Patricia Sands

Author

Social issues

Beautiful and Brave – tattoo follow-up

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Last week I posted about the stunning tattoo that covered a woman’s mastectomy scars.

As I mentioned in that post, I had been unable to track down any real information6a00d834710a0e69e201543448174a970c-800wi about the photo. Well, I don’t need to remind you that the internet can be a wonderful place. One of my readers forwarded my post to someone she knew. That person had, quite amazingly IMHO, recently seen the website of the woman to whom this tattoo belongs and she kindly forwarded it to me. To quote her, “Coincidences abound”.

Please click here and see Inga Duncan Thornell’s blog. Centrestage belongs to her today and rightly so.

I also want to add a shout-out here to August McLachlan’s fabulous BEAUTY OF A WOMAN BLOGFEST. Kudos to her for organizing this event again on Friday, February 22nd. The response last year was amazing and this year will be bigger and even more beautiful. You can sign up for it by clicking on this link. Join your blog to the list of participants. Not a blogger? Then raise your voice and pass the word around. We are all in this together!

Don’t miss her blog today in which she talks about the documentary Miss Representation. A film every single person, young or old, should see. I believe it should be mandatory viewing in high school.

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Are you going to participate in the Beauty Of A Woman blogfest? How do you feel about the way women are represented in the media? Are you happy with the improvements in gender equality you see in your world?

V-DAY 2013 – HOW WILL YOU RISE UP?

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images There will be plenty of blog posts about hearts and flowers this week. As people all over the globe celebrate this very commercial day of spreading love … and I’m all for the sentiment behind it … I’m asking you to take some time to put thought and effort into another kind of expression of love for February 14th.

The V-Day 2013 call to action this year is “ONE BILLION RISING“. Exciting and energizing, by participating in One Billion Rising, you’re showing the world that violence against women and girls is the central issue of our time and will no longer be tolerated. Your involvement will help send the message that this movement is an unstoppable global force.

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Here’s the scoop.

Today, on the planet, a billion women – one of every three women  – will be raped or beaten in her lifetime. That’s ONE BILLION mothers, daughters, sisters, partners, and friends violated. V-Day REFUSES to stand by as more than a billion women experience violence.

On February 14th, 2013, V-Day’s 15th Anniversary, we are inviting one billion women and those who love them to walk out, DANCE, RISE UP, AND DEMAND an end to this violence. One Billion Rising is a promise that we will rise up with women and men worldwide to say, “Enough! The violence ends now.”

HERE’S HOW YOU CAN START A RISING – Stage a rising in your community, office, college, or school. Organize a flash mob at a landmark building/site, in the streets or in a nearby mall. Have a dance party, produce a theatrical event, march in your streets, protest, strike, dance and above all RISE! GET STARTED. Or just rise up and dance by yourself or with your special valentine, it all counts!

In case you aren’t familiar with this movement, it’s time you were. We all need to be involved. I’m copying text here from my message last Valentine’s Day. Click here to go back and read the entire post. You will be glad you did! Want to enjoy some tunes while you read? Click on the Music To Rise To link.

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WHAT IS V-DAY? A global movement to stop violence against women and girls by raising funds and increasing awareness, V-Day has its roots in Valentine’s Day, February 14, and the award-winning play The Vagina Monlogues, written by Eve Ensler. Click here for the official website.
An activist and playwright, Eve Ensler founded V-Day on February 14, 1998, when she organized a benefit performance of The Vagina Monologues in New York City’s Hammerstein Ballroom. The event sold out the 2500-seat venue and raised $250,000 for local NYC anti-violence groups. Among the 20 actors performing in the first V-Day production were Glenn Close, Susan Sarandon, Whoopi Goldberg, Lily Tomlin, Winona Ryder, Calista Flockhard, Margaret Cho, Gloria Steinem, and Eve Ensler herself.

In 1999, V-Day launched its College Campaign with 66 participating schools across North America performingThe Vagina Monologues; over 20,000 people attended V-Day events. Over in the UK, a benefit performance at London’s Old Vic Theatre featured Kate Winslet, Cate Blanchett, Isabella Rosellini, Christiane Amanpour, and Gillian Anderson.

