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THE
TAOGIRL GATHERING A
Celebration of Taogirls Everywhere The
Taogirl Gathering Issue
Number Six
Welcome
, Taogirls
of
The Taogirl Gathering when I found the following sitting in my Outlook
inbox. It was sent to me by a
long-time and dear girlfriend. She
didn’t know that I had been waiting for some sort of “inspiration”
to come my way, yet come it did, in the form of the email she had just
sent to me. So, with many thanks to my friend, Diane, for her insight in sharing this wonderful piece with me, I give you “Perspective” The
other day a young person asked me how I felt about being old. I was taken
aback, for I do not think of myself as old. Upon seeing my reaction, she
was immediately embarrassed, but I explained that it was an interesting
question, and I would ponder it, and let her know.
I
love this piece and will refer to it often.
I hope it offers the same inspiration to you that it does to me. C J This
month’s Taogirl Gathering will feature:
In
last month’s issue of The Taogirl Gathering I was pleased to feature a
conversation with Sophie V. of “The
On
October 15 I was honored to participate in one of their gatherings and had
best time meeting all of the women that afternoon. The
group is a lively and intelligent mix of Taogirls whose ages scan several
decades and come from diverse backgrounds. As
they left, eagerly planning their next meeting, I made sure my camera came
out before they all dispersed. As
now…… here
are…….. THE
Marilyn
B Sophie
V
Grace G And not in the picture - because they couldn’t
attend that particular meeting – not that they’re camera shy
Gen W, Marti W and Gretchen H Gretchen, I hasten to add, had an
extremely important reason for missing the meeting: She was in the hospital after having given
birth to her baby girl, Sophie! Congratulations to both the proud mom and
her very lucky daughter! I
love hearing from and meeting all of you Taogirls out there and I thank
you for allowing me to share your stories and photos with our readers.
Keep those emails coming!
www.taogirl.com TAOGIRL WISDOM OF THE MONTH
The first half of your life is the
life you were given.
The second half of your life is the life you create. On
October 1st I first heard from a most amazing and interesting
Taogirl. Her
email was so intriguing that I started a correspondence with her and now
want to share her story and photo with the rest of you. Cindy E. Hi
CJ, I
wanted to let you know that enjoy your weekly Taogirl wisdom's and I pass
them on to my friends. I
have become the Defiant one when it comes to health, menopause, and age,
which is an attitude in my thoughts. At
the age of 49, I was overweight, starting menopause and very lonely.
My kids were grown living their own lives and my husband was in his own
world of retirement. I
really felt horrible and mentally depressed. I took a tumble down my
basement stairs and badly sprained my knee, that was a blessing and a wake
up call to me. I
was told that my knee would never straighten, I would feel the weather all
the time. I
decided after hearing the Bon Jovi Song, "Its my life, its now
or never" that I needed it to be true. I really got
"mad" at myself and decided to jumpstart my life. After
losing 42 pounds, just by diet and "dancing" in my basement lol!
I good friend encouraged me to start to lift weights, I thought he
was nuts, but I listened. Now
at 54, I have become an amateur, natural, bodybuilder and compete,
for fun and to encourage other women to take "One hour a day"
out for yourselves. We are so into giving to others that we really
forget about ourselves. This has been a "gift" to my life,
a second chance in living. I am a working woman as well, a
purchasing agent for a construction company. 40 employees, mostly
men. Also a member of the "National Association of Women in
Construction. The
really important piece if information I want to pass along is, that going
thru menopause during this time period, this exercise and change in
lifestyle, made a big difference in my energy level, thinking, and
positive attitude. Oh and by the way, remember I mentioned they
told me my knee would never straighten? Well, it straightens and it
leg presses 750 pounds!!!! Please
women, take care of yourselves!!! Remember it is
our lives!!! Regards, Cynthia
E Cynthia
personifies our Taogirl Wisdom of the month for she took the life she was
given - with all of the bumps and challenges along the path - and then
created the person she truly wanted to be: Here’s
Cynthia…………..
WOW! You go, Taogirl! It’s ?
time FROM
LISA M…. Physical
activity defines me as I’ve always been active and love being so.
