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Motivation Mondays: Happy Holiday Wishes
“Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.” Norman Vincent Peale
Motivation Mondays: Happy Holiday Wishes & Merry Christmas
May your walls know joy, may every room hold laughter, and every window open to great possibility. Mary Anne Radmacher
This is my wish for you: peace of mind, prosperity through the year, happiness that multiplies, health for you and yours, fun around every corner, energy to chase your dreams, joy to fill your holidays! D.M. Dellinger
Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Each year, as this particular holiday rolls around, I marvel at how quickly the year seemed to have flown by. I pause and take stock of the fact that soon enough, exactly one week later, the New Year will ring our doorbells laden with new gifts, goals, and opportunities for growth. How did 2018 end up for you? How are you preparing for the coming year? What will you do differently in 2019? At the start of the year, so many of us jumped in feet first and made promises to conquer the world, create new planets and exhale and excel. While some of us dared to try, and achieved a modicum of success, others rolled back their plans as unexpected demands took over their plans. Yet, a few simply found it all too enervating and threw in the towel well before the end of spring. Regardless of where we started and ended up in 2018, what matters is that if you are reading this, you made it. Okay? You made it and have another chance to give it your best shot in 2019. Never give up. As long as there is life, there is HOPE.
READ: Motivation Mondays: Cherish Christmas & Holidays
Inspiration: Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays!
Weekly Photo Challenge: NOW – Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!
Holidays by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The holiest of all holidays are those
Kept by ourselves in silence and apart;
The secret anniversaries of the heart,
When the full river of feeling overflows;–
The happy days unclouded to their close;
The sudden joys that out of darkness start
As flames from ashes; swift desires that dart
Like swallows singing down each wind that blows!
White as the gleam of a receding sail,
White as a cloud that floats and fades in air,
White as the whitest lily on a stream,
These tender memories are;–a fairy tale
Of some enchanted land we know not where,
But lovely as a landscape in a dream.
To many people, holidays are not voyages of discovery, but a ritual of reassurance. Philip Andrew Adams
Motivation Mondays: Happy Holiday Wishes & Merry Christmas
Holiday gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect. Oren Arnold
Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas. Calvin Coolidge
What was 2018 like? For me, 2018 was a year of challenges, tests of faith, loss, miraculous blessings, and renewal. My daughters lost their beloved grandfather in December, and one of my best friends lost her boyfriend in the same month. Health issues were not minimal but I weathered them. My car got totaled in a nasty accident in May and other types of challenges kept me on my aching back and feet fighting. An online group I created content for and helped manage went south leaving many of us hurt and disappointed. Yet, through it all, there were many moments of joy, magical grace and peace. I spent time with family here and abroad. Renewed my faith by joining a local place of worship and making friends – Northway church. Started several new Facebook groups/communities that are thriving. Reconnected with a few old friends and rekindled my love for music and concerts. The year isn’t quite over but I am filled with gratitude for the good and the difficulties. Christmas Day will be upon us In less than 24 hours and I am excited about celebrating the birth of Christ with my loved ones. What about you?
READ: Inspiration: Happy Holidays To All!
Happy Holidays: Grace & Gratitude to All!
Musings: Merry Christmas Wishes…
A Letter To Santa
Dearest Santa,
Thank you for the blessings you showered on us this year. Thank you for the new friends and fresh opportunities. We are all grateful… My wish for the coming year is more goodwill, grace and abundance in the world, and less misery, meanness and scarcity!
Please don’t mix these two up like you did last year! 🙂
With love & gratitude to all,
xoxo
…
Merry Christmas!
Happy Holidays!
Buone vacanze!
Joyeuses Fêtes!
ハッピーバカンス！
节日快乐！
أعيادا سعيدة!
Maligayang Pasko!
விழாக்கால வாழ்த்துக்கள்!
छुट्टियों की शुभकामनाएं!
С праздником!
С Рождеством Христовым!
تعطیلات مبارک!
हैप्पी छुट्टियाँ!
¡Felices Fiestas!
גליקלעך האָלידייַס!
Շնորհավոր Տոն!
Boas festas!
