Strong Woman Chronicles

Brrrrrr...Antarctica

I’m told it is a whole world covered in ice and snow: ice on the mountains, ice capping the sea, ice tumbling off the cliffs, whole caves and hills made of ice, ice crunching under feet, and ice crystals glittering on eyelashes.

It is the coldest, windiest, harshest continent, and with little precipitation (roughly 2inches per year) is the driest place on earth. It is roughly 14 million sq km, has an average elevation of more than 2,000 m (6,500 ft), and 98% of the landmass is covered by yes you’ve guessed it an ice sheet. It’s technically classed a desert.

Imagine all that, and you have an idea of what it's like.

The ice and frigidity of the Antarctic, with temperatures around -50, means activities are always weather dependent and require scrupulous planning. The severe cold can take human life. The use of gloves and mittens and constant alertness for the whitening of the skin, the first sign of frostbite, especially around the cheeks, nose and breasts are absolutely essential. I'll haul a sled, eyes protected by dark glasses to safeguard against snow blindness, caused by intense sunlight reflecting off the snow and ice.

Youch - would anyone out there like to take my place?….just joking - I think I may be queasy - no, let's make that petrified - especially when I see Pom Oliver's toes.

Pom, strong woman polar explorer abandoned her journey to reach the North Pole in 2002 having reached the South Pole two years earlier - her frostbite, let's say, needed attention.

As if we haven't got the message already, Judith Spanberger who lived at a research station in the Antarctica for a season shares, "I made the mistake once... OK, twice, of putting my pencil in my mouth while I readjusted my clipboard. It’s surprising to have a pencil freeze to your tongue by the lead".

Whatever have I let myself in for?

The 8 Principles of Fun

Take a look at Michael Bungay Stanier's video ~~~  let me know what you think, won't you!

For Free!

One maxim I live by is “One woman’s trash is another’s treasure”. This could be anything from business-wear to garden furniture, food mixer to chest of drawers.

Deron Beal lives by the same maxim which is why in summer 2003 he started Freecycle.org. Employed within a recycling centre in the States, Deron carted unwanted bulky business stuff – desks, fax machines – from charity to charity until he found a taker.

He realised quickly this was not an efficient system.

Deron created a grassroots website open to individuals, charities and businesses in his hometown. The freecycle.org phenomenon has spread throughout 40 countries in less than 3 years.

I joined freecycle a month ago encouraged by a friend who needed an artificial Christmas tree to use in a rented house. She didn’t want the expense of buying a tree she knew she’d use for a couple of days ~ she just knew someone somewhere had a tree they didn’t want any longer. She put out a call on Freecycle and within minutes she was the proud owner of the tree she needed. No money involved.

So far in the past month I’ve:

Re-homed - Baby swing, Baby walker [enjoy Rebecca aged 6 months!], Desk top diary [just the thing Karin wanted] & piano [Mark’s sons are thrilled]

Welcomed – 2 lamps [Jenny they are safe & loved], Mp3 player [huge thanks to Tim] & piano [Louise we’ll treasure it]

At a deep level being part of Freecycle has restored my faith in a spirit of community and most important that being open hearted & generous – for the joy of it – where money doesn’t come into it in any way – is alive and well if we are open to finding it!

Strong Woman Shows the Way

Strong Woman Laura Howard, Founder of Joyful Entrepreneur [believe me this is NOT an oxymoron] shared an interesting observation in her blog the other day.

She was looking at images at istockphoto, one of hers [and my] favourite sites for great photos to spice up blogs and other applications, when she decided to look for images using the keywords "joyful" and "entrepreneur".  She ended up with an array of 15 photos of men and women in suits joyfully throwing money around, holding money, and well, fondling money. Hmmm…now what’s that about?

Pictures of dollars told Laura heaps about the one-dimensional way ‘Joyful entrepreneur’ is seen………

So this got me wondering.

What images would show up if I type in ‘Strong Woman’?

Here’s what I found included in the top 20 Strong Woman images [with names] –

v      Confident Business Woman – woman in suit, waistcoat included

v      Gymnast – ‘cartwheeling’ woman

v      Woman in Kitchen – in frilly apron

v      Couple – paper cut out of couple

v      Corporate Woman – back view of suited woman

v      Biker Girl – leather, red lipstick

v      Woman power-washing – a garage door

v      Hotpants – close up of tiny leather shorts

v      Young & Angry – young woman, 2 young men behind her

v      Personal Trainer with towel around shoulders – as it says

And then I saw an image named Woman Breaking Free. My heart raced ----- until the picture revealed a woman’s headless torso, image zoomed to her lace bra with hands grasping a large metal chain tight across her breasts.

You’ll notice most of these images rely on external contexts – in other words, what women are doing to show they are strong – in kitchens, at work, leisure activities. And here's the difficulty with 'showing STRONG'  - it's an inner quality. That is, unless we are talking about literal physical strength…

There were no photos of women simply being – in nature, at peace, sitting, smiling – all were doing something active, or revealing their beauty [read flesh] or demonstrating power in some sphere.

