One Simple Act
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Positive News!!

Can Making a Difference Really Be This Easy?

Take a minute to read this... it will be worth it, I promise!

Hi everyone

Today is a big day! Bigger than most because today you and I get to experience something extraordinary together. Tonight is the start of a movement that will impact tens of thousands of lives each and every week.

Last week I told you that today would be the launch of a new program I designed called The One Simple Act Movement. I have wanted to do this for a while now to unite the Pass Along community in a program that would make a MASSIVE difference in the lives of people that need it.

Today is the day this starts!

If you don't mind taking a minute, let me explain the premise of this movement so you can understand how amazing it will be and how much we need you to be a part of it.

I believe that making a difference doesn't have to be hard.  In fact, if we all believed it was easy and we did simple daily things towards this goal, we would see immediate and widespread positive results in the world. This is the entire purpose of the One Simple Act Movement.

Each Wednesday I will be sending an email to our entire community, which is around 59,000 people from over 100 countries. You are one of these people. Each person has been automatically setup as a member to a new website located at www.OneSimpleAct.com. You can login as a member to this site with your email address as both your email and password and access your own personal One Simple Act account. This is totally FREE!

When you receive the Wednesday email it will outline a "Simple Act." A Simple Act is a suggestion of something you can do each day for the next week for someone else that is simple, powerful and impactful for that person and yourself.

Each Simple Act is SIMPLE, meaning it can be done quickly and easily and anyone with a couple minutes a day can do it (which we all know is everyone!). An example of a Simple Act might be calling up a family member or friend that you haven't talked to in a while and telling them that you love and appreciate who they are.  The topics of the emails will cover a broad range of life.

In your account you will find different tools to inspire you to be involved in this weekly act. When you get the weekly suggestion you can login to this account and make a commitment to that week's Simple Act. For example; if we suggest that you "consciously appreciate people this week", you're going to set a Commitment Goal for the week to appreciate a certain number of people; for example 15 people over the next week.

Now it will be up to you to consciously act on that goal. Find 15 people or more to appreciate in a way you don't normally do. We'll provide varies reminder tools to help you remember to do this.

At the end of the week you'll log back into your account and record the "actual" number of people you appreciated. This number will be added to your overall total of people you have touched with Simple Acts and you'll get a chance to record your thoughts and stories of your experience over that week as a personal reflection for yourself or for other people to read about and get inspired from.

The idea is that with tens of thousands of people doing this throughout the week will translate into tens of thousands of people being impacted by simple but powerful acts of compassion, kindness, love and appreciation; creating a wave of energy that the world needs right now. This energy will grow each week as more people join the movement, until we witness millions of people performing Simple Acts each and everyday. I don't think I need to explain to you how amazing that will be!

The online account has other amazing features and with more to come. One powerful option is to use a special link in your account to invite your friends to join the movement. When you use this link and they join, their Simple Acts will be recorded in the system and shown in your account. So if you invite 10 friends, 5 join and each impact 10 people's lives with a Simple Act in one week, it will show 50 people being impacted in your account, by your friends, because you invited them to join this movement.

 

That is NOT to be overlooked or underestimated
because BIG change happens when people
choose to spread the word!

This is so easy! I can't possibly conceive of any reason why someone wouldn't want to do this, so please give it a try. If you want to learn more, please visit the website and read up on how things work. Login into your account and explore the different pages there. Send us your ideas and suggestions. Let's do this together.

To launch this site I have chosen a topic that inspired this entire movement. Over two years ago I wrote a book called One Simple Act.  It is an act that is so powerful but often overlooked. If you join me this week in applying this Simple Act, I promise you that you won't overlook it anymore. In honour of this first inspiration, look below for the first One Simple Act suggestion for you to join us in this week. Enjoy!  Next week we'll send you the results of this week's collective efforts and invite you to join us in a new one for the following week.

Thanks for being so amazing!

 

 

One Question in Life
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Musings

One Question in Life

Ultimately, there is only one question in life. That question is, "Who am I?" It is a question to which you never want a final answer. Stay within the question. Remain always with the inquiry. For within the inquiry is the power and the motivation and the passion to create. And creation is the glory of God, made manifest over and over again in ever new and never-final ways, through the process called Life Itself.

Tomorrow's God Neale Donald Walsch Page 200

UK GM free- yes please!
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Positive News!!
A petition has been set up on the Downing Street website to bring to
the attention of the Prime Minister why we should Declare the UK a
GM-free zone.