In 2000, the College Campaign expanded to 150 colleges and universities around the globe. In 2001, a February 10th V-Day performance in New York City’s Madison Square Garden sold out 18,000 seats and raised $1 million. Also that year, the Worldwide Campaign took off; V-Day events in over 40 cities raised over $350,000 to local organizations.

By V-Day’s tenth anniversary in February 2008, thousands of benefit performances of The Vagina Monologues (including a run on Broadway) had raised over 50 million dollars for anti-violence programs around the world. Over 120 countries have staged V-Day events.

In 14 years, the V-Day movement has raised over 90 million dollars and can be found  in 167 countries from Europe to Asia, Africa and the Caribbean and all of North America.

Are you familiar with V-Day? Will you be rising up andSYP letting your voice be heard? This is not just a women’s issue so encourage your sweetheart to join you this year!

Thanks to writer/blogger Emmie Mears for introducing me to V-Day last year.

The best tattoo I have ever seen.

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I discovered this on my Facebook page with the message that Facebook had been deeming the photo unacceptable and removing it. I couldn’t figure out why.It just looked like a beautiful tattoo.

When I read on, tears came to my eyes. Bravo to this woman.

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The text that accompanied the picture was this: “This is the photo that Facebook keeps taking down and keeps disappearing from all pages including comments. See if we can keep it going.This woman has this tattoo to cover mastectomy scars. I think it is beautiful and brave. What is so offensive Facebook”

I think it is beautiful and brave too. If it turns out not to be true, I still think it is a brilliant idea.

In vain, I have googled and searched in an attempt to find the source of this photograph.

This is the only link I could find. If any of you  know more about it, please let me know.

Since it was on Facebook, I figure it will be fine to post here. If it isn’t, I imagine I will hear about it.

If you are as touched as I am by this, pleasemail1 pass it on and pause for a moment to honour every single woman whose life has been touched by breast cancer. Then, please drop by the Facebook page for the Canadian Breast Cancer Support Fund and give it a “like”. It feels appropriate. Thanks!

Be a Possibilitarian!

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The first time I recall seeing the word was on author Amber West’s fabulous blog “A Day Without Sushi” which I follow regularly. She displayed this poster and the word  possibilitarian struck a chord that has resonated with me ever since. 225391156320705857_f4fpjwu6_c

(We have never been able to figure out where this graphic originated. So if anyone knows, please tell me as it would be my great pleasure to share that information and give credit where it is due.)

I checked to make certain possibilitarian wasn’t a word Amber had made up. The clever way she has with language, I wouldn’t have put it past her.

By the way, since I’m mentioning Amber West right now I should tell you that she published her first novel, THE RUTH VALLEY MISSING, a few weeks ago and it’s a terrific read. Lots of suspense! I couldn’t put it down! Go ahead and click on that link to Amazon now. I’ll be happy to wait.

Now that I think about it, I would say that Amber is definitely a possibilitarian. Her “Go Without Movement” is a perfect example.

It’s not as if this word is new. It isn’t. In 1952, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale published The Power Of Positive Thinking wherein he issued this challenge.

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I really hadn’t thought about it in terms of just one word.

Once I did, I realized I’ve been a possibilitarian most of my life … through the darkest days of loss and the endless challenges, the flotsam and jetsam, that drift in the ebb and flow of life. It’s the key to being an optimist, to learning to appreciate that every day is a gift, to seeing the potential … the possibilities … life offers each one of us and make the most of them.

I know there are times when it may be easier said than done. Stuff happens.

Those are the times when it’s even more important to focus on this word.

Possibilitarian is a powerful word that inspires, motivates, encourages, and … well, in today’s jargon …  it ROCKS. Yes it does.

Grab it. Make it yours!

If you happen to be in Toronto, near the fabulous Lolë shop in Bayview Village, at 3 p.m. on Saturday, January 19th, pop in and join us, Sommers & Sands, for a chat!  You’ll see the details below. We would love to see you and hear how you feel about being a possibilitarian! If  that’s not quite in your neighbourhood,  leave a comment here about your approach to the possibilities of life.
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