Happy Sunday, dear friends. What a difference a year makes! Last year at this time, I was settling into “summer mode” with my kids, but this year so much in my life has changed!
Working full time from home, along with my blessed duties here at Golden Age of Gaia has changed the way my days unfold. I feel very blessed to be able to have this opportunity to serve and be supported by the universe, but others are not in the same space when it comes to my time.
I am learning to set appropriate boundaries, certainly, but I am also realizing that I have the opportunity now to value all experiences more fully. Since I have less discretionary physical time, I choose much more what simply brings me joy. I am also setting aside time, that becomes sacred, to spend with my family, and setting the intention for that period to squeeze every ounce of joy out of each moment spent in union.
I am also working to release the need to control time, knowing that when I am inspired, all I need to accomplish is attended to by my capable mind and body. Even though I seem to have less time, I am enjoying my experiences much more by releasing the stress of keeping up. It seems like a paradox, but I truly feel that this is how we get introduced to the concept of being out of time, and gives us practice working in the energy of the higher realms where we are told, linear time does not exist.
Now it’s time for some feel good news, and that is always a good time!
Young girls are taking a stand against child marriage in Cameroon.
Marrying off girls to older men in the African nation of Cameroon has always been a traditional and financial transaction. Girls in poor communities are seen as a commodity that can benefit the finances of a family through a dowry payment, upon marriage.
With the help of education and ALDEPA, a local civic group campaigning against child marriages, girls are beginning to make a personal stand against this tradition. The group can provide financial, legal and educational support, as well as housing in emergency cases where girls have run away from their arranged marriages. The program is hoping to help these girls see their own value and the importance of education, in helping them out of poverty.
There is support for this program by Cameroon’s Minister of Women’s Empowerment and the Family, Marie Therese Abena Ondoa, who is working with local groups in the area to provide support for young women. She has also come out publicly to condemn the practice, and asked the government to raise the legal marriage age from 15 years old.
It is so heartening to see young women have an option, in what may seem like a hopelessly entrenched cultural situation. Each young woman who is assisted to break free of this tradition serves as a role model for other girls, and begins to make inroads towards gender equality and female empowerment in developing nations.
Cameroonian Women and Girls Saying No to Child Marriage by Ngala Killian Chimtom for IPS News Agency
A concept whose time has come. The non-profit grocery store.
It is sometimes amazing to hear that certain things, which seem so obvious, have never been done before. The first not-for-profit grocery store has opened in Dorchester, MA, to serve low-income families high quality food products, and give them a choice between processed food and high chain store prices.
Doug Rauch, the former president of Trader Joe’s, a high-end, health oriented grocer in the US, opened the first non-profit store called the Daily Table. The store offers quality products and prepared meals at discount prices. Many of the products are sourced through overstocks, donations from supermarkets or manufacturers, and by acquiring blemished produce.
The store does not sell snack foods, candy or soda, and is looking to expand into other low-income neighborhoods in the Boston area, before moving into appropriate locations across the US.
I think this is a wonderful idea, who’s time has come. The more healthy and affordable options all individuals have when spending their food dollar the better! I feel that many people who wish to support a good cause, and steward their food budget more carefully, would also benefit from stores such as this in their own neighborhood.
Access to healthy food should not be an economic boundary, and I do believe this signals a shift towards equity and a world that works for everyone!
In a related story from the UK, the Tesco grocery chain is partnering with UK food redistribution charity FareShare and Irish non-profit FoodCloud to reclaim and donate blemished produce and products that are close to their expiration date to local charities.
Other grocery chains in the UK have already instituted this type of program successfully, which will keep hundreds of thousands of tons of perfectly good food, that would have previously been discarded as waste, out of the sanitation system. France recently passed a law that makes dumping this type of food illegal.
It is certainly wonderful to see food reclamation efforts expanding from the grass roots level to large grocery chains. Food reclamation benefits those in need as well as the environment, creating a much more sustainable platform.
A young girl opens her heart and her tool box to make mobile shelters for the homeless.
Hailey Fort of Bremerton, Washington, once asked her mom if they could buy a sandwich for a homeless person on the street. This single action opened her heart to creating a vegetable garden that produced about 150 pounds of produce for a local food bank.
As she grew, her heart and her skills expanded and she is now in the process of building portable tiny homes for homeless people. Her first shelter, created with the help of her grandfather, who is a contractor by trade, was built for a man named Henry. She befriended him after he lost his job at a local grocery store. She plans on building 11 more homes, complete with windows, doors and insulation, to accommodate Henry’s friends.
This young girl is a shining example of a new generation of beings who are on planet at this time. They see issues and they open their hearts looking for solutions. They do not wait for older folks to create or implement these solutions. They tackle what they can, where they can, all by themselves.
I applaud her for her efforts, which we know, will only expand as her life continues. I also wish to honor her parents who have supported her seemingly unusual focus on being in service to others. Family support for a child’s expanding consciousness and actions is paramount to helping them flourish. With this type of support, miracles are indeed possible, as Hailey is showing us all!
And finally…
Mending more than clothes.
This video had me in tears. The loving heart of this art teacher has him on the streets, in the poorest neighborhood of San Francisco, once a month mending clothes for those who need his services.
He found an antique sewing machine tossed to the curb years ago, and thus began his journey of mending clothes and collecting stories, from the beings who frequent the Tenderloin district. He has found a way to stitch the people together and help mend their belongings and their esteem. What a wonderful way to pay it forward, using his talents and his love for all beings.
Mending more than clothes on KarmaTube
That’s the good news for today. Have a miraculous day. See you all next Sunday as we explore more good news together.
Be Well. Be Joy. Be Love!
Alex