Please log on to the link below to show your support:
http://petitions. pm.gov.uk/ gmfreeuk/

Earth Day
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Musings

phew, I'm moved and back on line...it's been longer than anticipated. But i have lots of news to share...starting with Earth Day...

Today is the 37th annual celebration of Earth Day, a worldwide event dedicated to achieving a healthy and sustainable planet.

 If you'd like to know more about Earth Day 2007 and how you can get involved, please visit www.earthday.net.

quotes
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Musings

Every Soul Is Perfect

There is no such thing as a "victim" or a "villain." There are no such things as the "good guys" and the "bad guys." God created nothing but Perfection. Every soul is perfect, pure and beautiful. In the state of forgetfulness in which they reside here on Earth, God's perfect beings may do imperfect things -- or what we would call imperfect things -- yet everything that occurs in life occurs for a perfect reason. There is no such thing as a "mistake" in God's world, and nothing happens by chance. Nor does any person come to You without a gift for You in his hands.

Friendship with God Neale Donald Walsch

Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward.

-Vernon Law

 

We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.

-Mother Teresa

 

quotes
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Musings
God brings men into deep waters not to drown them, but to cleanse them.

-Aughey

inside the room of your soul
Mood:  don't ask
Topic: Musings

check this out :)

http://blogthings.com/insidetheroomofyoursoulquiz/

The Wisdom of the Universe

All human beings are born with all the wisdom of the universe imprinted on their soul. It is in the DNA of everything. Indeed, "DNA" could very well be used as an acronym for Divine Natural Awareness. Every living thing has this natural awareness built in. It is part of the system. It is part of the process that you call Life. This is why, when people are confronted with great wisdom, it often sounds so familiar to them. They agree with it almost at once. There is no argument. There is only a remembering. It is part of their Divine Natural Awareness. It is said to be "in their DNA." It feels like, "Ah, yes, of course."

Home With God Neale Donald Walsch

Spring Equinox/ April Newsletter
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: archive newsletters

Spring Equinox/ April  2007

Free e-newsletter

From Rachael Hertogs

 

With the Spring Equinox and the dark moon in Pisces, and of course that amazing lunar eclipse, energies have been a bit chaotic! The Spring energy is taking us outward- just as the new buds are bursting forth as is our creativity pushing to make fresh starts! But then the energy of the new moon is one of going within, contemplating and connecting with our deeper wisdom. The influence of Pisces encourages us to experience the common heart of humanity-  longings for love, understanding and a sense of belonging. But this epiphany also happens in our daily lives -- little miracles that create a bridge to another person, where before there was an illusion of being isolated. Our troubled world aches for such connection, and this new moon offers encouragement for all who dare to reach out!

In my personal life I am about to move house - a great time for new beginnings but balancing such an emotional upheaval with work and family is proving a challenge!! My saving grace has been my voluntary work down at the City Farm Boiling Wells Site- a few hours of digging, weeding and generally absorbing the suns rays does wonders to renew my spirits! I heartily recommend a good dose of sunshine to anyone who is feeling a bit down or 'stuck' ;)

Of course I'm still promoting the Sacred Arts Camp- which I hope to see some of you at- its a wonderful community experince.

And taking bookings for my Summer Solstice Workshop in June...a few places left at the moment.

I have some new Reiki Classes starting in May and June- all the info on the above is below!

 

and now some recipe's for bright summer skin!

Facial Steams help improve circulation, balance the oils in the skin, open pores, release toxins, and absorb healing herbs.
~4 Herbal Tea Bags (try organic peppermint, chamomile, lavender or a mixture of herbs (I've listed a source for them below)
~2 litres water (best to use filtered, spring or distilled)
-Put water in a large pot, bring to a boil, turn off, add tea bags, cover and let sit for 5-10 minutes
-Place your head directly over pot or pour into a glass bowl, being very careful not to touch the pot or water since they are very hot.
-Sit with the pot or bowl in front of you
-Place a towel or a large light cotton cloth over your head, lean your face over the steam in the pot or bowl and cover the pot or bowl creating a tent.
-Steam your face for 5-10 minutes
If it gets too hot for you, open the towel and let some cool air in.

