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What’s happening in your community to recognize this important day?
Be sure to visit the IWD2017 FB page and website ~ there’s so much of value there from around the world! Share these messages and be a constant reminder. #BeBoldForChange #IWD2017
For all of the daughters, granddaughters and generations to come …
It’s official! Our 2017 tour, Promenade En Provence, is filled to capacity with sixteen enthusiastic women who will spend twelve glorious days in June, exploring the beauty of the south of France with me and my good friend, fellow author Susan Sommers. 
Click here to visit Susan’s informative new website , Power Source For Women. On our trip, Susan will accompany those interested on morning walks and easy hikes along scenic routes. Her new book, Love Your Body ~ Embrace Your Life offers a wonderful combination of fitness, nutrition, spirituality, and health for women of all ages.
I will be waiting in France for you at the hotel. We can begin our time together with a toast on the beach!
Arrivals will be coming from Canada, the U.S.A. and the U.K., and we’ll make our first rendezvous at the elegant Hôtel Beau Rivage (my favourite!) in Nice. With the glistening turquoise Mediterranean across the street and the famous daily market of Cours Saleya in the old town just steps away, there’s not a better place to begin.
Each day will bring a new adventure with guided day trips to stunning nearby destinations, but there will also be plenty of time to rest, shop, or take a dip in the Med.
After six days, we will settle into the ancient walled town of Avignon. With just one hotel change during the entire trip, we can get comfortable once again. Our day trips will take us to picturesque medieval villages in the storied countryside of Provence, surrounded by vineyards and olive groves, as well as endless fields of sunflowers and lavender.
I promise you an experience also filled with fine food, good company, laughter and lovely new friendships.
It’s such a pleasure to share my love of this exquisite part of the world on these tours. I’m already hearing from many who are eager to walk the same streets and discover the villages and scenery they read about in the Love In Provence series. We will do it all! On y va!
Susan, along with Debbie Ross, owner of the Womens Travel Network, will be hosting a Meet and Greet in May for anyone joining us from the Toronto area. Thanks to Debbie’s expertise for organizing all of the many details that make a trip like this possible!
Click here for photos of previous tours … and start planning your packing! I will be posting some packing tips later and also will send a list of great books you may want to read in advance.
Are you excited? Susan and I can’t wait!
August McLaughlin! Congratulations on organizing this fabulous blogfest for the fifth year! Kudos to you and everyone participating.
As I continue to age … and I’m so glad I do … I become more aware of the years ahead of me and the possibilities that exist. I also find myself seeking mentors older than I am, ahem … 70, who will provide inspiration and motivation so I never stop being a possibilitarian. Through the past 10 years, this has been my philosophy.
Age is not a barrier to following your dreams, beginning new adventures, helping others, setting goals, making a difference with your words and actions. Push aside negative images and stereotypes. Love yourself and let others know you love them.
The BOAW blogfest is a good opportunity for me to break away from my writing to spend some time thinking about unrelated topics. I love checking in on all the other contributors to enjoy their posts and learn from what they are sharing.
In considering women over 80 and 90 who influence the world through writing, art, photography, politics, and a multitude of other endeavours, it was encouraging to realize just how many there are. A book could be written!
Longer life expectancy is trending all over the world. Statistics show women in developed countries are likely to become octogenarians, with life expectancy reaching an all-time high of 81.8 years in 2013, up from 77.9 in 1990.
This year I want to honour the gracious global activist Dr. Jane Goodall, 82, a beautiful woman on the inside and out. She continues to travel the world sharing her wisdom and inspiring others of all ages.
Here is her Wikipedia description: “British primatologist, ethologist, anthropologist, and UN Messenger of Peace. Considered to be the world’s foremost expert on chimpanzees, Goodall is best known for her 55-year study of social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania. She is the founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and the Roots & Shoots program, and she has worked extensively on conservation and animal welfare issues. She has served on the board of the Nonhuman Rights Project since its founding in 1996.”
I recently listened to a commencement address Dr. Goodall delivered at the University of Redlands in California. She spoke about knowing at the age of 10 that she wanted to go to Africa and study animals. She counsels to never give up on a dream, to know it may be more difficult because you are a girl/woman, to be strong in your goal and to, in her words, “live to your true potential”. Her mother was a strong influence and support in her achieving her dream. Be that.
I could write pages about this accomplished woman, but nothing would be more effective than you taking 20 minutes to listen to this moving, intelligent and inspiring video by clicking this link. I hope you find the time do to so. Her talk begins at 6:53 on the video.
If nothing else from this post, please take these words of Dr. Goodall’s with you.
“Every single one of us makes an impact on the planet every single day, and we get to choose what sort of impact that is,” she said.
“Respect”, says Goodall, “is the solution.”
“We may have different colored skin, we may be from different cultures, we may eat different things and wear different clothes, but wherever you go in the world: If you cry, your tears are the same. If you’re happy, you laugh, and the laughter around the world is the same. … Within each one of us all around the world, the human heart is structured the same.”
I’ll leave you with this heartwarming video of Dr. Goodall and a chimp they were releasing into the wild, from two years ago. It’s quite remarkable.
Follow Jane Goodall here: Facebook page and Seriously Good For All News website.
Celebrate beauty every day!
Be sure to make some time to drop by other BOAW blogfest pages by clicking here for the list.
If you have participated, please leave your link in the comments below. I can’t wait to spend time reading your posts.
Were you familiar with Dr. Goodall before this?
It’s here! March 8th is the official date for International Womens’ Day 2015. All over the world there are events, discussions, celebrations and plans being made to recognize this date and to make things better for the future. We know the work never stops.
Got a minute or two? Click here to read some of the inspiring posts and feel proud of the tremendous accomplishments this year has seen. Share a message on the International Women’s Day Facebook page and, while you are there, stop by and visit some of the inspiring links. It’s exciting to see how change is happening in large and small ways. Still, there’s a lot to be done.
Send a note, email, tweet to an individual or organization that works to make the world a better place. What’s happening in your community? The theme this year is Make It Happen. Use the hashtag #makeithappen and help spread the word.
You know how I love to encourage everyone to be a possibilitarian and this theme fits right in. Let’s do it! Make it happen!
If you watched the Academy Awards this year, you heard Patricia Arquette speak up for equal rights for women in her own country. It’s unbelievable that in 2015, this still has not become reality in the United States of America. I’ve posted this video before. It’s short and effective. I was shocked the first time I saw it. Please watch it. Then raise your voice. Pass this around! In the US of A? SERIOUSLY?
Part of the Canadian contribution to International Women’s Day 2015 is this video below. #WhoWillYouHelp shows various situations involving sexual violence and encourages viewers to step in and keep them from escalating. It’s something we all can do. Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne is implementing a $41 million-plan, “It’s Never Okay,” to address sexual violence and harassment. Part of this plan, the video has already garnered almost 50,000 views on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2ZSZrGc-O8
There are so many issues that need our attention. At the same time, much continues to be accomplished. Kudos to all with boots on the ground, men and women. How will you recognize International Women’s Day?
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