BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

There is a pervasive way of thinking in our culture today that seeks to undermine women's fight for empowerment. Women are being attacked at every opportunity by messages designed to make them feel bad about themselves, in hopes that these women will then buy what the messenger is selling. At the Media Awareness Network , this problem is defined quite clearly: Why are standards of beauty being imposed on women, the majority of whom are naturally larger and more mature than any of the models? The roots, some analysts say, are economic. By presenting an ideal difficult to achieve and maintain, the cosmetic and diet product industries are assured of growth and profits. And it’s no accident that youth is increasingly promoted, along with thinness, as an essential criterion of beauty. If not all women need to lose weight, for sure they’re all aging, says the Quebec Action Network for Women’s Health in its 2001 report Changements sociaux en faveur de la diversité des images corpor...

by Barbara It’s not a lot of fun to be big or overweight and female in our society. Especially when it isn’t your fault. I suffer from an endocrine problem called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). I have had this scourge since I was 9 years old but it’s only in the past 11 years I have developed a problem with my weight. And I hate it and it’s not fun. In fact, I can’t stand looking in the mirror – clothes on or off. Doctors need to coax the gown off to examine me. Nowhere but the shower does anyone see much more of me. My friends tell me I am too hard on myself. My friend John made a great observation to me the other day, and I had to admit he was right. We met online in a health related chat about 14 years ago and have since met in person and become good friends. He told me, “You are one of the most compassionate and deepest people I have ever met. But when it comes to your own appearance – you are so shallow!” He went on to tell me that weight or not, I am still very at...

VINDICATION! ABUSER ADMITS HE DID IT! This is a HUGE thing to see the media actually REPORT that an abuser ACTUALLY ADMITTED WHAT HE DID!! And for an ABUSER to admit it as well! In public! Additionally this article admits that he & his lawyer did what all abusers of any stripe do: BLAME AND SMEAR THE VICTIM . Wow!! Take note of this RED FLAG people, when someone tells you "so & so is a liar, manipulator, stalker, scorned, obsessed..." -- WARNING ! someone's trying to avoid further scrutiny. Or get their lawyer to do the smearing for them. This is vindication and we should demand more of this from the media and our communities! Kudos to the NY Daily News! Beast' actor pleads guilty in molest rap Broadway "Beast" James Barbour was unmasked Thursday as a liar and a child molester - while his victim and his wife looked on. Barbour, who once played the Beast in "Beauty and the Beast," pleaded guilty in Manhattan Supreme Court to two coun...

Elegant Blessings Living A Life Of Grace Grace exists inside of all of us and around us. It is our inner beauty that radiates outward, touching everyone we meet. It is that unseen hand that comes from the divine, raising us up when we most need it. To be able to live in a state of grace is not based on worthiness, nor is it earned through good deeds, ritual, or sacrifice. Rather it is an unearned favor, freely bestowed and available to all, that is inherent to our birthright. All we must do is open our eyes to its presence and we will find and experience grace everywhere. Grace is in the rain bringing relief to drought-ridden farms, and the unexpected lead for the perfect job opportunity that comes from a stranger. Grace is what happens to someone when they miraculously escape injury; it is even the simple events that happen to us that we call "good luck," like when we don't get a parking ticket after are meter has expired. Grace resides in the love between two people, th...

CLOSER TO HASHEM IN MY GARDEN "It is forbidden to live in a town that does not have a green garden." — Talmud, Yerushalmi, Kiddushin 4:12 "A garden is so much like a church. So much care and feeding. Such competitiveness among the plants — some of them literally choke each other to death if you don't get out there and put a stop to it. The big gorgeous ones get lots of attention, but then one comes along that looks almost dead all season and suddenly, almost overnight, blooms splendidly forth. Never write anybody off completely. You just don't know. — Barbara Cawthorne Crafton in Let Us Bless the Lord, Year One "Spend time in a flower garden. Stay there as long as you wish, but make sure your visit is long enough to take in the various charms that the world of blossoms and petals provides. You can sit in a chair or on the grass, lie down looking up at the flowers from below, or walk around. However you choose to spend your time, be aware that you are a guest...