It is the women who determine whether or not a society will function. If they are not treated well, nothing will work. This is what Donna Karan stressed, one of four women speaking at Urban Zen last Wednesday evening on a panel to raise money for , an organization founded to support women in places like the Congo, Haiti and elsewhere to become confident conduits for positive change in their respective societies. Karan just returned from Haiti and said that she can’t hold a candle to the innate design talent there. She hopes to be selling their jewelry in the United States next year at this time.
, a mother of five and one of the women speaking on the panel, promised money to the organization right before the financial meltdown in 2007. Her husband lost his job and they did not have the money to give. How could she say no, she thought, to women she wanted to encourage to find the wherewithal to rise above their circumstances and do something creative, productive and healthy to be viable? Elizabeth decided to practice what she was preaching and began marketing her photographs (shown above).
It is important for the health of our world, our society, our communities and ultimately ourselves to help others as we help ourselves. How do we live balanced lives so we have the ability to ‘give with a smile’? That is the hard question. What would that look like? Everyone has a unique answer. Let’s begin looking now, starting with ourselves.
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