A Simple Request…
The details for Motivation Mondays are below. Join in! The themes for NOV 2018/DEC 2018 are:
1/01 – 01 All Saint’s Day, 02 All Soul’s Day,
11/04 – 04 Daylight Saving Time ends USA, 06 Election Day, 07 Diwali
11/11 – 11 Veterans Day, 13 World Kindness Day, 14 World Diabetes Day, 16 International Day for Tolerance
11/18 – 19 International Men’s Day, 20 Universal Children’s Day, 21 World Hello & TV Day, 22 Thanksgiving Day
11/25 – 26 Cyber Monday, 27 Giving Tuesday, 30 St Andrew
12/02 – 01 World AIDS Day, 02 Advent begins, Hanukkah starts, International abolition of slavery, 07 Pearl Harbor
12/09 – 10 Human Rights Day, Hanukkah ends, green Monday,
12/16 – 18 International Migrants Day, 21 Winter Solstice, 22 Super Saturday
12/23 – 23 4th Sunday of Advent, 25 Christmas Day, 26 Kwanzaa starts, Boxing Day, 27 St John’s feast
12/30 – 31 New Year’s eve
Are You Looking for Ways to Stay Creative in 2018?
- Join Our Blog Support & Engagement Group
- Check out the Daily Post for Inspiration. Resources. Idea
- Checkout Your Daily Word Prompts
- Check out SheKnows for SheKnows Living
More Below
Read more…
“Migration is a powerful driver of economic growth, dynamism and understanding. It allows millions of people to seek new opportunities, benefiting communities of origin and destination alike.” António Guterres, UN Secretary General
Motivation Mondays: International Migrants Day #withdignity
How to really make people feel welcome
The history of humankind is a history of migration. For thousands of years people have migrated from one place to another, for a variety of reasons, and continue to do so: Today, there are 258 million international migrants worldwide.
On International Migrants Day, the European Union reaffirms its enduring commitment to protect migrants’ human rights, to prevent perilous irregular journeys and ensure opportunities for legal and safe pathways instead.
In order to do this, we are working with all our partners around the world – countries of origin, transit and destination and international organisations. Migration requires global, cooperative alliances: No country can address migration on its own – neither in Europe nor elsewhere in the world. This is the core message of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, which will provide the global framework for improving migration management. It is by working together, in the spirit of shared responsibility, that we can jointly turn migration from a common challenge into a shared opportunity. European Commission and the High Representative on International Migrants Day
International Migrants Day 2018 theme: Migration with Dignity – Globally, we are a community of migrants. Unless you belong to an indigenous group in the country you reside in, your ancestors came there as immigrants. It is with this insight that we must remember to treat each other with dignity and respect. It is easy to forget the challenges immigrants face when we are 2nd/3rd generation members of a family. Take the time this week to have a conversation with your parents about your lineage, and the ties your family might still have to their country of origin. The Theme for 2018 is “Migration with Dignity” which recognizes that “treating every migrant with dignity is one of the fundamental requirements we face before anything else we attempt on migration.” If we are to continue to grow our global connections, we must do so with the implicit recognition that dignity for all is imperative. People move to other countries for many reasons, and the first step to helping them become productive and truly grateful members of society is by showing them the dignity we wish for ourselves. Join in on social media by using the hashtag #withdignity
Even though the word- Migrant – has become all inclusive of the various categories of people migrating around the world, there are still clear definitions of the terms. What is the difference between an immigrant, a migrant and a refugee? A migrant is a person who moves from one place to another within a country. An immigrant is a person who moves from one country from another. A refugee is a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster. One thing they all share is their movement or migration from one place to another. It can be temporary or permanent, and it is not always the first choice but the last resort for families in desperate need of help. As our global family expands and war, strife and untenable conditions impact the lives of people, we will continue to see the movement of families across borders. The UN and member nations are addressing this growing crisis, and each of us can do our part by showing compassion and civility to those who end up in our nation. Imagine the shoe on the other foot… YOURS!
