Wednesday, March 24, 2010

resolutions

2010

beginning of a new decade

flowing-positively-energetically-happily-with purpose. 

meow.

posted by hopeful beirut @ 15:52 1 Comments

27

I stumbled across the post below on Paulo Coelho's facebook page... very interesting omen... reaching me on my 27th birthday, as i prepare to embark on my Goal/Dream* and have been soliciting advice/opportunities/hope/adventure/ from many good friends around the world ... after all, a Goal is a Dream* with a deadline...

Paulo Coelho 24/03 It is the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting ( Es la posibilidad de hacer un sueño realidad lo que hace la vida interesante )

posted by hopeful beirut @ 14:02 0 Comments

Friday, March 19, 2010

Happy Feast Day - St Joseph

Today is the first time I celebrate  St. Joseph's day without my grandfather, a pious and devoted man who taught me much by way of example and whose generous smile and cheerful nature helped him provide for his family the stable loving environment that made us all blossom... with the care and gentleness he possessed...

As I get ready to embark on a new adventure in my life, I feel his guiding hand near, and I remember him with a big smile, and a firm hand, and a willingness to work to achieve my goal*dream. I also promise to indulge in some tasty desserts, in memory of his sweet tooth and our shared secret moments!

Join me in offering the Prayer below on behalf of all those, including myself who are on a journey of self-discovery.


Prayer to Know One's Vocation
O great St. Joseph, you were completely obedient to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Obtain for me the grace to know the state of life that God in His providence has chosen for me. Since my happiness on earth, and perhaps even my final happiness in heaven, depends on this choice, let me not be deceived in making it. Obtain for me the light to know God's Will, to carry it out faithfully, and to choose the vocation which will lead me to a happy eternity. Amen.
Almighty God, You entrusted to the faithful care of Joseph the beginnings of the mysteries of man's salvation. Through his intercession may Your Church always be faithful in her service so that Your designs will be fulfilled. Amen.

posted by hopeful beirut @ 12:26 0 Comments

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Moving to Clara's Melody

The fleeting moments of my last night in Torino brought tears to my eyes...
it was an extremely moving performance about the life of Clara Schumann...

What followed was an intimate exposure of a woman's life, in all its glory, sadness, joy, love, extasy and torn decisions... in her ups and downs... a woman in every sense of the world, no little girl, but a full fledged woman whose heart bore the scars of every battle fought, without ever losing her hopeful spirit...

I was consumed by the performance...
hearing it through the earpiece translated from italian to french
Captivated by the 2 women on stage:
One giving words to her emotions
One putting notes to her soul

Leaving me feeling Clara's pain,
her drenched sorrow,
her sacrifice and her triumphs...

Her inner battle with who she was,
what she could be...
what she should be...
what she Wanted to be...

Her responsibilities and her desires...
her failures and her successes
her music, her melody
Herself
...

The anguish
and melancholy
her husband felt
and that consumed him

Her disappointment...
that her love was not enough
to pull him out of it...
but that was all she could give

Her love of light... and dawn...
that fought away the darkness
and opened up a new opportunity
for work and play

The intensity of 
her honesty with herself
her fingers gliding over the piano
pouring it into her very soul
and from her soul to mine...

posted by hopeful beirut @ 17:03 0 Comments

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

re-energizing ripple effect

I rejoin my routine today,re-energized, still rippling with the effects of positivity.

I'm very happy i attended the conference, even more because it presented a well-rounded view, included multiple stakeholders and held a core message of empowerment... i had been afraid to arrive and find myself surrounded by people who wanted to protect women...

Instead i found myself surrounded by strong, confident and feminine women, who were changing their world, in their way, with different tools but with a same objective, to create a better life for them and theirs.

Another message i took away from the workshop/conference and which i hold dear, is providing women with choices, and not enforcing a specific one...

Below is a small overview produced by the ETF (courtesy of Bent Sorensen)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkQwVFB1T8I

posted by hopeful beirut @ 17:07 0 Comments

Tuesday, March 09, 2010

ETF-Aftermath



I'm back home in Lebanon after a very interesting workshop/conference that i participated in Torino, Italy; organized by the ETF and Sylvia Cambie. Im tired and happily overwhelmed, having met many brave women from diverse backgrounds and countries, that are all actively putting their talent at the disposal of their communities.

Below is a link to the article posted on the ETF website, as i promise to write in more detail tomorrow.

http://www.etf.europa.eu/web.nsf/opennews/645BD1D0CD89C565C12576E0004CFB12_EN?OpenDocument

I leave you with our concluding remark featured on the YouTube Video we prepared for the conference:
BE the change YOU want to see in the world!

posted by hopeful beirut @ 22:01 0 Comments

Thursday, March 04, 2010

ETF-Women & Work

Tonight, i pack my bags and leave for Torino, Italy where the European Training Foundation (ETF) is organizing a conference entitled Women and Work, on the occasion of International Women's Day.

It promises to be very exciting, both as an opportunity to meet other bloggers as well as an occasion to make a difference at a large scale.

FOr me, it has been a call to action, to rededicate myself to this blog, and to remember the power of words to inspire + to heal. It's also a reminder of the power of collective action, and how the ripple effect of a positive thought can reach beyond our imagined scope.

Im looking foward to discovering the city, and  coming up with some creative proposals!

For those interested to know more: http://www.etf.europa.eu/web.nsf/pages/Women_and_Work_EN

posted by hopeful beirut @ 16:22 0 Comments