Tips: 6 Tips for Vibrant Summer Skin

1. Cleanse your face daily in the morning and evening with a gentle cleanser, one that does not strip your natural oils
2. Hydrate your skin daily: Drink plenty of water & mist your face with floral water
3. Use a day time moisturizer
4. Exfoliate weekly with a scrub that gently opens pores
5. Do a self massage on your face a few minutes each day
6. Eat fruits & vegetables high in antioxidants

 

An affirmation for you - I am grateful for the inner guidance that directs me.

Much love and many blessings, Rachael xxx

This month we have-

Classes and Workshops

events in and around Bristol

networking  section

Promotions

 

*Classes *

Summer Reiki Courses

Reiki Courses May - June 2007  with Rachael Hertogs

Reiki courses run over 6 weeks to allow time for your body to adjust to the subtle energies, my Reiki classes usually consist of 6 students - allowing for individual support and plenty of practice time. Payments can be made over time and concessionary places are available.

Reiki I- starts Thursday June 14^th 7-9pm £150

(book by May 26^th)

Reiki II- starts Monday June 11^th 7-9pm  £200

(book by May 26^th) To take level II you are expected to be using the Reiki Principles, and giving yourself Reiki, daily.

 

For further info or to book call 9245040 (or 9537765 after April 6th)  email info@rachaelhertogs.co.uk

or see website www.rachaelhertogs.co.uk

 

Free Reiki I Class at SPAN

starts 1st May - SPAN Classes are for single parents!  crèche spaces available! FFI and to book a place contact  Anna -  0117 - 9522712   Single Parent Action Network, Millpond, Baptist Street, Easton, Bristol. BS5 0YW

Reiki II in Spetember!

 

Womens Summer Solstice Celebration!

 

Join me and a group of women in celebrating the summer solstice with a day of creativity, singing, movement, visualisation, stories, touching nature and honouring one another

 

Saturday June 23^rd

St Werburghs

£50 per woman

payment covers hire of a beautiful space – in nature, workshop materials, refreshments and chocolate!

Summer Solstice Celebration - embracing the creative energy of the sun.  We will use song, visualisation and art to connect within. There will be glitter and sparkle, laughter and chocolate! We will explore where we are and where we want to be on our journey of life, what is holding us back, and how can we break though and transform them. We will rewrite our futures and honour ourselves as women!

Contact Rachael for further info or to book 9245040 info@rachaelhertogs.co.uk  

At Wise Women’s Workshops we offer unique healing spaces for women

 

 

*Events*

Your Community Clinic

offers a gateway to complementary therapies for a minimum donation of £10 for 30 mins.

treatments are 30 minutes- although 1 hour sessions can be booked.

Therapies:
 Aromatherapy, Back, Shoulder & Head Massage, Cranial Sacral Therapy{,  Crystal Healing,  Ear Acupuncture, Facial Massages, Indian Head Massage, Reflexology, Reiki & Shiatsu

{ only on Saturdays

 

please call to pre-book a treatment – we also have gift vouchers available!

ffi and bookings contact Rachael on 0117 9245040 email- info@rachaelhertogs.co.uk

see web site for venue and dates   http://communityclinic.tripod.com

 

Provide yourself with an opportunity for rest and enhance self esteem, feel more peaceful, content, positive and better able to cope with day to day stresses!

 

 

DANCES OF UNIVERSAL PEACE IN BRISTOL

Sat 21^st April - James Burgess - day of DUP

Tickets on the door £25 (£20 concessions)

All welcome - no previous experience or pre-booking needed. Please bring veggie lunch to share.

Ffi tel Lucy 01373 813591

or John 01453 731424 john@jsrees.freeserve.co.uk

 

*Networking*

 

sound meditation with gongs and singing bowls at the Pierian Centre

Thursday 26 April at 7.30 pm.

Cost is £10, including refreshments.  Please let me know if you would like to book a space - and if you can bring a blanket or shawl that would be good.

Wishing you a happy Easter and equinox.

love, Celia  (tel 0117 924 1023)

may all beings be well, may all beings be happy

 

70max.com

If everyone in theUK drove at 70mph max we would reduce carbon  emissions by 1 million tonnes a year!

Sign up. Display a sticker. Stay below 70.

http://www.70max.com

Those who do not drive we salute you! I would welcome the following from you:Willingness to display the 70max window sticker, which is free, all  you

need to do is sign-up on the site.  Any opportunities you can help with to reach a wider audience, i.e.  partnership with other campaigning organisations and their membership. PR opportunities/contacts. Sponsorship opportunities/contacts . Advice on charitable status/running a campaign.