READ: For The International Migrants Day – Understanding Not Fear by Ewelina U. Ochab
How one man’s story exposes the myths behind our migration stereotypes by Aditya Chakrabortty
Punta del Este Declaration on Human Dignity for Everyone Everywhere
International Migrants Day
Immigrant Can’t Write Poetry By Wang Ping
“Oh no, not with your syntax,” said H.V. to her daughter-in-law, a Chinese writing poetry in English
She walk to table
She walks to a table
She walk to table now
She is walking to a table now
What difference it make
What difference does it make
In Nature, no completeness
No sentence really complete thought
Language, our birthright & curse
Pay no mind to immigrant syntax
Poetry, born as beast
Move best when free, undressed
“In our globalised world, human mobility can only be addressed effectively by the international community as a whole. It is a global phenomenon that requires global solutions. No country can manage this alone, but together we can set up a humane, dignified and secure mechanism for governing human mobility.” Christos Stylianides, EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid & Crisis Management
Motivation Mondays: International Migrants Day #withdignity
This month, the world took a landmark step forward with the adoption of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. Backed with overwhelming support by the membership of the United Nations, the Compact will help us to address the real challenges of migration while reaping its many benefits. António Guterres, UN Secretary General
I have added a brief summary on part of a Q&A on the GCM for you to read. You can always go to the source and read all of it. What is the Global Compact on Migration aiming to achieve? It aims to find solutions to the situation by fostering international cooperation, setting out guiding principles and providing a multilateral framework for member nations to use. How will the Global Compact on Migration affect irregular migration? Will it increase migration? It provides concrete actions that help States to reduce irregular migration, for example through enhanced cooperation on addressing the drivers of migration, fighting trafficking in human beings and smuggling of migrants, managing borders and facilitating return. It will also help to focus on pathways for regular migration. How will the Global Compact on Migration be adopted or signed? On 10 – 11 December 2018, it was adopted by a 2/3 intergovernmental consensus/vote and the UN General Assembly will endorse it by passing a Resolution. Does the Global Compact on Migration create legal obligations for States? No, it is NOT legally binding.
Does the Global Compact on Migration establish a “human right to migrate”? No. It does not encourage migration, nor discourage it. Will the Global Compact incur costs? No. What will be the follow-up of the Global Compact on Migration? Accountability will be shared between Member Nations, the UN System, the UN Migration Network and the IOM. The adoption of Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) this month, began with the adoption, in September 2016, of a set of commitments to protect refugees and migrants. The GCM extended those protections with two new global compacts in 2018: the global compact on refugees and the global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration. I have included the objectives below and they are far reaching because they spell out guidelines that member nations can apply to their own migrant policies in a humane way.
READ: An Unexpected Solution to the Migrant Crisis by Reihan Salam
Refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants
Women on the Move: Migration, care work and health
GCM: Objectives for safe, orderly and regular migration
1. Collect and utilize accurate and disaggregated data as a basis for evidence-based policies
2. Minimize the adverse drivers and structural factors that compel people to leave their country of origin
3. Provide accurate and timely information at all stages of migration
4. Ensure that all migrants have proof of legal identity and adequate documentation
5. Enhance availability and flexibility of pathways for regular migration
6. Facilitate fair and ethical recruitment and safeguard conditions that ensure decent work
7. Address and reduce vulnerabilities in migration
8. Save lives and establish coordinated international efforts on missing migrants
9. Strengthen the transnational response to smuggling of migrants
10. Prevent, combat and eradicate trafficking in persons in the context of international migration
11. Manage borders in an integrated, secure and coordinated manner
12. Strengthen certainty and predictability in migration procedures for appropriate screening, assessment and referral
13. Use migration detention only as a measure of last resort and work towards alternatives
14. Enhance consular protection, assistance and cooperation throughout the migration cycle
15. Provide access to basic services for migrants
16. Empower migrants and societies to realize full inclusion and social cohesion
17. Eliminate all forms of discrimination and promote evidence-based public discourse to shape perceptions of migration
18. Invest in skills development and facilitate mutual recognition of skills, qualifications and competences
19. Create conditions for migrants and diasporas to fully contribute to sustainable development in all countries
20. Promote faster, safer and cheaper transfer of remittances and foster financial inclusion of migrants
21. Cooperate in facilitating safe and dignified return and readmission, as well as sustainable reintegration
22. Establish mechanisms for the portability of social security entitlements and earned benefits
23. Strengthen international cooperation and global partnerships for safe, orderly and regular migration
The details for Motivation Mondays are below. Join in! The themes for NOV 2018/DEC 2018 are:
1/01 – 01 All Saint’s Day, 02 All Soul’s Day,
11/04 – 04 Daylight Saving Time ends USA, 06 Election Day, 07 Diwali
11/11 – 11 Veterans Day, 13 World Kindness Day, 14 World Diabetes Day, 16 International Day for Tolerance
11/18 – 19 International Men’s Day, 20 Universal Children’s Day, 21 World Hello & TV Day, 22 Thanksgiving Day
11/25 – 26 Cyber Monday, 27 Giving Tuesday, 30 St Andrew
12/02 – 01 World AIDS Day, 02 Advent begins, Hanukkah starts, International abolition of slavery, 07 Pearl Harbor
12/09 – 10 Human Rights Day, Hanukkah ends, green Monday,
12/16 – 18 International Migrants Day, 21 Winter Solstice, 22 Super Saturday
12/23 – 23 4th Sunday of Advent, 25 Christmas Day, 26 Kwanzaa starts, Boxing Day, 27 St John’s feast
12/30 – 31 New Year’s eve
Are You Looking for Ways to Stay Creative in 2018?
