Summer Solstice Musings has a new home

The reasons were many, but it was mainly a gut feeling.

The gut feeling turned out to be totally inspired.

Please join the Summer Solstice Musings at its new home

A man once made a promise....

Remember my last post? it was about beautiful people.  Here's the cheat sheet (in case you don't feel like reading the actual post.  Although you totally should. I kid. OK, I do not kid, you should seriously read it *wink, wink*):

"The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.”

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

Well, here's an update.  Or an epilogue if you will -even though it was just a blog post and not a book.

This time, it's about former female child soldiers in Africa.

And in this particular case, we all can help a man keep his promise to a group of very beautiful women caught in a conflict that wasn't theirs, that went to hell and back and all they want is a chance to live a normal life and help forge a better future for their children.

Abducted as children - as young as 8 or 9, and "forced to become wives, soldiers, cooks and porters" they are now adult women, back in the city with children of their own.  Here's Ottawa-based photojournalist Marc Ellison's brief account of their story: A promise kept

Marc will be at the One World Film Festival here in Ottawa on October 13-16, 2011 (yes, that is tomorrow) to raffle a special edition of his upcoming book.  There will also be a silent auction of some of his photographs.

ALL PROCEEDS from the book will go back to these women to help them afford things like school fees and sewing machines, according to Marc Ellison's website.

Won't you help keep this promise?

For more about Marc and his work, visit his website

The most beautiful person I have known

I stumbled upon this quote today.  Some of you may have heard it before.  It was the first time for me and it hit home so hard, I wanna share it with you:

"The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.”

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

Then, I wanted to add a picture but that wasn't an easy task.  A search for "beauty" and "beautiful" didn't precisely show what I wanted.  Then, it occurred to me that Colombian women know a lot about defeat and suffering.  About struggle and loss.  And yet they are compassionate, gentle and deep loving.  So I googled "Colombian women" and in spite of almost getting lost in the sea of pictures of Sofia Vergara, I found this one.

                                                Beautiful Colombian women

The resemblance between the woman on the left and my mother is uncanny.  Even as I type this words, I am so deeply moved by it that I feel both like laughing and crying at the same time.  My mother definitely knew about all those things.  She was the sweetest, most gentle person I've ever known.  If only I could tell you about the sacrifices she made, about the way she touched the lives of those around her regardless how how hard her life was....  And she hard an incredibly hard life, from the minute she was born.  A life that was lost to domestic violence at 34 years old.  Something Colombian women know very well too.

Yes, my mother is the most beautiful person I have known.

Mental Illness Awareness Week

Did you know that it was Mental Illness Awareness Week this week? sadly, I only found out about it yesterday.  And I think this is very sad indeed because if I, a person who is very much aware of mental illness and has become rather vocal about it in all the social networks didn't know about it, what chance has a regular Joe of hearing about it? Clearly, we need to do more to raise awareness.

Also, did you know that most people believe that mental disorders are rare and “happen to someone else."? However, an estimated 54 million Americans suffer from some form of mental disorder in a given year (I'll try and get the Canadian numbers later).  Here's a very helpful article on how to recognize the warning signs from  Mental Health America

According to MIAW Canada, people who struggle with a mental disorder often go through life without reaching out for help: They simply don’t know what’s wrong and feel they are just “different;” they feel they can beat it on their own; they are ashamed and try to hide their symptoms; exasperated family and friends tell them to “get over it;” or they reach out for help but their first experience leaves them feeling disregarded and misunderstood. 

Mental Awareness week is over today.  However, I'm asking you to please take a moment to read and share this. Help create Mental Illness awareness!

Resources

Mental Illness Awareness Week Canada  (MIAW) @MIAWCanada 

Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health (CAMIMH)

Health Canada 

Royal Mental Health Group 

Mood Disorders of Ontario 

I wish I had cancer

Yeah, you heard it right.

I know that I’m gonna get a lot of angry cancer patients on my case, thinking I’m mocking them.  However, I am not.

While I’ve had been thinking of it it for quite a while, only until very recently I finally said it to someone other than myself, on a DM.

And I stand by it.

You see, I have an illness.  But it’s a mental one.  I look good on the outside.  I haven’t lost ridiculous amounts of weight.  I still have all my hair. I have a good colour.  I don’t look like I’m ready to take my boat ride across the River Styx. Only that I am.  And I’ve been there several times.

But Mental illnesses don’t get the sympathy or empathy from society that cancer does.  Or Cystic Fibrosis.  Or Muscular Dystrophy.  Or any other of those “legitimate” illnesses.

