How can you stay grounded and know yourself in a world that is spinning so fast?

Olivia Romo, swagger poet from Taos, has found a way to stay connected to her roots, which include the language, the culture, the land, and the water of northern New Mexico.  Her poem about the water ways that sustain agriculture – called acequias- reflects her respect for her family and their traditions.  The poem also describes her experiences connecting with the water as a child, she says “water is a universal need for humanity – it also has personal and spiritual meaning for me.”

Olivia has a unique talent – respecting the past and finding the sacred in her connection with her history, while at the same time bringing in her own insights about the present, including threats to the land and water from newcomers and corporate interests that don’t understand the fragile system that has sustained the Taos Valley for hundreds of years. She says that the water is the sangria/blood of life for the magical people of Taos and she “swims in the tears of my people” as the ancient way of life is threatened by loss of understanding and respect.  She takes her place “a leaf on this family tree” and uses her art to bring attention to the sacred beauty of her home and the dangers that threaten it.

Olivia says, “I know where I’m from.  I step in front, hoping that my generations will follow.”

You can see Olivia perform her powerful poem about the land and water at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jMS4buSMno

Guest columnist Julie Loar

Webster defines confidence as “a feeling or consciousness of one’s powers or reliance on one’s circumstances.”  This month three women were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.  Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, activist Leymah Gbowee, also of Liberia, and human rights activist Tawakkul Karman of Yemen. I could not have imagined this when I was a child in the fifties.  These women come from areas that have been torn by strife, violence and unspeakable human rights crimes.  And yet, they did not remain frozen in fear or stand on the sidelines.  Rather, they displayed inspiring courage and vision.  As I pondered the quality of confidence I wondered if they felt confident at any point in their heroic journeys.

The Nobel Peace Prize committee in Oslo, Norway, said of these women,  “They were chosen for their nonviolent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work.  We cannot achieve democracy and lasting peace in the world unless women obtain the same opportunities as men to influence developments at all levels of society.”

Their award is a beacon to struggling women everywhere.  This recognition can inspire us to stand up for the values that are dear to us and be willing to takes risks for what is right.  What seems most significant to me is that these women worked for justice without striking back.  Read more…

Do you know that there are 50 million 12 year old girls living in poverty? That many of them will be given in arranged marriage, without their consent by the time they are 14 years old?  Many of these girls will be pregnant by the time they are 15 and pregnancy is the leading cause of death among girls 15-19 worldwide. These statistics might seem shocking and overwhelming.

The good news is that there an increasing number of organizations dedicated to doing something about this situation.  Girl Effect is one of those organizations.  They are working to spread the word about the problem and gather resources to do something about it.

According to the Girl Effect, when girls are able to delay marriage and finish their education, they contribute to the success of their families and they help reduce poverty in their countries.  Girl Effect says “women in poverty filter 90 percent of their incomes back into their families, in comparison to only 30 to 40 percent of men…”

Want to know more ? Take a look at this short piece – it will be sure to touch your heart. http://www.girleffect.org/learn/video/7

Today September 23rd, 2011 is a worldwide day of awareness for self-worth in girls and women, sponsored by the Priceless Picture Project. Recognizing that many girls and women experience feelings of low self-esteem, the Priceless Project is committed to spreading the message that we are all priceless.

How is your self-esteem?  Do you stand up for your point of view at work and for your needs in your relationship? The more you are aware of your own needs and seek to get them met, the more your confidence will grow.  You become a role model for your friends, co-workers, daughters, and nieces.  Your growing self-esteem lifts all those around you.

Today, take one action to stand up for yourself.  Then take another action to help lift the spirits and feeling of self-worth of someone else. Think about why you are priceless. You can join the Priceless Picture Project by taking a picture of yourself and submitting it to: http://pricelessproject.com/i_am_priceless_project.html.

Join The I Am Priceless Picture Project let the world know women and girls are beautiful and priceless. Learn more click here and please spread the word.  The Girl’s Guide to Swagger is a proud partner of the Priceless Project.  Look for founder Cindy Brown on the Priceless home page!

“A collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic and social rights and equal opportunities for women.”  Wikipedia definition of feminism

Are there people who disagree with women having equal rights in the US in 2011?  It is amazing to me that such a basic concept of equal rights for women has not been added to the US Constitution, although the Equal Rights Amendment was introduced in 1923 – it still hasn’t passed.

In the current discussion, feminism is sometimes referred to as the new F word – more shocking than the four letter version.  In an amazing example of negative spin, those with an investment in the status quo have taken feminism and made it synonymous with unattractive and unfeminine.  How did this happen?  Is it just another example of a patriarchal society with everything to lose making women feel bad about getting what is due to them – basic equality?

Newsweek

In 1970, a group of women working at Newsweek filed a gender discrimination against Newsweek. Forty-six women sued for employment dis -crimination based on gender under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act – the first group of media professionals to do so.  Ironically their suit coincided with a cover story on Feminism published by Newsweek. In the end, the ACLU, which was representing the women agreed not to press the suit if Newsweek  set goals and timetables to remedy the inequalities, which included women working as researchers, but turning their material over to men who actually wrote the articles.

