. Gladys Mc Garey’s  story of forgiveness entitled “Shadows and Sunshine” in The Spirit of a Woman: Stories to Empower and Inspire. Dr. Mc Garey is a wonderful role model for all of us. She turns ninety soon! What an inspiration she is!

With gratitude and great respect,
Terry Laszlo-Gopadze

Colleen Haggerty is a writer who shares a powerful story in The Spirit of a Woman: Stories to Empower and Inspire. She chooses forgiveness when she meets the man responsible for the car accident in which she lost her leg, fifteen years after the event that changed both of their lives forever.

Colleen continues to inspire. Right now, she is walking a mile a day to raise money to help people who need prosthetic legs, just like she did many years ago.

Why?

It is clear Colleen has turned her crisis into service for the well being of others. I wanted to share this with you because this is a painful act of service, this is sacrifice to make the sacred manifest. This is using the resources available and going beyond her limits to contribute to people’s lives; to alter them for good.

Reading Colleen’s blog, I stop. I ask myself, “Where are your limits, limiting you? Can you overcome your limits to serve others?”

Mr. Gebrilla Sesay

To read Colleen’s blog, or send her a note, or contribute to her courageous, inspiring campaign, visit http://mymilewalk.blogspot.com

Go to Prosthetics Outreach Foundation www.pofsea.org if you would like to read more stories of lives changed.

Terry Laszlo-Gopadze, Editor, The Spirit of a Woman

Cool Water Hula 10^th Anniversary

Cool Water Hula 10th Anniversary is making waves in Butte, Montana on July 10, 2010.   We will dance and sing to the song “Cool Water” on the edge of the Berkeley Pit that contains over 40 billion gallons of toxic water.  One hundred and fifty-four of us danced there ten years ago.  This time we are dedicating the event to protecting clean water because we want clean water to be a basic human right everywhere.

The environmental movement is doing a fantastic job of getting the facts and figures and educating us about terrifying inconvenient truths.  We need that.  It teaches me to turn the water off while brushing teeth, keep showers short, and boycott bottled water, all good and important actions. But private actions alone can leave us isolated and easily discouraged.  We need to engage our hearts communally.  Creative, public actions like the Cool Water Hula embody a new story, give the environmental movement a heartbeat and build momentum for a huge cultural shift.  Be a part of the big picture of transforming a greed culture into a green culture. Come to Butte, Montana on July 10^th, 2010. Make waves for clean water. 

Kristi Hager, director and producer, Cool Water Hula 10^th Anniversary

Information at coolwaterhula.blogspot.com

[email protected]

Kristi Hager is also a contributing author in The Spirit of a Woman: Stories to Empower and Inspire. We invite you to read and excerpt from her story, Hula Seriously