Thank you in anticipation. (This is just the beginning!) http://www.70max.com

 

Sacred Arts Camp 25 May - 2/3 June 2006 Nr Reading

 

The world's biggest gathering of our peace dance family.This camp is for all the family.There is dancing to live music, with harmony singing, yoga and other spiritual practices, clay work, painting, woodcraft,  parachute games, waterplay, nightly story time, women's circles & men's groups,  the experience of cooperative living in a beautiful secluded field.

Camp life - camp fires, hot showers, sweat lodges, café, sacred foot ball,  & pancakes, open hearted people from many countries, lots of spirit - no alcohol.

Cost - only £140 per adult; £40 per child (5 -12); £50 per teenager (13 -18); £80 per young adult (19 - 26).

Enquiries - Diane 01297 33700 or Gitta 01202825450
e-mail: mail@sacred-arts-camp.org.uk Details & updates on  www.sacred-arts-camp.org.uk

 

 

Websites don't have to be expensive. They can cost as little as £50 to set up a simple one and are a great way to let people know about you and what you do. You can use them to promote your business or to share family photos with friends overseas.  Contact Lisa Cole -  moomum@lactivist.co.uk  for more details.

 

http://www.thevoiceforgod.com/ For those of you who have enjoyed Conversations with God- you may like this -I haven't done it myself, but it comes recommended!

 

PS Conversations with God book 1 is £2.99 in The Works!!

 

 

*Promotions*

Mary Magdalene Experiment

 

Spikenard /Mary Magdalene Oil Experiment

5ml - £9

The bible tells us Mary anointed Jesus' feet with a rare substance called "nard", which she carried in an alabaster jar, a substance that was so rare and expensive that the apostles could not believe Jesus allowed the anointing to occur. Even today, nard (or spikenard) is a rare and very expensive oil. It is one of the holiest and highest vibrating substances on the planet and believed to have many other rare esoteric qualities. The flower that produces the oil grows wild in a small region of Nepal and nowhere else. This region of Nepal is considered the land of "Buddha Consciousness". Spikenard has the ability to open the heart and clear doubts.

I invite you to participate in a mystical experiment to unlock the mysteries of an ancient oil often associated with Jesus and Mary Magdalene.  Spikenard has been revered for thousands of years, and its effects are legendary.  I thank you in advance for joining us.  Spikenard should only be used as a meditation tool, and is safe to apply to the skin.  Though many other sources relate the health benefits of the oil, in this experiment we invite you to note its spiritual effects.

The Spikenard you will receive is a pure distillation. 

The first thing you will likely notice when you receive your oil will be the oil's strong fragrance.  You may feel drawn to the scent, or somewhat repelled.  If you are not immediately drawn to it, sit with the oil for a while and see what it inspires.  Often, essential oils take us right to places within that need to be healed, and when the healing is addressed, your experience with the oil may change.  Be patient.  Don't rush the process.  You may choose to dilute a bit of the oil by mixing it with Jojoba; creating a salve for applying to the skin.  Once again, this is for you to decide, and creativity is the key.

to order on line go to www.rachaelhertogs.co.uk/gifts.shtml

 

And to finish:

 

My Garden

 

 

My garden is a place I like to be,

It’s like an island in a tempestuous sea,

Where I can withdraw from the problems of this life,

From a world torn with trouble and strife.

 

A place where tranquillity can be found,

In appreciating the beauty which is all around

Above the silence there can still be heard,

The buzzing of a bee, and the chirping of a bird.

 

As I look around many different colours catch my eye,

I can behold the beauty of the butterfly,

As I look closely there can be seen

suSigns where the aphis and the slugs have been.

 

I often get the feeling that I am not alone

And that another power seeks to make it’s presence known,

The perfume of the flowers pervades the air,

And God seems to be talking to me there.

 

As I contemplate the power of God who is in control,

Peace and serenity descend upon my soul.

I ask myself, “How has all this come to be?”

And without God it must remain a mystery.

 

Anon.

The Process of Life- from Conversations with God
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Musings

Neale Talks About the Process of Life Itself...

AND THE VOICE SAID: Today I shall tell you everything there is to know about Life. (Or, at least, everything that you'll be able to understand Right Now.)

AND THE VOICE WENT ON...

We live within a System. We are this System. This System is run by a Process. We are this Process. This Process is fueled by Energy. We are this Energy.

There is nothing else going on.

