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back to the current month's Gathering THE
TAOGIRL GATHERING A
Celebration of Taogirls Everywhere The
Taogirl Gathering Issue
Number Seven Welcome
, Taogirls
Here I am in the middle with some of the members of Team
Taogirl. Donna is second from the left
business
meeting he was running for a local corporation – a “thank you”
weekend for the fine work done by the sales people of this particular
company. I was to attend the
evenings’ events as were the other spouses who were joining the
festivities. This year, unlike others, however,
I was given “a leave of absence” from the daytime activities so I
could participate in the 3-day, 60 mile walk sponsored by the National
Philanthropic Trust to benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer
Foundation. My daughter, Donna, drove up from
her home in Team Taogirl, along with more than
2,000 other men and women spent the three days walking and talking,
walking and laughing, walking and preparing blister pads for our sore
tootsies, and, together we helped raise both funds and awareness for
breast cancer research. It is impossible to adequately
share with you the emotional impact of such an event – being in the
presence of so many Tao and defiant men and women.
Therefore, I would like to
highlight, in this issue of the Taogirl Gathering, the following beautiful
words written by Donna:
More of the Team Taogirl members with Donna on the far left. When
I was asked to write an article about my experience on the Breast Cancer
3-Day walk, I immediately said “sure, why not?”
However, as we started walking on day one, I started to think:
“What did I get myself into? I
have no idea what to write!” However,
as I thought about it some more, and with some help from my Mom whom I was
walking with, it soon became pretty clear.
For me, this walk is about helping others and putting others’
needs ahead of your own. For
instance, when we got to our very first pit stop on day one and had to
wait in line for about 20 minutes to use the port-o-potties, I was pretty
annoyed (actually, I was VERY annoyed); not only because I had a need to
use the “facilities,” but I was also concerned that it would be this
way at every stop (luckily, it wasn’t).
However, it dawned on me later that this was truly incredible.
Waiting 20 minutes to use probably about 30 stalls exemplified just
how many people were actually walking!!!
(And, subsequently, how much money was raised—85% of which would
be going to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation!) So,
even though I really wanted to leave at lunch time on the first day and
just go home so I could sleep in a comfortable bed and just “be home,”
the guilt of doing that kept me going at first, and then the understanding
of what we all were accomplishing, and the realization of how relatively
easy I had it, kicked in. There
was the woman who was walking but had just had a double mastectomy a week
prior (and still had in her drainage tubes)… There
was the woman who had lost approximately 100 pounds over the last few
years and had not done any walking at all prior to April, but kept pushing
on and walked a good portion of each day, until something in her foot
“popped” on the third day and she was taken off the course… There
was the man who was working on the safety crew who is diabetic and fell
off his bike when he went into a diabetic shock and suffered a
concussion… There
was the woman who is a marathon runner who had a freak accident the Sunday
before and was put in a walking cast, so she walked a short distance and
then worked on the crew the rest of the weekend… There
were all the people who came out to cheer us on, at both the official and
unofficial cheering stations, not to mention the numerous “drive by”
cheerings… There
was the woman who was not able to train due to back problems, but still
walked more than half of the miles each day, yet felt guilty for not doing
more… There
were the throngs of people who, at one point, were walking along the
opposite side of the street to raise money for Juvenile Diabetes,
reminding us that there are others in the world in need of help for a
myriad of issues… And,
there were so many others who were there for so many reasons, and had so
many of those reasons written on the backs of their shirts… So,
how could I compare to these fabulous women and men?!
All I could do was keep going and celebrate all the wonderful
pleasures in life, like walking through sprinklers on a hot afternoon and
being with the people I love!!! -
Donna Goldberg
The woman Donna wrote about –---
the one who complained because her sore back kept her from walking the
entire distance ---- well, that one is me.
I have learned much after the walk and from Donna’s perceptive
words. I keep learning what it
truly means to be Tao and defiant – to accept one’s limitations while
continuing on the path with all the vitality and strength one has.
Thank you, Donna.
