Small & Gutsy Features Tools for Peace
Small & Gutsy
Finding inner peace is a process that leads to a practice; there are important rituals that guide us in self-discovery. Derived from the Sanskrit word for “circle”, the Mandala is a spiritual and ritual symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism, representing the universe. It is a sacred art form that connects us to our inner selves and the world around us. Their profound wisdom and tranquil messages, serve as a powerful medium to contemplate and find peace within. Mandalas are typically circles with repeating symmetrical shapes, and are considered a sacred symbol. In Sanskrit, mandala translates to...
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Small & Gutsy features Dependable Youth Initiative Uganda
Small & Gutsy
Investing in youth and education aligns directly with Sustainable Development Goal # 4 (Quality Education) and indirectly fuels several others like Decent Work and Economic Growth (goal # 8) and Reduced Inequalities (goal # 10). This perspective reinforces how crucial it is to view sustainability as not just environmental, but deeply tied to social and economic development. It takes a village is a common expression, used by so many to essentially mean…we all need to lift one another up to attain the most robust society for long-term sustainability Lifting up any society often begins with...
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Small & Gutsy features International Mentoring Program, StL
Small & Gutsy
Two very smart women saw a pattern developing in their midwestern city of St. Louis, my hometown actually, after one attended a meet-up group organized by Susan Gobbo one of these smart women, who is Brazilian, and who experienced the loneliness of a trailing spouse, herself when she moved to St. Louis in 2008. Years later, she formed a meetup group for other foreign wives. Annie Schlafly, the other very smart woman, who is active in various community groups, heard about the meetup group through the St. Louis Mosaic Project, a regional initiative within the St. Louis Economic Development...
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Small & Gutsy features Salvation Mountain
Small & Gutsy
What a beautiful and thoughtful reflection on places of connection and spiritual significance. It’s fascinating how certain spaces, whether physical or emotional, provide that sense of peace, clarity, or even healing, just like the one I described as a child under the bush in your yard. Weaving the idea of being open to the present moment, and to the connections we share with others can be spiritual in the deepest sense. There’s a profound connection between the self and nature, the present moment, and community, which can shape our personal growth. The story of Leonard Knight and...
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Small & Gutsy Features Mongabay
Small & Gutsy
Loss is something we all experience and I think if you ask the average person about loss, you may get an answer about missing someone who was very special to them, and is no longer here, but loss can take on so much more meaning; it can be loss of an opportunity, loss of an existing relationship, because that relationship has shifted or no longer exists in its original construct; it can be loss of abilities or faculties, Loss simply means no longer having something or having less of it than before; Oftentimes, we need to process that loss and hopefully with time, the pain or the sadness...
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Small & Gutsy Features Do Something Cool Foundation
Small & Gutsy
Dr. Charity Dean, the public health leader who helped guide the strategic response to Covid-19 in California and elsewhere, shared her incredible personal story of being very poor, born on the side of the tracks in rural Oregon where the kids are never encouraged to seek college or any higher educational degree; in fact, Dr. Dean shared that she should have grown up to pump gas at the local station; she was regularly discouraged from seeking her dream of being a doctor and many doors were slammed in her face repeatedly. So, what drove her to succeed? She shares that there are at least two...
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Small & Gutsy features Piece by Piece
Small & Gutsy
Mosaics are defined as a picture or pattern produced by arranging together small colored pieces of hard material, such as stone, tile, or glass, resulting in the creation of something often ornate and beautiful. Sometimes, mosaics tell the story of what was, what is, or what can be…. Each mosaic is uniquely different and yet shares a common history - simply created from something else. As I was putting together this podcast episode, I couldn’t help but think about our lives that resemble mosaics in that we set out to create a plan or pattern that is predictable, or so we’d like to...
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Small & Gutsy features Su Casa
Small & Gutsy
Su Casa in Spanish simply means your home - which if I take a little poetic license, could mean this space is your home or the contraction you’re, you are home - let’s go with you are home… The concept of home is something many of us often take for granted! Home can mean we can breathe, let down our hair, and be ourselves, and in general, we are in charge of our own lives, decisions we make, etc..for many, though this doesn’t exist or feels completely unattainable, not because it isn’t, but because there are life-threatening circumstances that create an almost insurmountable barrier....
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Small & Gutsy Features Girls Matter
Small & Gutsy
What does the phrase, “education should be a right, not a privilege” mean to you? If you believe that access to education is not a privilege, but a right as is the human rights law guarantees, then, why are 61 million children not in school, and most of them girls? Educating children no matter where they are is one of the biggest factors toward ending extreme poverty. Education is not a privilege. It is, in fact, a human right. Education as a human right means: the right to education is legally guaranteed for all, without any discrimination; simply, there is an obligation to protect,...
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Small & Gutsy features Our Community LA
Small & Gutsy
Let’s take a moment and define community, particularly in today’s very divided and extraordinary divisive environment where community and, in many cases, democracy is misunderstood and missused. Community in its simplest form is often defined as a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals; upon further elaboration, it can include a joint ownership or liability - not sure I like liability part, but I get the nuance behind it, which I think is best articulated by Maya Angelou who beautifully wrote: “If it is true that a chain is only...
info_outlineGetting the news I have breast cancer was one of the most devastating messages I have ever received, not only for me but for my family - we are all affected by this disease in ways that many people don’t realize. I remember thinking, I am almost the same age as my grandmother when she died of breast cancer and I desperately wanted to have a different outcome - with all the progress made over the last 50 + years, will I have a different outcome? How long will I survive? What will my life be like forever after? Life will surely be different, a new normal. There certainly was also the overwhelming feeling of trying to navigate the best interventions that will yield the best outcomes, staying abreast, no pun intended, of new medical treatments, medications, and options that may just be becoming available; the choices within those areas, as each of us, even with the same diagnosis, can have entirely different treatment plans and outcomes - it is frankly incredibly scary and we don’t want to second guess ourselves.
How can a disease be both individualized and shared at the same time? Today’s podcast features one woman, who took her mother’s stoic approach to her own cancer and built a legacy that has been life-changing and life-saving for so many others. Olivia Achtmeyer Boger is to be commended for her bravery in honoring her mother, Cande’s legacy, in being a support to others facing similar circumstances. Runway for Recovery has various events & programs to support their efforts.
Runway for Recovery is a nonprofit organization aimed at redefining the breast cancer experience for families. They accomplish this through events and programs that strive to provide normalcy amidst the unimaginable. Their goal is to support those who survive and those who live on as legacies because they know that breast cancer never just impacts one.
For more information, check out their website www.runwayforrecovery.org