Wishing all you wonderful women a very Happy International Women’s Day! Let’s honour each other today as we should every day.
May you never forget how much you are needed and valued.
May you never forget your strength!
There’s a little too much crazy goin’ on in the world right now isn’t there? Every time we turn around, there’s a new political scandal, a new story about how someone we revered or respected has had his/her true nature revealed, some country has been bombed or some entity is trying to harm another. All the while, our planet is in dire straights.
With all this crazy, how are we supposed to take time to reflect upon what’s important? How do we “stop and smell the roses?” Truth is, we must. We simply must. If we do not, there won’t be roses left to smell. Take care of your health- without this, none of the rest of anything matters. Take care of the people you love. Without them, your health may decline.
There’s so much crazy goin’ on right now, that if we don’t stop and take an inventory of what really matters, things are just going to get weirder and weirder and more nonsensical. Yes, our planet needs our help, so let’s help; let’s all plant more trees. Let’s every one of us (all of you who read this) just plant two little trees and grow them with love and patience and watch what happens. Let’s all help someone who needs it. Get to know someone whose views differ with yours. I’m quite positive that in the course of discourse, you’ll find we are all human after all. Differences be damned.
Let’s all find a way to be kinder to ourselves and those in our immediate environments. Then let’s be kinder to our environment as well. Let’s even try to save an animal or two on the endangered species list- before they end up legends in fairy tales. We are all guardians of this beautiful planet- not its owners. “Nature always repairs her ravages,” said George Eliot. Let’s not give her any more reasons…
Yes, there is so much going on. How do you stop the chaos? You can’t.
But you can take a deep, yoga cleansing breath (or three) and become witness. Then, you can remedy.
Have a wonderful week!
“Here’s to strong Women: May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them.”
 -unknown
Happy Women’s Day!
This past year has seen some incredible developments …
We’ve seen the absolute devastation of certain countries and certain peoples around the world. We’ve seen western media prejudice its audience with their incorrect ‘viewpoints’ about Muslims and Islam. We’ve seen an insane tyrant in the White House grow even more inane and juvenile with each passing day.
We’ve also seen the “comeuppance” of many an individual who thought it was alright to stand in the way of, and abuse, many a person. We’ve seen the phenomenal growth of the #Metoo and #TimesUp movements. We’ve seen Black Lives Matter grow and grow and grow. We’ve seen interfaith conversations and multi-faith gatherings bring peace to a divided world. We’ve seen women (Finally) standing behind other women, having their backs, saying “I hear you,” and “I’ll fight for you,” and most importantly, “I believe you.”
We’ve seen what happens when women with common purpose and very powerful determination come together. This is what changing the world looks like. That it had to come about as a response to horrendous abuses of power and privilege is unfortunate. That it’s here now is necessary. It’s universe-shifting; it’s the answer to the prayer of every woman who has found herself in the situation of “who will believe you?”
To every man and woman out there who participates in misogyny, I say to you: Times Up.
To every man and woman who support, stand by, love, and believe, I salute you. I honour you. I embrace you. I thank you.
To all the people who make me stronger, better, more – to say thank you is a monumental shortfall. I shall say it anyway:Â Â Asante Sana! Thank you. Merci Beaucoup. God Bless.
Happy International Women’s Day to all the phenomenal women of our little blue planet!
Let me preface this post by stating that my heart is broken for all those affected by the heinous act of terrorism that took place this past week in Las Vegas, Nevada. My thoughts and prayers are with all those who have lost friends and loved ones, all those injured and all those traumatized by this event. May God bless each and every one of you…
It seems to me that the world has been going crazy. Every time I turn around, there is another violent, gruesome attack of some sort. And every time I turn around, Muslims are being blamed. A whole group of people, being blamed for the barbaric actions of a few. I cannot even begin to tell you how wrong that is.
But what really concerns me is this: when a “dark-skinned follower of ‘Islam’ perpetrates a hate crime, he/she is a terrorist.” However, when a Caucasian commits a barbaric act, he is a “gunman.” This DOUBLE STANDARD is a hate crime in and of itself. It is a targeted, deliberate act of prejudice. Western Media outlets have their own agenda and will only refer to Muslims as terrorists.
How many people have to be slaughtered before the person(s) committing the crime can be called a terrorist? The challenge with how terrorism is defined in the West is that the term itself is directly correlated to a “religious” ideology rather than the very personal nature of the crimes themselves. All we have to do is look at what Israel is doing to Palestine and one can see deliberate, political, religious acts of hatred being perpetrated in the name of “self-defense.” The other challenge with defining terrorism is that it is tied in to a “political” ideology.  So if the ‘gunman’ in Las Vegas was settling a personal score, where does that fit in to the above definitions?
