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