I am so proud to be your mom. C J
This
month’s Taogirl Gathering will also feature:
TAOGIRL WISDOM OF THE MONTH
Be
as bold as the first man or woman to eat an oyster. - Shirley
Chisholm
It’s ?
time How
can I send out the Taogirl Gathering in a timely manner and still keep up
with all of the other requirements (as pleasurable as they are) of the
season? C
J Golden TAOGIRL’S ANSWER TO C J Keep
this issue of the Taogirl Gathering short and sweet and don’t over
burden yourself or your reader. T
G 
On the road again………
Here’s where I will be in
December:
Friday, December 8
New Age Health Spa
I will be speaking about the Tao and defiant philosophy
AND THE NEXT MORNING:
Saturday, December 9 New
Age Health Spa I
will be conducting an introductory Taogirl
Workshop.
Wednesday, December 13
The Passion Project
Corner of
Keep checking the
Travels page of the website for current updates. http://www.taogirl.com/taotravels.htm
the Taogirl on-line Boutique is open
THE TAO OF THE DEFIANT WOMAN A Guide to Life over 40
www.taogirl.com/taobookstore.htm
THE TAOGIRL
HANDBOOK
The
Taogirl Handbook is
chock full of suggestions to aid you in the organization of your Taogirl
Group. Along
with the exercises and discussions within the pages of this three ring
binder, I’ve
also included blank pages for your own notes, as well as plenty of
“growing room.” http://www.taogirl.com/taogirlhandbook.htm THE OFFICIAL TAOGIRL T-SHIRT
www.taogirl.com/taogirltees.htm TAOGIRL GREETING
CARDS
http://www.taogirl.com/taogirlcards.htm LET’S LINK ! If you know of, or have a website that you think Taogirls
would enjoy seeing, let me know and I’ll be happy to set up a hyperlink
from this newsletter to that site. Conversely,
if you would like to do the same from your site to this newsletter, please
contact me to do so. It is in this manner that we can support each other as we all
strive to support women everywhere! Alignment With Life…Andrea D.
Klein, the
guiding light behind this If
you’re ready to: embrace the 2nd half of life; explore the
opportunity of truly having fun; tap into your creative juices; move into
possibilities, potential and passions then you will want to “meet”
Andrea via her website. And
you don’t have to live in Visit
Andrea and Alignment With Life at:
http://www.alignmentwithlife.com/contact.htm Esteemed Woman Foundation…This
amazing and important organization was founded in 2000 by filmmaker Suzie
Galler who began conducting research about women and
self-esteem which led to the making of the highly acclaimed documentary
film I Am Beautiful. The film then became the cornerstone of an outreach
program designed to help women explore and strengthen their self-image..
It now includes ongoing workshops, resource materials and an outreach
network that provides support nationwide. The foundation's primary focus
has been to develop comprehensive programs for women of all ages and
backgrounds. The programs teach that self-esteem is not a destination, but
a life long journey--one that requires recognition of the sources of
self-esteem, and a willingness to address those areas that impede a
positive self-image. Visit
the Suzie and the Esteemed Woman Foundation at:
http://esteemedwoman.com Visit
Patricia and The Connecticut Muse at:
http://connecticutmuse.com/aboutus.html Donna Ferber
…
is the author of the wonderfully supportive and encouraging
book, From Ex-wife to
Exceptional Life: A Woman’s Journey through Divorce.
Donna is a licensed
professional counselor and licensed alcohol and drug counselor.
She is also a psychotherapist and experienced speaker who has drawn
on her twenty years of
experience counseling women through this difficult process to create a
comprehensive guide comprised of 365 one page essays that offer
inspiration, insight and information. Visit Donna at:
http://www.donnaferber.com/index.htm Prill Boyle …
Like the women
she writes about in her book, Defying
Gravity, Prill Boyle is a late bloomer. After graduating from
college at 38, she became an English teacher. Then in January of 2000 she
read an article in The New York Times about a 65-year old Visit Prill at:
http://www.prillboyle.com/index.html
A very few final words: This issue of the Taogirl Gathering finds us at the
close of 2006. I sincerely
hope this has been a good year for you all – as it has been for me. I wish you all the joys of the upcoming holiday
season, peace, good health and a hearty dose of that Tao and defiant
spirit to get you through the hectic days ahead! My thanks to Donna
and Team Taogirl for allowing me to feature
you this month. And, as always, a big thank you to all of you out
there for being the wonderful, sharing and caring Taogirls (and Taoguys)
that you are. Please email me and let me share your story with our
readers in the January issue of The Taogirl Gathering. C J
Spread the word - share this issue of
THE TAOGIRL GATHERING with your friends! If you would rather not receive future issues please respond to
this email and put “unsubscribe” in the subject line. To view past issues of The Gathering click on the issue you would like to see:
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