I say [and Strong Women Survey results agree] there is no such thing as Strong DOING yet there are STRONG BEINGS. One to ponder maybe and I’d hazard a guess, hard to capture – What do you say?

PS:  I was going to include one of the sweet looking frilly clad photos for emphasis but I didn't want to download it and give istock the impression that it was popular and add more to their idea of what strong woman is all about!

I Always Get What I Let Myself Need

I couldn’t have written about this better if I’d tried – I’m sharing Molly Gordon’s from-the-heart piece just as she wrote it:

My name is Molly, and I'm recovering from terminal self-sufficiency.

One of my strategies for remaining self-sufficient is to manage my needs, especially my emotional needs. I can go for weeks or even months with a breaking heart and not know it. Believe me, that takes a lot of energy. In fact, I've been living that way for 15 months, and I'm exhausted.

The highlights of my heartbreak are in my blog, but what I want to share here is not the drama but the healing that came about because I finally let myself feel broken.

I don't know about you, but feeling broken doesn't match my fantasy of success. On top of that, I know I am blessed in so many ways, that I sometimes feel that it would be wrong to feel broken. Between wanting to appear whole and feeling guilty, I fail to notice that feeling broken is not the same as being broken. Grief and fear are not terminal conditions, unless, perhaps, we resist them. "Falling apart" is not the end of the world, it is more likely to be a new beginning.

About six weeks ago some wise colleagues helped me see that I was utterly and completely worn out. As soon as I got it, relief and ease flooded in. When I stop striving to have more energy than I have, to be more evolved than I am, when I stop defining wisdom in terms of my high-flown thinking and listen to my heart, I discover (again) that the cracks I've been trying to hide are the way that Light gets in.

These days I'm taking things simply and easily. I sleep in often; I eat real food, and I'm learning to prepare it before I'm starving. Most of all, I'm not worrying about what I'm not doing right now. It's sort of eerie; the shadow of my preoccupation with "keeping it together" still hovers about me, yet I can no longer pretend that it's necessary. Keep what together? How?

Lately, I've been waking up with a profound sense of well being coupled with immense involuntary gratitude. As one of my wise colleagues said to me, the other half of "Let go" is "Let God."

I get what I am willing to notice that I need. How about you?

Simple and Obvious....

Life's Echo
============

A mother and her daughter were
walking on the mountains.
Suddenly, the daughter falls,
hurts herself and screams: "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
To her surprise, she hears the voice repeating,
somewhere in the mountain: "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

Curious, she yells: "Who are you?"
She receives the answer:
"Who are you?"
Angered at the response,
she screams: "Coward!"
She receives the answer:
"Coward!"

She looks to her mother and asks: "What's going on?"
The mother smiles and says: "My daughter, pay attention."

And then she screams to the mountain:
"I admire you!"
The voice answers:
"I admire you!"

Again the woman screams:
"You are a champion!"
The voice answers:
"You are a champion!"

The girl is surprised,
but does not understand.
Then the mother explains:
"People call this Echo,
but really this is Life.

It gives you back everything
you say or do.
Our life is simply a reflection of our actions.
If you want more love in the world,
create more love in your heart.

If you want more competence
in your team, improve your competence.

This relationship applies to everything, in all
aspects of life.

Life will give you back
everything you have given to it.

Strong Woman Author Unknown

Birthday Celebrations

Today is my birthday. Coincidentally, Ernest Shackleton and I share a birthday. Later this year I am due to complete the last part of his long held dream to place a flag at the South Pole.

Here's his story:

From an early age, Sir Ernest Shackleton knew he would become an explorer: 'I seemed to vow to myself that some day I would go to the region of ice and snow and go on and on till I came to one of the poles of the earth, the end of the axis upon which this great round ball turns.' This dream explains why he didn't become a doctor as his father wanted. Instead, he went to sea at the age of 16, and by the age of 24 had qualified to become a Master, making him able to captain a British ship on any sea.

In 1900, Shackleton volunteered for Scott's National Antarctic Expedition. Shackleton, having impressed those close to the expedition with his personality, was chosen to go with Scott to the South Pole on the famous Discovery expedition in the summer of 1901.

The trip would be a bittersweet one, as Shackleton became seriously ill on the journey and had to be returned home. It was not an empty journey, however, as Shackleton gained invaluable experience in Antarctic expeditioning. Once recovered, he was asked to take a ship to rescue Scott and dissuade him from continuing for another winter at the Pole. Shackleton declined, wanting not to save Scott, but 'prove himself a better man' with his own expedition.

His dream was realised as commander of the Nimrod Expedition (1907-09), his team made numerous important scientific discoveries and set a record by coming within 97 miles of the South Pole. In December 2006, with a small team I will complete those last miles to honour Shackleton - and to raise at least £100,000 for children with life threatening illnesses. 