Now because I’m older and have some physical issues I can’t run
marathons anymore. Now what do
I do? TAOGIRL’S ANSWER TO LISA… This is an extremely interesting question and one that comes up so very often at Taogirl workshops and in conversation with many of the women I meet. It is an issue facing me at this time as I want to participate in the Susan G. Komen 3-day, 60 mile walk in early November but can’t for I’ve done a bit of damage to my back. I mention this only because I want you to know that I totally understand the pain you are in – both physically and emotionally. We are faced with finding another way to define ourselves, to feel good about our bodies and capabilities. Surely there is a way that you can use your athletic prowess to help others – perhaps as a trainer for those about to embark on their first marathon. And, there are other ways you can participate in various physical events – be it shorter runs, jogs or walks. You might consider a 3 or 5 mile jaunt to help raise money for a charitable organization. You could even help plan such an event. If staying physically active is supremely important to you than with a bit of thought I bet you will be able to come up with a way to stay connected. Now is also the time of your life to explore other attributes you have – to bring them to the forefront. Remember always that there isn’t merely one activity or part of you that “defines” you. You are a sum of all of your parts and all of your abilities and senses and emotions and soul. You could, you know, ask someone near and dear to you to “define” you and I bet that person doesn’t just say “marathoner” in his or her definition. Listen carefully to all that is being said about you and you’ll find more than that one way to feel good about yourself! CJ Dear
Taogirls, When
we are together at our workshops, questions like Lisa’s stimulate lively
conversations. I hope you will
treat the Taogirl Gathering as an “internet” workshop and share your
responses to the questions posted and, then, questions of your own in this
Q&A section of the newsletter. Thank
you, C
J 
On the road again………
Here’s where I will be in
November:
Thursday, November 9
The
I will be speaking and doing a book signing
This is a full day conference
I’ll be speaking from
(my
topic is: “Turning Your Passion Into a Book”)
For more information please visit:
http://www.ncc.commnet.edu/default.asp
Saturday, November 11 The Lead
Out Loud Conference Presented
by the Esteemed Women Foundation Recovering Hearts This is a
full day conference for high school girls and their parents
I’ll be speaking to the parents from
(I’ll present and explain the philosophy of Tao and defiance so
the parents can
share this philosophy with
their daughters.)
For more
information please visit:
http://www.esteemedwoman.org/
Tuesday, November 14
The Sisterhood of Temple Beth-El
The evening begins at For
more information please visit: http://poughkeepsie.uscjhost.net/$sisterhood.htm
Keep checking the
Travels page of the website for current updates. http://www.taogirl.com/taotravels.htm
LET’S LINK !
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 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.” THE OFFICIAL TAOGIRL T-SHIRT
FRONT: Tao and Defiant BACK: the Taogirl logo www.taogirl.com/taogirltees.htm TAOGIRL GREETING
CARDS
http://www.taogirl.com/taogirlcards.htm Some final words: This issue of The Taogirl Gathering began taking
form when I heard the quote that became November’s wisdom of the month
and realized the truth of those words: the first part of our lives are,
indeed, often that which we are given.
It is up to each of us to create the second part of our lives in a
manner that allows us to fill all of our potential, spiritually, mentally,
physically and emotionally. I
know that is what I am working on myself as I continue to find the best
“me” that I can be. It is
what propelled Cynthia to work so hard at achieving her amazing physical
achievement and it is what drives Lisa to maintain her athletic
life-style. We don’t have to be athletes, but we do have the
opportunity at this point in our lives to continue growing and learning.
Let’s take full advantage of all that is out there in the
world for us to discover so we may continue to learn and grow as Tao and
defiant women – true Taogirls! My thanks to The Cape Cod
Taogirls for letting me be the local paparazzi by taking and
sharing your photo; to Cynthia for
contacting me and allowing me to feature you in this month’s issue of
The Taogirl Gathering; and to Lisa for your
very timely question. And, as always, a big thank you to all of you out
there for being the wonderful, sharing and caring Taogirls that you are. Please email me and let me share your story with our
readers in the December 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
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