- Join Our Blog Support & Engagement Group
- Check out the Daily Post for Inspiration. Resources. Idea
- Checkout Your Daily Word Prompts
- Check out SheKnows for SheKnows Living
More Below Read more…
Motivation Mondays: HUMAN RIGHTS
“Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home – so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. … Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerned citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.” Eleanor Roosevelt
Motivation Mondays: HUMAN RIGHTS
Motivation Mondays: HUMAN RIGHTS MATTER
When you deprive people of their right to live in dignity, to hope for a better future, to have control over their lives, when you deprive them of that choice, then you expect them to fight for these rights. Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan
Human rights are women’s rights, and women’s rights are human rights. Hillary Clinton
Our hopes for a more just, safe, and peaceful world can only be achieved when there is universal respect for the inherent dignity and equal rights of all members of the human family. UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
There can be no peace without development, no development without peace, and no lasting peace or sustainable development without respect for human rights and the rule of law. Former UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson
Today is Human Rights Day and the 70th anniversary of the UDHR-Universal Declaration of Human Rights. If you care about your freedoms and the basic necessities that make your life comfortable, today is a day to reflect on why we must ensure that those rights are protected and extended to others. If you are fortunate enough to live in a country where the rule of law has weight and you can come and go as you wish, today is a day to remember that your protection by those laws have been fought for. Don’t just sit there and marvel at your freedoms, stay committed to keeping them. You may join in the celebrations and demands for universal human rights by using the hashtag: #StandUp4HumanRights.
Ironically, this is also the day our Happiness Engineers nudged my comfort zone. They decided to change the template/editing plug-in on our blog without warning. So, here I am, trying to create a post for my blog on a completely newly formatted template that makes very little sense to me; the Classic Editor is intuitive and easy to use. The new fangled Gutenberg is NOT. Fortunately for me, I live in a country where I can reach out and get some help without fear of censure. I did, and the Happiness Engineers helped me revert back to the Classic Editor without debate or fear of reprisal. Others are not so fortunate in countries where folks are discouraged from asking questions or challenging authority. People often forget that just because they might live in a country where freedom of choice is the norm, the same does not apply universally. Please keep that in mind before leaving a comment. The UDHR wouldn’t have been a topic of conversation among member nations if those rights were a given. They are NOT. You might have basic rights and choices but many around the globe don’t.
If human rights begin with our right to make choices for ourselves, they must begin with the fundamental decision to make even the smallest, seemingly innocuous choices. If we only view rights through the lens of big, political decisions, then we have missed the point entirely. The erosion of human rights begins with small dismissals and denials that might seem irrelevant to those who impose them yet, they mean the world to those who feel oppressed by them. If we consider that the UDHR has 30 items on its list of rights, it should be an indicator that there are many areas we need to consider. See the list of UDHR 30 rights below*** Remembering the list of 30 rights is an important reason why we must remain vigilant about protecting them. When we take our freedoms for granted, we open the door for others to take them away from us. When we turn a blind eye or participate in the denial of basic rights to others, we widen the gap and embolden those who thrive on the violation of human rights. Human rights matter … protect YOUR rights. When you think of human rights, what comes to mind?
