My Gift to the World

Every one of us has a dark and a light side. This fact is a basic principle of nature: all creation comes from darkness. No matter how good we try to appear the element of darkness, our shadow side, exists. Trying to hide the fact only causes it to build and erupt when under pressure. Peace and happiness prevail from accepting this Universal Principle and learning to balance these two aspects of our character.

A new venture or experience demands present moment attention. A bit like sailing uncharted waters, awareness becomes essential because you really don’t know what to expect. This state of NOW creates a level of awareness that allows an interesting study of the many facets of  your personal make-up. This is a lesson that was strongly impressed upon me when I began the bead necklace project that led to writing The Threaded Gem Adventure.

From sending the first invitations, to waiting for responses and on to the stranding and tying of each bead, I felt like an impartial witness to my moments of nervousness, anxiety, frustration and aggravation. Rejection issues, guised as the fear of not enough people responding, raised their distorted faces.  There was also resentment as I struggled to make beautiful charms fit a design intended for beads. I found myself being amazed that these negatives were appearing, threatening to contaminate a project of love and connection.

The issue of rejection was one I had worked on years earlier. As the question of why it was entering this project traveled through my mind, the answer followed. The conditioning of a lifetime cannot simply be erased. Pains of the past mark the soul like a hardened edge scratches fine metal. The mark can be polished until it is almost invisible but a shadow will always be there. When conditions are right the scar will be visible. Recognizing that it is only a scar is the new important and higher lesson here. It is a lesson that brings freedom and satisfaction.

Recognizing my feeling of resentment was the greatest ‘ah-ha’ moment. I had looked forward to the time of connecting all these special tokens yet I found myself frustrated. The resistance of the silk thread in sliding across the table, making charms balance in a relationship with beads, and in bringing continuity with the mix of large holes and small left me gritting my teeth. Stepping away from the emotion, the lesson of learning acceptance became recognizable. The beads were as unique as their givers. However, finding the answer for my aggravation took more time.

Doing what I can to bring healing and balance to the planet is the gift I want to give my grandchildren and others. But a person cannot give what they do not have. In learning to love and balance my shadows and light, the effect is the same as a tuning fork surrounded by glasses of water.  The greatest gift I can give the world is to be a balanced happy person.     

Fertile Seeds of Change

Gems of wisdom and experience are seeds we cast in daily conversations, in interactions with the young as well as our exchanges with peers. Seldom do we see where these seeds land. Many will  fall on barren terrain but hopefully some fertile soil.  One of the greatest thrills I experience is finding that one of my seeds not only set root but also bore fruit that has changed a life. This is a delight. It comes with the understanding that I have been part of a great mystery.

If you follow the Face Book page of my award-winning book: Gringos in Paradise: Our Honduras Odyssey, you know I have a single mother’s project in my area of Honduras. One of the first mothers I helped fishes for a living. While she was pregnant and could not work, I showed her how to make jewelry from broken glass that washes up on the beach. Selling these to tourist shops, she made enough income to feed and support her children and even buy her first overhead light for her house. After she gave birth and the baby had reached the age of 3 months, the doctor released her to go back to fishing.  Our plan was that each of the two occupations would take turns supporting her; fishing in good weather, making jewelry when the rains came.  The state of her economy and activity improved so she even bought a washing machine on credit to free her time from the labor-intensive hand washing for a family of five.

Then the unforeseen happened. The fruit company cleaned their trenches, pushing chemically treated soil into the waterways. The river ran brown driving the fish far out to sea.  As weeks turned to months the water began to clear, then early fall rains began discouraging tourist travel.  This mother told me that she was 3 months behind on her water and 2 months on her electric. The power company had notified her that they would disconnect. As much as I hated to see her caught in this bind, my mission was to help mothers help themselves. To lend her money only added to her debt load, to give her money only weakens her. I chose to buy her a chicken, dried beans and vegetables to feed her family. Her bills were up to her. 

It was a week before I saw her again. She came to my gate with a gift of fresh fish. The weather had cleared and she was back out to sea. When I asked about her situation, her face broke into a smile.  She had made soup from the beans I  gave her, then rode her bicycle around town until she sold it. This brought enough money to pay her utilities with a bit left over.  The extra money bought a bus ride into town and jewelry beads.  She worked all afternoon making necklaces and earrings then mounted her bicycle again. She sold her jewelry all around the barrio and did not return home until she had the money to pay her washing machine installment.  She told me that in the past, when a problem with money arose, she would only look for a way around it. Now she knows that a problem always offers a stairway to overcome it.

Beads As Seeds of Change

In an earlier post I told a story of trying  to help some single mothers in my pueblo of Honduras. There was a time in my life when I was a single mom. After years of being self-employed  I did not qualify for aid, not even food stamps.Family was not helping. I think this is why I felt the need to try to help these two women who were struggling to survive. Not being able to care financially for their children is the greatest fear of single moms. They often see their only alternative is in finding another man to help them, but another man can bring more problems. 

I had grandiose plans of what I could do to assist these women, but the Universe was much wiser. The results that came in under my design were meager but were enough to confirm that I was headed in the right direction; I  was just taking the wrong mode of travel. As my little project evolved, greater than I could have ever expected, a second more personal project was birthed. This became my bead adventure. I was impressed to ask my friends and family to send me a bead as a birthday gift. I was going to create a necklace of oneness for my 65^th birthday. The process became a beautiful journey of self-awareness.  This bead adventure reconnected me to a time when the kindness of others  was the hand up I needed.

All that has occurred during this year has been  a journey under direction of a Higher Power. The two women I wanted to help have now become a program of help that is strengthening a community. As more women are being brought to my attention, I wondered where the money would come from to supply the help they needed. There are contributions from interested and caring people but it was also about that time that I felt impressed to share this beautiful crafting idea in a book. My birthday idea became a how-to book of crafting relationships with beads  along with a beautiful adventure for the soul. The idea and story of connection is creating a ripple; other women are making their own strands of connection. This heart connection has already extended to many different points around the globe and is connecting with my little beach community of El Porvenir. Here, royalties from the  book are supporting a growing Single Mom’s Project. What a beautiful gift of sharing.  Follow the Mother's Project   
Learn more:  www.wisdompathway.com

Giving Moms a Hand

Many years ago, I was a single unemployed mom. I was living in a tourist area during the off-season.  I had no job, financial support or help from family, but a church with a food pantry gave me enough for my children and I to survive until I began earning money.  I started a housecleaning service with the help of my 13-year old daughter. I have never felt badly scarred from that period, but I did receive some CEUs from the school of hard knocks. That period also left me with a tender place in my heart for single self-employed mothers.

Most mothers dream of having their children thrive. They feed that dream through their example. Since moving to the Central American country of Honduras, I have learned the dream of many single mothers is simply for their children to survive.  In my barrio, there are two single mothers, working their own small businesses. They manage to support themselves and their children. They even pay for their children’s schooling, but it is an existence living.  These women are no different from me. I found a way to realize the dream for my children and I felt these women might also realize theirs by improving their businesses. So I  started a Single Mother’s Hand-Up Project that helps create strong home based businesses for women in her area, deserted by their husbands.  

My vision for this little beach community is that it set a standard for the country. For women to find financial freedom through their own independent businesses, for their voices to be heard in government and their influence help the country rise above the poverty that incubates crime.

Follow the project on Face Book @

https://www.facebook.com/Gringos.n.Paradise?ref=hl

Read about other ways to make the world better @

http://www.amazon.com/The-Threaded-Gem-Adventure-connect/dp/1490920161