There are one or two words that can be (and have been variously) used to describe this whole Cosmology. The word Life comes to mind. Then, as we elevate our thinking (which humans are prone to do), the word God . Both words refer to the Same Thing. You could say, with accuracy, "God is Energy." Or, "God is a Process." Or, "God is a System." You could say, with accuracy, "Life is Energy." Or, "Life is a Process." Or, "Life is a System."

Conversations with God says: God is a Process, and that Process is Life Itself. This statement is accurate.

So let's explore this Process that God Is and that We Are.

It is a Process of Energy Exchange.

Energy -- which is the Pure Essence of All That Is, All That Ever Was, and All That Ever Shall Be -- is constantly being Exchanged. With what? With Itself. It never reaches outside of Itself. It could not if It wanted to, because nothing outside of Itself exists. That is, this Pure Essence is the All In All. It is the Sum Total of Everything. It is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the Before and the After, the Up and the Down of It, the Left and the Right of It, the Here and the There of It, the Now and the Then. It is the Sum and the Substance, the Creator and the Created, the Unified and the Individuated, It is the Unmoved Mover,

This Energy exchanges Itself with Itself in a never-ending Process that has built into it a Self-Sustaining Design, or a System. The Process is not helter-skelter. It is not catch-as-catch-can. The Process knows what It is doing and It is doing it deliberately.

There is a Synergism to this Process, and it is that Synergism which renders the process eternally sustainable. Within this Process nothing is wasted. Nothing is lost. Nothing goes unused. Everything is fuel. And the fuel is reburnable.

I call the reburning of Life's Fuel Synergistic Energy eXchange -- or S.E.X.

We are having SEX everywhere, all the time. No two people every meet without exchanging this Energy. Trust me. The question is never, Are we exchanging this Energy? The question is, What are we going to do with it...?

In human terms we call this Synergistic Energy eXchange the Cycle of Life. Indeed, it is the energy exchange which creates Life Itself. Our description is accurate.

In truth, it is impossible to create what we call New Life. All we can really do is cause the Life (Energy) that is eternally present to emerge in a New Form. This is exactly what Stars do in the heavens.

The evidence of all that I have just said is right up in the sky. (We know this, of course. That is why we intuitively look "to the heavens" when we think of "God." That is why ours eyes instinctively go upward when we are thinking deeply, or desperately seeking help. Do you think this is an accident? It is not. At a cellular level, we know. )

In our case, in the case of this particular Solar System, we are looking at what we have called The Sun. (It is not a happenstance that earlier civilizations worshipped the Sun -- and that some people still do today.)

The Sun is giving up its Life for us. It is burning Itself out, right now. True, it may take a few more billion years, but that is What It Is Doing. Make no mistake about it. That is what is going on.

One day the Light Will Go Out. Not to worry, though. Life in its miniscule expression known as Humanity will by that time have figured this whole thing out and will have been Long Gone. We will have found a way to harness the very energy that the Sun is sending us to get out of the Sun's way when it finally implodes in its last burst of energy, then becoming a Black Hole. We will long before then have used that energy to propel ourselves to a New Star System, where a much younger Sun, perhaps one Just Born, will guarantee our species a few more billion years of survival in pretty much our present form. And when that Sun approaches Final Burst, we will move on again, like nomads of the Universe, like gypsies of the stars, like humans have done on this very earth, traipsing around for food (read that: energy ) when the local supply runs out.

What do you suppose we are eating here...? We are eating sunlight. That is what all food is. Nothing more than stored sunlight. It is not only plants that engage in the Process of photosynthesis, but all of us, everything. The Earth Itself does. We are absorbing energy from the Sun, and radiating it back out again. This is how flowers bloom. This is how trees grow. This is how planets become.

There is a huge boiler inside our planet, lying at its core. Sometimes a tiny bit of this core material oozes out, cooling considerably on its way, but still emerging as white hot molten lava. This core material is hotter than hot. It is the direct energy of the Sun, cooled at its fringes as it spewed forth to form the crust of what we now call The Earth.

As it cooled, some of this Energy liquified. We call this oil (among other things). Some of this Energy solidified. We call this minerals (among other things). Some of this Energy gasified. We call this hydrogen and oxygen (among other things). Some of this Energy vaporized. We call this ozone (among other things). Some of this Energy miniaturized and stored Itself in just about Everything. We call this vitamins (among other things). Some of this Energy maximized and showed Itself in just about Everything. We call this the Planet Itself (among other things).