Knighted in 1909, he commanded another voyage from 1914-1916 on the Endurance. The ship was crushed in the ice in 1915, yet he led his men to safety against all odds-making an incredible journey across 800 frozen miles to South Georgiato get aid - a testament to his skill as a leader of men.

Shackleton's last journey strove to achieve his goal of circumnavigating the Antarctic continent. On South Georgia Island, under great mental and physical stress, Shackleton died - where his wife Emily insisted he was buried.

The Legacy of one Strong Woman

On this day in 1963, the poet Sylvia Plath left out bread and butter and two mugs of milk for her sleeping children.

Then she went to the kitchen, sealed the door and window with towels, turned on all the gas taps and laid her head in the oven on a little folded cloth.

Later her flat was broken into, windows opened and artificial respiration attempted. Pinned to a pram was Plath's note saying, "Please call Dr Horder" and a number.

He arrived to confirm the death.

A week earlier Plath wrote one of her finest poems, 'Edge' which begins:

"The woman is perfected./Her dead/Body wears the smile of accomplishment.......Her bare/Feet seem to be saying:/We have come so far, it is over."

43 years later the loss of this Strong Woman is noticed, missed, and celebrated.

Why would we forget the contribution of Sylvia Plath, strong woman? Her legacy lives on ~~~~~

What will your legacy be fifty years from now?

Big Grin Goals are Best

I wouldn’t blame you if you are thinking,

Why should I care if you get to the South Pole over Christmas?

I’ll tell you. The expedition will be no holiday, no recuperation, no rest – still, that’s my choice, right? I could, after all, go for a bikini-rest on a beach instead. Wouldn’t take me to the ‘edge of myself’ and more importantly, that wouldn’t make a difference to other people’s lives. And here’s the biggest reason why I want you to be interested in this expedition: I intend to raise minimum £100,000 for the charity Make-A-Wish Foundation. No joke. My gremlin is bawling in my ear 'Under-promise and over-deliver' you twerp!

The Make-A-Wish Foundation in this country aims to grant the wishes of children aged 3 to 18, living with life-threatening illnesses. A wish granted is utter magic for the child and provides happy memories for the family when, perhaps, time finally runs out.

Originally formed in 1986 after a little boy, Christopher, realised his wish to become a police officer for the day, the foundation has now granted more than 97,000 wishes to children with life threatening illnesses across the globe. Today a child enjoys a Make-A-Wish experience at the rate of one wish per hour every day around the world. Through a wish, the most incredible dreams come true. The money raised by my South Pole expedition will mean more wishes will be granted replacing pain and heartbreak caused by a child’s illness with laughter and joy. Take a look at the Foundation’s work on http://www.make-a-wish.org.uk/

The charity allows children to test the boundaries of their imagination when selecting a wish. Most wishes fall into one of four categories:

I wish to visit           I wish to meet
I wish to be             I wish to own

One true example of a wish granted is about James who dearly wanted to swim with dolphins – he was thrilled when he was told this would be possible. However, his condition deteriorated so the wish-granting team instead granted his second wish – a laptop computer, digital camera & printer. James and his family had a wonderful day transported by limousine followed by a meal in the Rainforest Café.

When James arrived home he found the computer equipment waiting for him. His face was a picture. He sat propped up in bed playing with his computer, taking pictures of his friends – although their visits had to be no more than 5 minutes long as he didn’t have energy for more time with them – he adored looking at their photos over and over. James died in Oct 2002 and his mother says, ‘Life will never be the same without James – we are so grateful to Make-A-Wish for bringing him happiness in his last weeks of life’.

During my own life, my brother Robin died of Cystic Fibrosis before he was 40; my third son was diagnosed with Leukaemia aged 4 and amazingly re-diagnosed later with Coeliac Disease instead; and most recently my baby daughter Madeline’s heart stopped in mid-term pregnancy. These experiences help me guess the amazing impact of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Hey guys, what's a few weeks freezing my baps off when the money will help so many kids?

You ARE Mad then?

Almost certainly! It started back in 2005. I just knew it was time for me to do something stretching – not just a bit challenging – but something that would scare the pants off me. Something big & something that might change my perspective on life, radically; something, also, that would make a difference to others and would mean someone’s life would be enhanced.

I didn’t search for the something – it found me. I met Fiona Thornewill, Polar Explorer extraordinaire & World Record Holder seen here pulling her tyre - we did the usual woman kind of thing, we met for tea and chats.

Before I knew it, I was somehow on a small team headed for the South Pole to celebrate the centenary of Ernest Shackleton’s Unfinished Journey.

What’s the Unfinished Journey ?

Shackleton, as you may know, is famed for turning back from his expedition crossing the South Polar continent from sea to sea. – his decision meant he saved the lives of his crew. And it meant he didn’t complete his journey, which was his life-long dream. People, and their lives, mattered more to him than proving himself.

From December 15^th 2006 a small team of us will complete the journey Shackleton began one hundred years ago – beginning at the point where he turned back, we will haul our sledges in the ice and snow until we reach the South Pole. We will honour the heroic efforts of this awesome leader and polar explorer.