READ: Motivation Mondays: HUMAN RIGHTS
The List of UDHR 30 Rights
Article 1 Right to Equality
Article 2 Freedom from Discrimination
Article 3 Right to Life, Liberty, Personal Security
Article 4 Freedom from Slavery
Article 5 Freedom from Torture and Degrading Treatment
Article 6 Right to Recognition as a Person before the Law
Article 7 Right to Equality before the Law
Article 8 Right to Remedy by Competent Tribunal
Article 9 Freedom from Arbitrary Arrest and Exile
Article 10 Right to Fair Public Hearing
Article 11 Right to be Considered Innocent until Proven Guilty
Article 12 Freedom from Interference with Privacy, Family, Home and Correspondence
Article 13 Right to Free Movement in and out of the Country
Article 14 Right to Asylum in other Countries from Persecution
Article 15 Right to a Nationality and the Freedom to Change It
Article 16 Right to Marriage and Family
Article 17 Right to Own Property
Article 18 Freedom of Belief and Religion
Article 19 Freedom of Opinion and Information
Article 20 Right of Peaceful Assembly and Association
Article 21 Right to Participate in Government and in Free Elections
Article 22 Right to Social Security
Article 23 Right to Desirable Work and to Join Trade Unions
Article 24 Right to Rest and Leisure
Article 25 Right to Adequate Living Standard
Article 26 Right to Education
Article 27 Right to Participate in the Cultural Life of Community
Article 28 Right to a Social Order that Articulates this Document
Article 29 Community Duties Essential to Free and Full Development
Article 30 Freedom from State or Personal Interference in the above Rights via UMN.edu
“It cannot be right in a world of increasing human progress – whether in medicine, space exploration or renewable energy – that so many people are denied the most basic human rights.” Paul Polman
Motivation Mondays: HUMAN RIGHTS MATTER
What Are Human Rights? Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status. Human rights include the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to work and education, and many more. Everyone is entitled to these rights, without discrimination. UNO
We declare that human rights are for all of us, all the time: whoever we are and wherever we are from; no matter our class, our opinions, our sexual orientation. Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Freedom means the supremacy of human rights everywhere. Our support goes to those who struggle to gain those rights or keep them. Our strength is our unity of purpose. To that high concept there can be no end save victory. Franklin D. Roosevelt
What about Human Rights? From a historical perspective, some say that the earliest documented record on human rights was created by Cyrus the Great in 539 B.C. The Emperor Ashoka had his famous edicts that prevented some of the atrocities that were ubiquitous in areas he controlled and ruled. Other wise leaders created laws and tenets that protected humans from savagery and the term – human rights – is believed to have come into use around 1742. It was mentioned in writings by Thomas Paine, Hegel and Garrison. In the aftermath of the World Wars, The League of Nations, which was created in 1919, gathered at the Yalta Conference in 1945 and created the United Nations Organization. In 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. The impetus behind the adoption was to address the atrocities of the WW years and to create guidelines to prevent them from happening again. According to the UN, UDHR today signifies the following:
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights empowers us all.
- Human rights are relevant to all of us, every day.
- Our shared humanity is rooted in these universal values.
- Equality, justice and freedom prevent violence and sustain peace.
- Whenever and wherever humanity’s values are abandoned, we all are at greater risk.
- We need to stand up for our rights and those of others.
The details for Motivation Mondays are below. Join in! The themes for NOV 2018/DEC 2018 are:
1/01 – 01 All Saint’s Day, 02 All Soul’s Day,
11/04 – 04 Daylight Saving Time ends USA, 06 Election Day, 07 Diwali
11/11 – 11 Veterans Day, 13 World Kindness Day, 14 World Diabetes Day, 16 International Day for Tolerance
11/18 – 19 International Men’s Day, 20 Universal Children’s Day, 21 World Hello & TV Day, 22 Thanksgiving Day
11/25 – 26 Cyber Monday, 27 Giving Tuesday, 30 St Andrew
12/02 – 01 World AIDS Day, 02 Advent begins, Hanukkah starts, International abolition of slavery, 07 Pearl Harbor
12/09 – 10 Human Rights Day, Hanukkah ends, green Monday,
12/16 – 18 International Migrants Day, 21 Winter Solstice, 22 Super Saturday
12/23 – 23 4th Sunday of Advent, 25 Christmas Day, 26 Kwanzaa starts, Boxing Day, 27St John
12/30 – 31 New Year’s eve
Are You Looking for Ways to Stay Creative in 2018?
- Join Our Blog Support & Engagement Group
- Check out the Daily Post for Inspiration. Resources. Idea
- Checkout Your Daily Word Prompts
- Check out SheKnows for SheKnows Living
More Below Read more…