We are this Energy, individualized. We are part of this eternal Process of Energy Exchange. In a sense, we eat ourselves in order to sustain ourselves. We need vitamins, so we eat plants and animals, and minerals and oils (fish oil capsules are very big these days). We draw the line at consuming ourselves -- but cannibals once even did this, being so primitive as to not understand that eating one's own species was not self-sustaining. When primitive humans finally figured this out, we took Each Other off the menu. Now we are gradually taking other Life Forms off the menu as well. Vegetarianism is, course, the outflow of that. The day may very well come when we take every Life Form on this planet off the menu. We will simply get our Energy directly from the Sun.

This may seem far-fetched to some, but it does not seem so to Hira Ratan Manek. You will find it interesting to Google Mr. Manek, and read what you find there.

The eyes are not merely the instruments through which we see. They are the instruments through which we intake Energy . They work in that capacity even if we are blind. They are the portals through which Life is Absorbed. They are not the only portals, not the only way we absorb Life Energy. But they are the Most Direct Route. Which is why Hira Ratan Manek insists that if we just look at the sun a few minutes each day, we can get most of what we are eating things to get. And we can get it faster. Because when we eat things -- when we consume plants and trees and minerals and animals -- we have to first convert these substances to extract the Sun Energy that is stored there. By sun gazing, Mr. Manek suggests, we absorb sunlight directly, without having to convert it through any internal (and energy using ) digestive process.

(A word of caution however: most Sun Gazers say to look at the Sun only during the few moments around Sunrise and Sunset, to protect the eyes from permanent after-image and other possible retina damage. And note: I am not here, in any way, suggesting or endorsing the process of Sun Gazing.)

Having said that, we all know already of the benefits of sunlight. When we feel sick, it is common for those around us to say, "C'mon, you need to get out in the sun." And sunlight deprivation is now being recognized as a diseased condition, which medical science and modern technology have found a way to treat. SAD (or Seasonal Affective Disorder) is now treated with Full Spectrum Lighting, among other things, to give people what they are missing from not getting enough sun.

Do we really think it is a coincidence that sunbathers are inordinately healthy? Go to any nudist colony expecting (hoping?) to see lots of nubile naked bodies running around, but don't be surprised if you see that the majority of nudists are people in their 60s, 70s, and 80s, exercising and swimming and playing volleyball and having the time of their life inside of healthy, vibrant bodies that are absorbing more Sunlight in one day than most of us do in one month.

Life IS a System, and there is a way to go about changing your life, improving your life, systematically. This "way" is what some people have called... The Secret.  

  ~ NDW                                                                                       

Hapy Mothers day!!
Mood:  special
Topic: Positive News!!

Happy Mothers Day to all us mums- it's the toughest job in the world- but the most rewarding :)

Enjoy my Mothers Day Selection

love Rachael xxx

Subject: mother reclassification
A woman named Emily renewing her driver's license at the Clerk's
office was asked by the woman recorder to state her occupation. She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself.

'What I mean is,' explained the recorder, 'do you have a job, or
are you just a .....?
’Of course I have a job,' snapped Emily. 'I'm a mother.'
'We don't list 'mother' as an occupation... 'housewife' covers it,' said
the recorder emphatically.
 I forgot all about her story until one day I found myself in the same
situation, this time at our own Town Hall.
The Clerk was obviously a career woman, poised, efficient, and possessed
of a high sounding title like, 'Official Interrogator' or 'Town Registrar.'
'What is your occupation?' she probed.
What made me say it, I do not know... The words simply popped out.
I'm a Research Associate in the field of Child Development and Human
Relations.'

The clerk paused, ball-point pen frozen in midair, and looked up as
though she had not heard right.
I repeated the title slowly, emphasizing the most significant words.
Then I stared with wonder as my pronouncement was written in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.

Might I ask,' said the clerk with new interest, 'just what you do in your
field?'
Coolly, without any trace of fluster in my voice, I heard myself reply,
'I have a continuing program of research, (what mother doesn't), in the
laboratory and in the field, (normally I would have said indoors and
out).
I'm working for my Masters, (the whole darned family), and already have
four credits, (all daughters).
Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities, (any
mother care to disagree.?) and I often work 14 hours a day, (24 is more
like it). But the job is more challenging than most run-of-the-mill
careers and the rewards are more of a satisfaction, rather than just money.'
There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk's voice as she
completed the form, stood up, and personally ushered me to the door.
As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up by my glamorous career, I was
greeted by my lab assistants - ages 13, 7, and 3. Upstairs I could hear
our new experiment, (a 6 month old baby), in the child-development program, testing out a new vocal pattern.

