A Weekend of Inspiration

The minute I heard of the Women in the World Conference, I wanted to be there. All my senses and emotions were evoked - from the heart to the mind.

I love seeing women supporting women. And these women, from a global perspective, are outstanding. It is impossible to acknowledge all of them, but if I could highlight just a few:

* Tina Brown - Journalist, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Daily Beast. She moderated a discussion on human trafficking, the world's third largest black market.

* Diane Sawyer - Journalist, ABC News Anchor, moderated a discussion on what it takes to undo misogynistic traditions in culture.

* Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan - UNICEF advocate, spoke on the urgent need to keep girls around the world in school and help them avoid early marriage and HIV-infection.

* Edna Adan Ismail - Maternal and Child Health Care Activist and

Former Foreign Affairs Minister of Somaliland, shared about her community hospital in Somalia.

Hearing these stories from a global perspective, and issues that we should truly all talk about, was a reminder to continue to find solutions. We at Urban Zen practice this on a day-to-day basis.

Please go to the Women in the World Website and enjoy what I enjoyed. It was an honor to witness the conference. The selection of minds, the intellectual approaches and the creativity of these people were an inspiration, and it would be a joy to return next year.

CONNECT

Women in the World

www.thedailybeast.com/newsmaker/women-in-the-world

When future generations tell the tale they will recall a time when humanity, our future, and the earth itself were at stake--due to human folly. "But then--" as in a fairy tale, or a folk legend, "a hero came forth to save us.." our great-grandchildren will tell their children.

But the hero wasn't a knight in shining armor, nor all-seeing officers at an omnipotent military command central--no, the hero, or heroes, who came from every corner of the earth, speaking eight languages and representing thirteen different traditions--were thirteen grandmothers, indigenous healers, called forth by dreams and prophecy to join together in common--and uncommon prayer for the earth and its people.

This counsel of thirteen elder wise women have circled the globe, meeting with the Dalai Lama, leading healing ceremonies and prayer circles in India, Nepal, the Amazon, Alaska, Mexico, and Nicaragua; and at a recent Bioneers Conference in California. This week they came to New York City for a weekend of events. On Friday night, the film, For the Next Seven Generations in which filmmaker Carole Hart documents their extraordinary work, made its New York debut at the Urban Zen Center, the welcoming downtown gathering place, founded by Donna Karan. Over the following days, the Jivamukti Yoga Center will host a number of the grandmothers in two evenings of prayers and healing.

In welcoming the grandmothers and introducing the film, Donna Karan revealed that, "To be able to celebrate this film and be with the Grandmothers is a dream come true for me. Urban Zen nurtures the wisdom of the past (in wisdom and indigenous traditions), the present (in health and wellbeing), and the future (through empowering our children). The Grandmothers remind us to celebrate the spirit of Mother Earth."

When your sole surviving parent is in her eighties, you think about thanks in an entirely different way - one day, one holiday, one small blessing at a time. Because you never know whether that person, that familiar face, that ongoing, deepening, shared conversation will be going on over the sweet potatoes and creamed onions next year at this time.

"I never thought I would live this long," Mom says, "I never wanted to be an old person. I don't like old people."

Well, unlike Mom, I do.

There are a few special older people whom I really love and am grateful for. Mom is one of them. A brilliant and vibrant man with whom I am blessed to work is another. Plus a few approaching the cusp of elderhood, who have so touched my heart and my life, that I stand in the world and walk on paths they have cleared with a steadiness of gait and sureness of direction that I could not imagine feeling without their having made the way.

Despite their aches and pains, the slower gait, the lost keys, lost words, lost memories Despite their soul sadness as they contemplate the world facing the little ones. Despite their occasional and worrisome medical encounters, the eternal health "what-if" scenarios that play like a buzz in the background, despite the uncertainty you push aside about whether you will have one more day, one more holiday, one more year, or one more decade with these special elders. Despite all of it, you learn about life, its preciousness, and the need for daily gratitude from those who march ahead of you on lifespan's forward moving curve...

When people continue to grow and evolve and serve and care over a lifetime, they are able to share the precious gift of elder wisdom, which traditional societies prized above any other form of accumulation. In a society where novelty and constant self-reinvention are the norm, where tips, items, and info flow towards us, striking the shore of instant awareness, and disappearing moments later, like an endless sea of flotsam, I am thankful for the more slowly distilled elixir of a lifetime that Mom and some of the elders serve up.

Over Thanksgiving, with a few friends, I trouped over to Mom's home, high atop a hill, overlooking a misty heathery landscape where two ponds, visibly, vividly blue in summertime, now seemed pale, and mirage like through the autumnal veils of fog. Down in the dunes, cranberry bogs served up the their harvest of autumnal fruits - as we hung out with Mom, peeled onions, skinned sweet potatoes, chopped apples, and watched Charlie Rose, her favorite program. Thanks to extra hands, and friends, and fellowship, we were all prepped for the day of cooking and conversation on Thanksgiving.

And with that day, when the moment for blog writing faced me, there was nothing more important to share, no agenda or teaching more urgent, than to simply open up the space to feel the simple gratitude for another day with loved ones, another meal, another conversation, a sharing, a moment of laughter at ourselves, a tablespoon of tart orange cranberry relish, and another holiday with you, Mom.

For health and psychology insight, news, and action, get the free Health Outlook at www.health-journalist.com

What do you fear most--- the Swine Flu, or the vaccine? Airport terrorists, or airport security searches? Growing old, or the alternative? If you answered "all of the above," you'll guess why I went to a weekend retreat on fear with Pema Chodron, the noted Buddhist teacher and author. Pema immediately dispelled common misunderstandings about fear:Myth # 1: The way to overcome fear is by acting fearless Assuming a brave stance, "vaccinating" ourselves with affirmations, seeking out the psychic police for protection, or even pole-vaulting headlong into fear like would-be Olympians are the strategies many use to overcome terror. But these strategies bypass fear's true opportunity to teach us authentic courage.