People like me are mostly regarded as moody individuals.  An annoyance, most of the time.  Someone normal people need to stay away from because we are Debby Downers.  Oh, it’s all in your head, I’ve been told many times.  Or, you just have to count your blessings instead of focusing on your limitations.  And sure, I’m all for counting my blessings.  I’m very grateful that I don’t have to sleep on the street, that I’m not starving.  That I am not being gang-raped, or tortured or enslaved.  I’m also grateful for friends and the love they give me.

But the truth is that even if I we do the right thing and reach out when we have our lows, it becomes harder and harder to do as time goes by. Sure, friends and loved ones (spouses, children, etc) will try and help the first time they hear about it.  And the second time. And the third time.  And maybe even the fourth and fifth.  But after a while, they do get tired.  And that’s normal.  They are only human too.  And so, we become a burden.  Because Mental Illnesses are hard to treat.  The prognosis is gloomy for the most part.  According to the Royal Mental Hospital Depression Research Centre (depression is what I have but it might as well be schizophrenia or any other mental illness), “Many people diagnosed with a major depression will fail to respond adequately to two medications of different classes and about 60 per cent will have a treatment resistant depression.”  60 PERCENT! And unless we commit suicide (gasp! yeah, I said. Because a lot of us actually do) we live a normally long life just like any other person free of any lethal disease.  So we become this pain in the ass, gloomy, cranky, grumpy, sad people that no one likes to be around.  Even those who love us, have a hard time 1. dealing with us at a personal level, and 2. dealing with their own coping problems associated with loving a person with a mental illness.

And those are the lucky ones who’s friends and family care enough to help them.  But there’s still a lot of stigma associated with mental illnesses.  Even as I write this blog post, I can hear a very scared little voice at the back of my mind telling that I’m insane for talking in public about it.  What are they gonna thing about you? it says.  People don’t like to be friends with crazy people.  Also, people DON'T HIRE crazy people.  So won’t you keep it quiet? it’s for your own good, you know.

So, I wish I had cancer.  At least there wouldn’t any kind of stigma associated with it.  And - like I said to my friend, if I’m lucky enough, cancer would kill me really fast so I wouldn’t have to go on living in so much pain.  

The Summer Solstice Girl is a geek

Well, that's not really news for many of you.

  

It is also not news that 2011 has not been particularly kind to me.  One of the side effects was a forced state of hibernation of my geeky self that almost led to its total annihilation.

But this geeky self is definitely out of hibernation.  

Of course, this didn't happen overnight.  The defrosting started back in late March and it continued through several late night conversations under a starry sky.  Said conversations may or may have not involved copious amounts of wine and/or Jack Daniels helped by a healthy dose of shooting stars.

I was reflecting tonight on how privileged I am to have both the astronomical and the microscopical insight.  As an amateur astronomer and a molecular biologist, I have experience with both telescopes and microscopes, galaxies and gene mapping, light-years and microns.  That certainly gives you a whole different perspective on life.

That thought was reinforced by this fantastic video, shared earlier today (or rather yesterday, I should say) by the bear. The poetry of science: A conversation between a biologist and an astrophysicist. 

THE POETRY OF SCIENCE! Yes, indeed! I've been in love with science since I can remember.  Science speaks to me in a very sweet language. Poetry in motion, that's what science is.

You've been warned.  Run and take cover, the geek is back. 

Now, it's like this, little Britches

This past Saturday marked my return to Saturday Night Swing.  After a long hiatus from Swing Dynamite's dances due to -mainly, my injured ankle, I was back both as the manager for the night and as a DJ in the Vintage room.

I Deejay-ed from 9:30 to midnight at which point Jean Francois Harbour took over the turntables.  My ankle felt strong enough and I was feeling rather adventurous so I decided to take a chance at some dancing.  I asked my friend and frequent aerials partner Dave Anderson to dance with me.  And much to my delight - and to the surprise of the other dancers when they heard me squee, The Bare Necessities started to pour out of the speakers.  Dave didn't understand what was going on.  I told him my excitement came from the song being played and he asked what was the name of the song and why was it so exciting.  Apparently he has never watched The Jungle Book.  I let it go.  Trying to explain why the movie is so amazing - for starters, and why this old favourite of mine has come to have an added, even more wonderful meaning was too much at the moment. There will be some other time for explanations.

Besides, the song was being played in all its playful goodness.  Why waste any time talking when we could be dancing?

And danced we did!

Needless to say, I had the most wonderful time.  

As soon as it was over I ran (I know, rather irresponsible of me considering how accident-prone I am) to the DJ booth to thank JF for playing the song.  He told me - and this is awesome, that he got it because he saw that Louis Armstrong video I had posted on FB a few weeks back.  

The circle was completed.

I only wish the Bear would have been there to witness it.  I know he would've got a kick out of it.

The clip from the movie

The clip that prompted JF to buy the song and play it last Saturday