Since the death of Senator Ted Kennedy, I thought about his life and legacy and regardless of what any of us thought of his politics, I think we all should admire his total dedication to family.  As I talk about so often, we gain strength and courage from the people we keep in our circle.  Ted Kennedy stepped in as a father figure to the children of Robert and John Kennedy, he kept them connected to the entire Kennedy clan teaching them family was everything.  If you watched any of the funeral service on TV, you saw the family gathered in respect and solidarity for the family patriarch they revered so much.

Each of us has a circle of strength which can be our personal family, our work family, our friendships.  Remember to reach out to your family for strength, encouragement and guidance.

Last week I had the honor of interviewing  Taryn Davis, founder of  the American Widow Project and her partner Nicole Hart.  These two women amidst the grief of losing their husbands  in the Iraq war, have become dedicated to support the new generation of widows – that of the military widow.  They want other military widows to know they are not alone so Taryn produced a documentary DVD about the journey of six military widows, their struggles and sorrow and is FREE of charge to all military widows simply by sending a request to their website.  Anyone else can purchase the DVD for a small donation. Their goal is to have the military distribute a DVD in each packet given to the widow after the soldiers death, this way the widow will immediately know she is not alone.

These women have a beautiful RV with the names of all the fallen soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan.  Nicole told me this to “honor the fallen, the heros, not to make a head count of war, this represents the life behind each name as well as the survivor behind each name” They plan on making a trip from the west coast to Washington DC where they plan to be on Memorial Day 2009.  They will be stopping at military bases along the way to talk with other widows and share the DVD.  They need our help to make this journey, so I encourage you to DONATE today and help these brave women reach out to those who are grieving a loss. These brave women have found a circle of strength with other military widows, they help one another with hope.

At the age of 23, these young women are wise beyond their years. Taryn said to me “we all understand that grief is universal even if you are not a military widow”and they wanted to share a few tips on healing they have learned;

1.  FOLLOW YOUR HEART – said Taryn, do what you think is right and not what others think might be best for you or how other think you should feel.

2. HOLD TRUE TO WHO YOU ARE – said Taryn, don’t think what I tell you about grief is what you should do. We’re all different.

3.  HOLD ON – said Nicole, when people tell you to let go or move on, it’s OK to hold on to memories. Those memories helped her through this journey claled grief.

4. ONE DAY AT A TIME – said Nicole, to concentrate on today only helped. Don’t try to think about next week, rather take each day as it comes.

Their mission is not to tell people how to grieve but to talk and share stories but most of all to comfort and let these widows know they are not alone, that’s true Heartache To Healing.   Taryn told me someone once said, “Its not so much about the road you take it’s how you take it.”  I think that’s awfully profound.

I humbly thank Michael Davis and David Hart who gave their lives for liberty, for freedom and for the United States of America.

Michael & Taryn Davis

David & Nicole Hart

Please pass this onto everyone you know, let’s help support these two brave women!  Listen the the entire interview by clicking this LINK:

We all have a story of how some event in our lives has brought
us to where we are today and
often times of how we transition into our life work after some
experience in our lives. Jocelyn Walberg is one of those women.
In 2003 she suffered through the losses of her father and even
her pets.
She had also been dealing with headaches and migraines for twelve
years, seven days a week, 24 hours a day. She was no longer able
to work because the pain was so depilitating.

My children spoke to an empty body and my desire to do anything
fun was gone.  Depression set in and I felt like I was living in
my very own cave of darkness.

For 2 years I was a prisoner of my own home.  My pain was so
excruciating throughout my body that there was nothing much
too live for except I knew I couldn’t give up because I had my
family.   My husband never gave up on me.

In 2002/2003 I decided that I would spend 12 months trying
everything available to me to feel better and if none of those
things worked, I was done with doctors and appointments and this
was how I was to live my life and I would accept my faith.

My 12 months were up and I got little relief and the relief I
got was very temporary and partial.  I kept praying that something
would come into my life that would take me away from my dark
and damp cave and let me be who I use to be.

After months of sitting at home, living with my faith I got an
unexpected call from my best friend from high school who was in
town at a seminar.

The seminar was about medical machines that could be used in
an office setting or at home and they’d been changing people’s
lives. She told me about how well they worked for her sciatica
and how it helped her husband with his aches and pains every day.

I told her to order me one of each machine.  Six weeks of using
those machines 2-3 times a day, 10 minutes each time, my headaches
and migraines disappeared, the pain in my neck and shoulders and
back disappeared.  My depression was lifting and I started living
again.  After 3 months I was able to cut my depression medication
in half and after a year got rid of all of my prescription drugs.

The lesson I learned it that It’s so important that we as woman
are there for each other and that we reach out.  Don’t condemn,
you never know what is happening in someone’s home or in their
heart.   Let’s support each other, ask what we can do or can we
just be there and listen.  With more support from the women in
my life would have made a big difference.  I would not have
slipped so deeply and my recovery would have happened more quickly.

Jocelyn is living pain free and started a business to help those
who may be suffering as she did for so many years.
Her compassion for helping others is evident the first time you
talk with Jocelyn, she truly exemplifies a woman of strength.

Jocelyn Walberg

Jocelyn Walberg, Owner Sooxen Aches & Pains Clinic
www.sooxen.com

(763)-633-5555

Last Wednesday I attended the California Conference for Women. The theme for this years event was “Be Who You Are. Feel it. Live it. Pass it on. This event is the largest of its kind in the country with the goal to educate and inspire women from all walks of life. Hosted by California’s First Lady, Maria Schriver and some of the notable speakers were; Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger & Warren Buffet who discussed the state of the economy. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour and many more. What I took away from the day was feeling more empowered and focused and a desire to connect and inspire other like-minded women.

Some of the comments that I found most thought provoking for me were;

“It can take a really long time to be the person you want to be”

“What are you going to do with your one wild and precious life?”

“Fear keeps us from who we want to be”

A great read is Maria Schriver’s book called “Just Who Will You Be?”

Here’s a few photos’ from the day.

Courage is defined as “Courage, also known as bravery, will and fortitude, is the ability to confront fear, pain, risk/danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. …”

Everyday I travel around with Gabriella Holt, the woman with whom I am now working. She exhibits courage everyday simply by standing tall in the face of criticism, standing up to her male counterparts who visibly treat her differently and with less respect than their male counterparts, for her determination to stand up for her beliefs everyday even to the many naysayers who don’t think she has a chance and to her opposition who think they will prevail…Gabriella has more courage than I and thank God that she does.

Also in the photo below next to Gabriella is a man who was in prison with John McCain in Vietnam and who told us stories of how they survived years of torture. These were men with true courage, courage of their convictions for the country they so loved – how can a man like that not be a great leader of our country?