In 2011, three current employees of Newsweek wrote an insightful article called “Are we there yet?” The writers, young women writers were unaware of the 1970 suit.  When they discovered it, they circulated a book called In Our Time by Susan Brownmiller that had a chapter about the suit. The authors of the article say: Read more…

When enough individuals and groups take action, momentum can begin to build that leads to cultural change. Witness the green building movement.  Considered to be a fringe opinion up until recently, the green builders and environmental planners seemed destined to be only tolerated, never understood or taken seriously.  However, in the last few years, everyone has begun to recognize the importance of conserving energy and weaning ourselves from fossil fuel sources that are increasingly unreliable. Even the largest corporations now advertise greenness of their products.  Fringe has become mainstream.

How did this happen?  In addition to growing scientific data and wider awareness, consumers began to express their preference for greener, more sustainable products.  A survey of potential downtown Denver home buyers revealed that energy-saving approaches and design for sustainability were at the top of the lists for what these buyers wanted in a home.

I believe that this same phenomenon can happen with equality for women. Although it may appear that women are equal in the US today, they still earn only 78 cents for every dollar earned by a man. And the Equal Rights Amendment, first introduced in 1923 has never passed.

There seems to be emerging energy behind a number of different efforts that may combine to produce the tidal wave that leads to actual cultural change.  Hundreds of new organizations are forming –  some such as Girl Up with official backing of the UN or other organization and many formed by one or more women who see a need and take action! Look at the list of swagger partners for a glimpse of the many grass roots organizations that have been formed to support girls and women – The Priceless Project, Inspired Girls International, See Beautiful, Courage is Change, the YWCA, YMCA, The Acts Movement,and Boulder Youth Body Alliance are among the organizations supporting girls in increasing their confidence and making their voices heard. Read more…

Do you believe that our next generations of leaders will be women?  For a world in turmoil, I believe that leadership by women is imperative to our survival as a planet. Our current system of domination attempts, war, and exploitation is killing many women and children and damaging the environment.

We need a new ethic not based on the idea that man has dominion over the planet and resources. A new paradigm that respects the limited resources of our planet and supports equal rights for all people is needed. Women are generally more oriented toward collaborative problem-solving and leveling the playing field for all people – rather than trying to win and dominate.

How will our future leaders get the support and training they need? Organizations like Inspired Girls International are providing opportunities for leadership for girls and are reaching out through media resources to convey empowering messages.  The Girl’s Guide to Swagger is proud to welcome our newest partner – Inspired Girls International.

Inspired Girls International creates programming and content for girls and the organizations that support them. Through our signature programs and workshops, girls evolve into feminine leaders and well-adjusted young women.

Visit www.inspiredgirlsonline.com to learn more.

How long does it take to realize a dream?  Can you remember back to the inspiration – the creative flicker that set you on your current path?  Have you recently had a flash of insight that may become a dream and then a plan and eventually a reality?

In 2002, while on a trip – I was writing in a journal.  I was thinking about my job developing affordable housing and how much I had learned about confidence in the previous ten years.  My first time running a construction site, I was young and fairly inexperienced.  I was constantly tested by the site superintendent.  I finally found a way to be confident.  To see how I found my confidence, you can take a look this short clip on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPyhMOLuv-Y and look at Girls Who Swagger and then Swagger at Work on the website.

By 2002, I had moved from developing 35 townhouse units, a childcare and community center to overseeing the development of 27 acres  with more than 300 units of housing, neighborhood businesses, and a park.  This project, known as the Holiday Neighborhood is now a thriving, award- winning project – www.holidayneighborhood.com.  I had the confidence to coordinate seven different developers, multiple architects, bankers and lawyers.  I loved what I was doing and was feeling good about my abilities – but there was something in the back of my mind that kept surfacing.

At first swagger was just a whisper, a note on a page.  Then it was an idea that I began to quietly discuss with friends.  Next, swagger was a thought that I shared with other professional women.  An amazing thing happened – those women began to tell me their stories.  I started to collect the stories and the idea for a book was born.  After building a website and making connections through social media – I saw that swagger was bigger than a story or a collection of stories or a book – it was a part of a growing number of organizations supporting girls and women, working toward gender equality.  These organizations are creating momentum toward social change and the swagger movement is part of that sweeping wave of change.

It is 2011 – nine years since that first creative flicker.  In the picture above, I am back where I worked developing affordable housing – but this time, I am talking about swagger!  Amazing how life turns back on itself, spiraling and changing, crossing back and moving on.

What is your creative dream?  How will you achieve it?

Note:  photo by Liz Wolfert

Dear Friends – due to an overwhelming number of Spam comments, we will be closing the blog to comments for now.  To post a comment, please join us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/GirlsGuideToSwagger. Thanks, Cindy

This week The Priceless Project launched a new website.  Project Founder Ruby Taylor says:  “When my family/friends and I talked about starting The Priceless Project, one of the core goals we had for this project was to leave our community and the global world better off than we found it. Our mission is to remind girls and young women that their lives matter, that they are more than their looks, and they have the right to stand up for themselves.”

You can take a look at the new website at http://pricelessproject.com/.  Among the features are shout-outs – messages of love and support that you can send out to the girls in your life, along with on-line mentoring, a quiz, contests and resources.  The Girl’s Guide to Swagger is proud to be among the resources listed and we will be partnering with The Priceless Project in more ways in the months to come.

Only 2% of women across the world think they are beautiful today. The Priceless Project wants to reach 1,000,000 girls and young women with the message that they are beautiful and priceless.  Together, we can raise our voices to support girls and give them permission to swagger. Take a look and see how you can be part of the solution!

Dear Friends – due to an overwhelming number of Spam comments, we will be closing the blog to comments for now.  To post a comment, please join us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/GirlsGuideToSwagger. Thanks, Cindy