Pearls of Wisdom

This new program encourages young minority women to pursue an education and later a career in the geosciences. It provides financial aid and matches the student with a mentor in the same field who will offer guidance and support. This exchange will enhance the student’s experience and provide a view of the world ahead.

Applicants must be:

* A woman who is African-American, Hispanic, or Native American

* A full-time student who is pursuing an undergraduate degree in the geosciences (geology, geophysics, geochemistry, hydrology, meteorology, physical oceanography, planetary geology, or earth science education) at an accredited college or university

* A contributor to the larger world community through her academic and personal strengths

Deadline:
June 30, 2007

Award Amount:
$5,000

Website/Contact Info:
www.awg.org/eas/minority.html

Any U.S. journalist with at least three years of professional journalistic experience is eligible to apply for the fellowship program. The program is open to journalists from newspapers, magazines, wire services, radio, television and on-line news organizations. Freelancers are also invited to apply.

There is no minimal educational requirement for applicants, nor is there any minimum or maximum age for Fellows. Fellows are not required to have foreign-language skills or prior overseas experience, though both may be helpful. The most important criteria are an applicant’s sincere interest in international issues, a curiosity about global events and a demonstrated record of journalistic ability.

Applicants must be citizens of the United States or else be working as journalists in the United States as full-time employees of U.S.-based news organizations.

Deadline:
October 1, 2007

Award Amount:
Varies

Website/Contact Info:
www.internationalreportingproject.org/apply/pewfellows/

Becoming Our Own Role Models

As women embrace the fullness of who they are as individuals, they may find themselves supporting other women, helping others to reach the level of inner comfort and outer freedom that they themselves have found. Among those who are less sure of themselves and their place in the world, it may be more common to criticize other women than to seek their help. But there are things that a woman can only learn from another woman, as there are things about being a man that can only be learned from other men. We all recognize that we have much to learn from each other regardless of gender, but sometimes we could use a supportive role model that gives us a more precise example of what and who we can become.

There was a time where women stood together in a bond of sisterhood, women supporting women. It is only natural that the pendulum swings out of balance for a while so that we may have the experience of what we do not want. It is up to women to bring the pendulum back into balance and bring back the sacred sisterhood we yearn for at our core.

If we envision a world where women support each other and help each other find their place in an ever-changing world, then we can become the change we want to see. Jealousy, envy, criticism, and judgment are refuges for the insecure. As we help others to become self-assured, we create a world in which all people help each other, regardless of gender. Only women can make the change in how women are seen and understood, not just by other women but by the world at large. The way we speak about each other to other women and to the men in our lives informs everyone to treat us with the respect that all women, and all people, deserve.

-DailyOM.com

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered — forgive them anyway!

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives — be kind anyway!

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies — succeed anyway!

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you — be honest and frank anyway!

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight — build anyway!

If you find serenity and happiness, many people may be jealous — be happy anyway!

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow — do good anyway!

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough — Give it the best you’ve got anyway!

~ by Mother Teresa

Finding The Place You Belong

There will likely be times in your life when your soul evolves more quickly than your circumstances. Your subconscious mind may be ready to move forward long before you recognize that you are destined to embrace a new way of life. Your soul intuitively understands that changing habitats can be a vital part of the growth process and that there may be one part of you that is eager to move to another home, another state, or another plane of existence. But the ties that bind you to your current mode of being can make moving into this next stage of your life more challenging than it has to be. If you find it difficult to move on, consider that just as people in your life may come and go, your role in others’ lives may also be temporary. And many of the conditions that at first seemed favorable served you for a short time. When you are ready to match your situation to your soul, you will find that you feel a new sense of harmony and increasingly connected to the ebb and flow of the universe.

Moving on can be defined in numerous ways. Your forward momentum may take you from your current locale to a place you instinctively know will be more nurturing, comfortable, and spiritually enriching. Once you arrive, your misgivings will vanish, and you will know that you have found a sanctuary. Similarly, subtle changes in your values, goals, or emotional needs can motivate you to distance yourself from one group of people in order to reassociate yourself with individuals that are better able to support you. For example, this could mean moving away from your birth family in order to find your energetic or spiritual family. The route you need to travel may not always be clear; you may feel inspired to change yet be unsure as to why or how. Clarity may come in the form of a question if you are willing to seriously ask yourself where your soul is trying to take you.

In a way, moving from one point to another when you feel strongly driven to do so is a way of bringing your spiritual and earthly energies together. It is a two-step process that involves not only letting go but also reconnecting. You will know you have found your destination, physical or otherwise, when you feel in your heart that you have been reborn into a life that is just the right shape, size, and composition.

- DailyOM.com