This is a business blog, but every once in a while I come across something that is so cool that I have to share it here.
Recently, I read an article about a group of extraordinary women. They call themselves The International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers, and that’s exactly what they are. They are 13 women, all from indigenous cultures and from all over the globe. They are united in a common purpose.
"WE, THE INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF THIRTEEN INDIGENOUS GRANDMOTHERS, represent a global alliance of prayer, education and healing for our Mother Earth, all Her inhabitants, all the children, and for the next seven generations to come. We are deeply concerned with the unprecedented destruction of our Mother Earth and the destruction of indigenous ways of life. We believe the teachings of our ancestors will light our way through an uncertain future. We look to further our vision through the realization of projects that protect our diverse cultures: lands, medicines, language and ceremonial ways of prayer and through projects that educate and nurture our children."
The 13 Grandmothers include indigenous women from all over the world. Here is a list, including their tribe and homeland:
- Aama Bombo, Tamang, Nepal
- Margaret Bhan, Arapaho-Cheyenne, Montana USA
- Rita Blumenstein, Yup’ik, Alaska USA
- Julieta Casimiro, Mazatec, Mexico
- Maria Alice Campos, Friere, Brazil
- Flordemayo, Mayan, Central America
- Tsering Gyaltong, Tibetan Buddhist, Tibet
- Beatrice Long Visitor Holy Dance, Oglala Lakota, South Dakota USA
- Rita Long Visitor Holy Dance, Oglala Lakota, South Dakota USA
- Agnes Pilgrim, Takelma Siletz, Oregon USA
- Mona Polacca, Hopi, Arizona USA
- Bernadette Rebienot, Omyene, Gabon Africa
- Clara Shinobu lura, Amazon Rain Forest, Brazil
The Grandmothers are focused on peace, poverty and environmental issues. They say, “We are deeply concerned with the unprecedented destruction of our Mother Earth, the contamination of our air, waters and soil, the atrocities of war, the global scourge of poverty, the threat of nuclear weapons and waste, and the prevailing culture of materialism."
Beatrice Long Visitor Holy Dance, a spokeswoman for the group says, “We pray for peace, which is not only the wars but in our homes and in our schools. We need peace amongst the children.”
“We will never have environmental sanity and health while there are so many people living in abject poverty. We can’t expect people to care about the environment when they’re worried about feeding their children,” she said. “Part of our challenge is to have a relationship with nature that makes it healthier and stronger, instead of weaker and depleted.”
The 13 Grandmothers, believe that their ancestral ways of prayer, peacemaking and healing are vitally needed today. They believe that the teachings of their ancestors will “light the way through an uncertain future.”
I don’t know about you, but it sounds like common sense to me. Western society seems to have made quite a mess of things – especially on the peace, poverty and environment fronts. Maybe adopting some of the old ways, remembered by these 13 Grandmothers might help.
You can learn more about the 13 Grandmothers in a book called Grandmothers Counsel the World: Women Elders Offer Their Vision for Our Planet. The book was compiled and edited by Carol Schaefer. It introduces these women, their views on relationships and women's wisdom, their ideas for healing the Earth as well as ourselves, their plans for ending war and poverty, for bettering life on our planet, and their revelations about the importance of prayer. You can get it at Amazon.com.
That’s it for today. Thanks for reading. Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense. Check out my other blog: www.SuccessCommonSense.com for common sense advice on becoming the career and life success you are meant to be and to get a copy of my new ebook Star Power: Common Sense Ideas for Career and Life Success.
I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.
Bud
PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open. Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.
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