Giving Thanks for A Real Hero

Thanksgiving is a time for counting blessings and for stopping for a minute (before or after the pumpkin pie) to notice the good things in our lives.  I’m looking forward to being with my family and can’t wait for pumpkin-sticky hugs from my grandchildren---that’s always something to be grateful for, only slightly dependent on whether my clothes can be washed or need dry cleaning.

This year I’ll stop to notice and give thanks for how healthy all the children are, because this week I had the chance to witness a Real Life Hero and hear the inspiring story of her work with mothers and children who now have a chance of a healthy life.

Robin Lim is this year’s CNN Hero Of The Year. I had known about Robin, but when I heard her telling the stories of her mission to reduce maternal and child mortality rates in Bali and Indonesia I knew I was in the presence of a hero, if not a saint.

Ibu (Mother) Robin began providing free health services for pregnant women in 1994, after her sister tragically died in childbirth. She studied to be a midwife, and when she moved to Bali, started caring for pregnant women out of her home in a small village. The women could not afford decent food, let alone health care, and the mortality rates were shockingly high. It was common practice for babies to be taken away from the mother if they could not pay for their hospital bill for the birth.

 In 2005 The Bumi Sehat Foundation became officially incorporated as a health clinic, and now offers general health services and gentle birthing services to over 17,000 people  a year who come from all over Indonesia, and other countries, to have their babies in a loving and supportive environment. 

The motto of Bumi Sehat Foundation International is “Gentle Birth Heals Mother Earth.”  These gentle birthing practices put mothers and families at the center of the birthing process and help to give the children a healthy start in life.

Of course there is still need for support to keep the project going and growing. The Bumi Sehat wish list includes medication for mothers and children, nursing supplies, supplements, and basic equipment like receiving blankets and infant clothes. If you would like more information, visit http://www.bumisehatbali.org.

Thank you for your important work, Robin, and may we all be thankful for the good things that we notice in our lives.

Happy Thanksgiving and Sweet Dreams,

Jane

Caution: Do Not Use Lullabies For Political Campaigns

Music serves different purposes for the different parts of our lives. It’s the background score for all of us from the cradle to the grave and every moment in between. Music serves to soothe us, to heal us emotionally, to inspire us religiously, and this week it serves —hopefully--- to motivate us to action.

You won’t hear lullabies being used for campaign songs. Why is that? The people who plan these things don’t want to soothe and calm us right now, they don’t want us to fall asleep---they want us to get up and vote and make phone calls and go door to door, to get out there and cheer for the guy with the best message and the best song.

“Music connects on so many levels,” says James Elliott, chairman of the songwriting program at Belmont University in Nashville. “There’s patriotism, there’s maybe an element of nostalgia, pride, and just a love for country and a love for fellow man.” Music can stimulate all of that, and politicians on both sides are well aware of it.

“Since the nation's founders rocked out to “God Save George Washington,” music has been an integral part of our political system,” writes Mike Burr for Prefix Online Magazine.  “Songs have drawn attention to problems in society, served as rallying points for the citizenry and opened discussions on topics that were otherwise unapproachable.”

In the past years, after “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too” caught the attention of the nation in 1840, songs have become an important part of the campaign process. Most songs weren’t written specifically for the campaign---candidates just pick something they think expresses their message. Mike  Burr picks “This Land is Your Land” by Woody Guthrie as the most important patriotic song in our nation’s history. George H. Bush used that one in 1988. George W. Bush’s song pick didn’t work out so well: Tom Petty threatened to sue him if he didn’t stop using his song “I Won’t Back Down.”

Texas billionaire Ross Perot used the Patsy Cline hit “Crazy” for his campaign. Other political songs range from ABBA’s “Take a Chance on Me” to Fleetwood Mac’s “Don’t Stop” and of course, Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA.” Campaign songs come from all genres, all political orientations, and all age groups.

The one thing they have in common is that they are definitely not lullabies. We’ll get back to that next time---after the election is over.

Sweet dreams,

Jane