I felt triumphant! I had scored a beat on bureaucracy! And I had gone
on the official records as someone more distinguished and indispensable to mankind than 'just another mother.'

Motherhood.....What a glorious career! Especially when there's a title
on the door.

Does this make grandmothers 'Senior Research Associates in the field of Child Development and Human Relations' And great grandmothers Executive Senior Research Associates'? I think so!!!
I also think it makes Aunts 'Associate Research Assistants'.

 

Mother's Day History

Contrary to popular belief, Mother's Day was not conceived and fine-tuned in the boardroom of Hallmark. The earliest tributes to mothers date back to the annual spring festival the Greeks dedicated to Rhea, the mother of many deities, and to the offerings ancient Romans made to their Great Mother of Gods, Cybele. Christians celebrated this festival on the fourth Sunday in Lent in honor of Mary, mother of Christ. In England this holiday was expanded to include all mothers and was called Mothering Sunday.

In the United States, Mother's Day started nearly 150 years ago, when Anna Jarvis, an Appalachian homemaker, organized a day to raise awareness of poor health conditions in her community, a cause she believed would be best advocated by mothers. She called it "Mother's Work Day."

Fifteen years later, Julia Ward Howe, a Boston poet, pacifist, suffragist, and author of the lyrics to the "Battle Hymn of the Republic," organized a day encouraging mothers to rally for peace, since she believed they bore the loss of human life more harshly than anyone else.

In 1905 when Anna Jarvis died, her daughter, also named Anna, began a campaign to memorialize the life work of her mother. Legend has it that young Anna remembered a Sunday school lesson that her mother gave in which she said, "I hope and pray that someone, sometime, will found a memorial mother's day. There are many days for men, but none for mothers."

Anna began to lobby prominent businessmen like John Wannamaker, and politicians including Presidents Taft and Roosevelt to support her campaign to create a special day to honor mothers. At one of the first services organized to celebrate Anna's mother in 1908, at her church in West Virginia, Anna handed out her mother's favorite flower, the white carnation. Five years later, the House of Representatives adopted a resolution calling for officials of the federal government to wear white carnations on Mother's Day. In 1914 Anna's hard work paid off when Woodrow Wilson signed a bill recognizing Mother's Day as a national holiday.

At first, people observed Mother's Day by attending church, writing letters to their mothers, and eventually, by sending cards, presents, and flowers. With the increasing gift-giving activity associated with Mother's Day, Anna Jarvis became enraged. She believed that the day's sentiment was being sacrificed at the expense of greed and profit. In 1923 she filed a lawsuit to stop a Mother's Day festival, and was even arrested for disturbing the peace at a convention selling carnations for a war mother's group. Before her death in 1948, Jarvis is said to have confessed that she regretted ever starting the mother's day tradition.

Despite Jarvis's misgivings, Mother's Day has flourished! In fact, Mothers Day has become the most popular day of the year to dine out, and telephone lines record their highest traffic, as sons and daughters everywhere take advantage of this day to honor and to express appreciation of their mothers

Who ran to help be when I fell,
And would some pretty story tell,
Or kiss the place to make it well?
My Mother."

-Ann Taylor

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"Youth fades; love droops, the leaves of friendship fall; A mother's secret hope outlives them all."

-Oliver Wendell Holmes

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"Who is getting more pleasure from this rocking, the baby or me?

-Nancy Thayer

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"Mama exhorted her children at every opportunity to 'jump at de sun.' We might not land on the sun, but at least we would get off the ground."

-Zora Neale Hurston

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"Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother."

-Lin Yutang

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"I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life."

-Abraham Lincoln

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"The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother."

-Author Unknown

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"Making the decision to have a child-it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body."

-Elizabeth Stone

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"Is my mother my friend? I would have to say, first of all she is my Mother, with a capital 'M'; she's something sacred to me. I love her dearly...yes, she is also a good friend, someone I can talk openly with if I want to."

-Sophia Loren

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"My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her."

-George Washington

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"Nobody knows of the work it makes
To keep the home together.
Nobody knows of the steps it takes,
Nobody knows-but Mother."

-Anonymous