It doesn’t.  The definitions themselves have to be redefined. Stop blaming an entire segment of the world’s population for the actions of a few. Do your own research; don’t let the biased, bigoted news you see portrayed by Western media outlets be your entire basis of evidence. Seek knowledge for yourself.
This man in Las Vegas doesn’t fit the “criminal profile,” of a terrorist. However, he committed a brutal, terrifying act of violence which struck fear into the hearts of everyone in a given location. Why is that not called “terrorism?”
Earlier this year, when Muslims in London coming out of a mosque after prayers, were rode down by a Caucasian male in a white van, it still wasn’t called terrorism, even though that ‘man’ was shouting hateful words towards the Muslim group. Even though he said he wanted to “kill all Muslims,” he was still referred to as a “deranged lunatic.” He committed an act of terrorism, shouted political ideology as he was dragged away by police and it took three whole days before British broadcasters began quietly using the term “terrorist.” An off duty reporter with the BBC, who was speaking with a group of young Muslim Youtubers, turned off his camera and his microphone and said to the group, “look guys, I’m going to be honest with you. The media outlets have their own agenda and won’t say what you want them to say.”
At least he was honest. So here’s what I say to the Western Media outlets:
“Sac up. Grab yourself by the parts that matter and stop being biased by what your producers are telling you is truth.” YOU KNOW BETTER.
To all the people who are so quick to blame Muslims when something goes wrong in the world, stop. If you want to know Islam, speak to a Muslim. If you want to know the truth about how Muslims are treated, look at the Rohingya. As of 2015, 61% of hate crimes in Canada were against Muslims.  (as per the Canadian Human Rights commission.)  If you really want to know what prejudice feels like, speak to a member of the First Nations.
What the world needs to do is love. Love is the key to all things. Love is stronger than hatred. Love is stronger than bias. Love is stronger and more powerful than darkness. We are one human race. We share one planet. And the same God made us all.
“We must be louder than those who make headlines by their acts of hatred. We must call out acts of intolerance no matter how small, because even small acts can embolden the hatred and anger that lead to devastating consequences. Our diversity is our greatest strength.”
~ Marie-Claude Landry
To a beautiful angel who walked among us:
What a bore my life would have been without your presence. Your generosity taught me about how the universe really works. Â May you now Rest in the Loving Peace of the Almighty, my dear sister friend.
♥♥♥
“Islamophobia has no room in this world. If we continue to blame Islam for this tragedy, then we are worse than isis. Isis is not Islam.”
My thoughts and prayers are with everyone that has ever been victim to the cruel attacks by savages purporting to be Muslim. These are acts of cowardice and barbarism. This is not Islam.
My thoughts are also with victims of Islamophobia.
We can change things by standing together because love will always, always, always overpower hate. 💗✌💞
To all you Remarkable Women around the world, I wish you the most prosperous and blessing-filled day!Â
There has been a great deal of media backlash against anyone who has the daring and the courage to “step outside the normal bounds,” and speak about what’s important today. Â The fact remains that together, men and Women, all of us, regardless of how you to choose to express your gender, need to work together so that we can build the world we imagined. Â So that we can be the “change we wish to see in the world.”
Happy International Women’s Day to every woman struggling to take care of herself and her family (blood related or otherwise).
To every woman who is being targeted because of her faith, I stand with you. Â Shalom. Â Assalamualaikum. Peace. Namaste.
To every woman who is entirely misunderstood by her friends/family/inner circle, stand in your strength; courage is in your Divinely Ordained Glory. Speak your truth.
To every woman who had the insane courage and incredible bravery to uproot herself and immigrate to an entirely new reality so she could do better for those whom she loves, I stand on your shoulders. I am where I am because of women like you. Â To all making that journey now, Godspeed and good fortune.
To every woman who struggles day in and day out, I acknowledge you. I acknowledge all women today.  I acknowledge all those who support us in desiring a better world.
To all the women in my life who make me smile, laugh, show me love, support me, and put up with my quirkiness, Â I love you. I honour you. Â I salute you. Â Happy Women’s Day.
To all the men in my life who do the same, thank you. Â Thank you for bearing the weight of who I am in your hearts and souls and letting us beautiful women stand in our light, today and always.
Peace, Love and Blessings
Don’t waste your life trying to be what others want you to be. Be who you are and be better for it.
There is so much negativity in this world; we all need a bright light to shine forth and lead the way. Be that light. Be that betterment.
God bless!
I couldn’t believe the news when I heard of your passing….
Thank you for being one of the most colourful and expressive soundtracks to my life! You will be missed.
May you rest in eternal peace and bliss. I hope you’re jamming with Michael and Whitney, Tupac and Bobbie!
wantchangeformyworld.com 