I watched "Coach Carter" last night with the family...a pretty good movie. But there was a poem quoted in the movie that reached my heart... I chased it down and wanted to post it. Maybe it will inspire you to reclaim a dream or maybe you'll just appreciate the dreams of others. Either way, I hope it makes you think a little.

Lisa


Our Greatest Fear


by Marianne Williamson



it is our light not our darkness that most frightens us
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,talented and fabulous?Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other
people won't feel insecure around you.We were born to make manifest the glory ofGod that is within us.It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,we unconsciously give other peoplepermission to do the same.As we are liberated from our own fear,Our presence automatically liberates others.

For Phenomenal Women everywhere, this is for you....

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies I'm not cute or built to suit a model's fashion size But when I start to tell them They think I'm telling lies. I say It's in the reach of my arms The span of my hips The stride of my steps The curl of my lips. I'm a woman Phenomenally Phenomenal woman That's me. I walk into a room Just as cool as you please And to a man The fellows stand or Fall down on their knees Then they swarm around me A hive of honey bees. I say It's the fire in my eyes And the flash of my teeth The swing of my waist And the joy in my feet. I'm a woman Phenomenally Phenomenal woman That's me. Men themselves have wondered What they see in me They try so much But they can't touch My inner mystery. When I try to show them They say they still can't see. I say It's in the arch of my back The sun of my smile The ride of my breasts The grace of my style. I'm a woman Phenomenally Phenomenal woman That's me. Now you understand Just why my head's not bowed I don't shout or jump about Or have to talk real loud When you see me passing It ought to make you proud. I say It's in the click of my heels The bend of my hair The palm of my hand The need for my care. 'Cause I'm a woman Phenomenally Phenomenal woman That's me.

Maya Angelou~

Some history about nursing in Canada

I found this information posted on the rnao.org site. I thought it was interesting and I had a "the- more-you-know..." moment when I read it. Read on...

Bernice Redmon, a Toronto native, had to go to the United States to attain a nursing degree and a graduate diploma in public health nursing because Canadian nursing schools refused to admit her. She was the first Black nurse allowed to practice in Canada when she obtained employment with the Nova Scotia Department of Health in Sydney in 1945 (Calliste, 1993, pp. 91-92; Braithwaite, 1977).

By the forties, with the shattering of employment barriers due to the war, African Canadians had begun a more concerted struggle for civil rights. Elements of the Black community, such as the Toronto Negro Veterans Association and Pearleen Oliver, founding member of the Nova Scotia Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NSAACP), and with the support of mainstream organizations such as trade unions and church groups, put pressure on nursing schools to accept Black students. As a result, Ruth Bailey from Toronto and Gwen Barton from Halifax were accepted at the Children’s Hospital in Halifax.

In Windsor, the Hour-A Day Study Club wrote to the provincial minister of health and the University of Toronto to help get Black nurses admitted for training there. By the late 40s-early 50s, Black women gradually began to be accepted as nursing students and to be employed in hospitals in various centres across Canada. Marissa Scott, from Owen Sound, was initially refused acceptance at nursing schools across Ontario and there was a great deal of negative publicity about her case. Guelph Catholic Hospital eventually accepted her application and she became the first person to graduate and become a nurse in Ontario in 1950 (Calliste, 1993, pp. 92-93).

Brett Dennen...

Been missing for a while ( I offer you no excuse). Busy with school and work I suppose, who really knows???
As a rule, I don't listen to much Folk music, but I was watching a commercial for Rogers TV the other night and the song being played in the background got stuck in my mind. The lyrics said "and I will be the one who loves you the most..." The tune was catchy (to me) and I made it my mission to find the songwriter and the song. A week or more later I struck gold... his name is Brett Dennen, and the song is called "The one who loves you the most". He has had some other song featured on Grey's Anatomy, so he's doing well and getting some exposure.
This guy is different, and I'm not talking about his hair, or his taste in clothing. He is not what you might expect, even though you weren't expecting anything at all. (does that make sense?) :) His voice is higher than most male vocalists(at times he can sound like Billy Holiday and Bob Dylan all at once) and his lyrics are simple and have basic messages about our global situation. Listen to him and you'll see what I mean. Check him out and let me know what you think.

Good Times...Good Friends

I didn't know how much I'd missed their smiling faces until I had the opportunity to see them again. Its so good to see friends that share a common thread from your past, and reconnecting with Michaela, Abby, Danita and Tammy made me think about what fun a heavenly reunion would be like. I laughed until I cried. I laughed until my face hurt...and I hated to see the night end, but all good things do. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Ladies... (let's not wait so long to do this again). XOXO

Hope Floats....

So I woke up first this morning (as I do every Christmas) kind of hoping that our house would be covered by a cozy blanket of snow (just for Christmas morning...not forever). But to my disappointment..nothing of the sort had happened. Instead I found a Purple Pansy blooming in the backyard. What a sense of humour God has...I hadn't received the snow I'd wanted...instead the gift was this defiant little flower, battered by frost and wind. It was surrounded by barren landscape, littered with reminders that fall had come and gone weeks ago. I laughed because this Purple Surprise seeming full of purpose... like beauty, and hope. It had the nerve to show up when the going was rough. I wish I could be that determined. Maybe that will be one of my New Year's Resolutions for 2007.

Thousands of years ago...another Miracle happened in a manger, and like the flower...God provided a miracle to the world at an unlikely place...at an unlikely time. I don't want to forget that during this Christmas season. When everyone around seems to want to get a piece of me (work, school, etc.) I'll remember the determination of the pansy, and I'll hang in there knowing that I've got what it takes to get the job done.

Big Ideas...

I've been a busy girl... I'm involved in a love triangle with work, baking in the kitchen, and church. I've managed to avoid the mall. It was a New Year's resolution that I made in January 2006, and I kept my promise. (so proud)
Just yesterday a woman tried to kill me with her vehicle. She thought I was competition for a parking spot at the bank. WOW. As I stood in the insanely long line at the bank I fantasized that one day...if I made enough money, I would buy a sweet little cottage outside a small town, and a week before christmas I would stay at the cottage and relax. I could bake, sleep, decorate, have a fireplace going...on and on. So that's my big idea. I think its one of the best I've had yet.

The big ideas just keep coming...so on to warmer topics, like Florida...I've lived in Florida in the past and would consider returning if I knew I could work somewhere amazing like the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Children. It is a brand new facility that has just opened up in Orlando and the facilities are amazing. It has a 112-bed neonatal intensive care unit...the fourth largest in the United States. 30 Labor and Delivery rooms....and soooo much more. But you don't have to take my word for it check out these 2 websites and and see for yourself:
1)http://72.3.247.146/winnie/index.html
2) www.wesh.com/video/92952141/index.html?taf

Florida has so much beauty, from the climate to the environment, and its diversity of cultures, I think I would be very happy to return...on one condition...'that I found the perfect job for me. I've learned how crucial that is to one's happiness, and I'm excited about planting my feet and growing. Its about to be 2007 and I'm excited about the unknow...what have I to fear...this is my Father's world.