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We've been joining social networking places without quite knowing how to work them (note the box below) - And we've added some helpful links to our Body Image page. This month's newsletter is called "Everybody hurts". You know it. I know it. We all know it. We all get knocked down - hard! Can't avoid it. The thing is - how do we handle the hard stuff? When we've been knocked down hard what do we DO?
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This month's interviewee, Jacqueline Wales,
had a very rough early life. Jerry White (author of I Will Not Be Broken,
the book reviewed this month) had part of his leg blown off by a landmine. Both Jacqueline and Jerry refuse to stay mired in their pain. Jerry writes "...to thrive, you must work for it. Surviving is not a passive activity. But, similarly, it takes a certain amount of effort to stay a victim. So where will you put your energy?" So, that's my question (for YOU and for myself) - after reading about Jacqueline and Jerry, let's ask: | "Where will I put MY energy?" My hope is - we put our energies toward what's positive - toward what's good! To life!! |
We joined WECAI... download a complimentary WECAI |
 (we'll talk about that later - when Karen figures out how to use it!) And we're putting up Squidoo lenses (which Karen also doesn't "get" YET) Once the SPP staff gets this woman up to par we'll invite YOU over! |
| Square Peg Spotlight |
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Visit Jacqueline Wales  at Fearless Fifties | |
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(Excerpts from Jacqueline's Interview.) I met Jacqueline Wales through the Women's
ECommerce Association International ™ (see WECAI's button link above). I
asked her how she came to create "Fearless Fifties".
I have had an amazing journey - I'm very definitely a Square-Peg, I've never lived my life according to
anyone else's rules. I've lived outside the box forever it seems - in the
choices I've made - the mistakes I've made - the things I've had to deal
with. Just in a nutshell: I grew up in poverty - and it was extremely
abusive. My father was an alcoholic. I gave my first child up for adoption, then
married the first man who said "I love you". That didn't work either. I left a 3
year old with his father to go to California - ostensibly in search of something
more.
"More" is one of my favorite words, I use it a lot. Not materially. I wanted
more in life than what I was getting. I came into this life with that burning
inside of me. I heard a quote from Sam Keen:
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"Fear is the sharp edge of excitement." I
love that line, it's so absolutely right. Many of us live our lives on the edge
- people who are Square-Peg - staying alive and staying hopeful and creative.
It's our challenge - when you decide to live outside the box. One of the reasons that I created Fearless Fifties is the idea of creating community. You make your community wherever you go. This is huge for me. Where do you belong? It's not a comfortable thing for people who live outside the box - that sense of belonging. I wrote a novel, When the Crow Sings,(see link to the right) that was a healing journey also. It's about the women of my family. My grandmother, mother - particularly my mother - she had passed on and I had a lot of unanswered questions. My question was: who are these women and how are they manifesting in my life? ... I discovered that I loved this woman who was my mother. It made a huge difference...it became an homage to my mother, I have a lot of respect for what she went through.
Read the full Jacqueline Wales
interview here. Visit Fearless
Fifties "A Growing Community of Women Who Are Putting Life
Into Midlife". You can keep in touch (and currently get the free report:
The 10 Secrets to Taking Fear Out of Your Life) by signing up for Jacqueline's
newsletter.
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| Square-Peg Stacks |
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Choosing ME!
Finding our first downloadable mp3 recording
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Reviews I Will Not Be Broken (5 Steps to
Overcoming a Life Crisis) by Jerry White. The title of this book, I Will Not Be Broken, reminded me of the denial-based "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" voice (not honoring the experience of trauma or grief victims) that I spent years counseling clients not to listen to. The subtitle, "5 Steps to Overcoming a Life Crisis", really clinched it for me. I expected a book that was too pat, too simplistic and too "surface". This is NOT that book! This book is a surprise. It is directive, yet it honors individuality. The author, Jerry White, states that the 5 steps are incontrovertible, but how you do them is unique to you. He combines humility and authenticity in a way that is very inviting. He does not buy into victim mentality, but he also does not deny the draw in that - the pull to give up, give in. He does not deny the pain involved in trauma or the hard work involved in working through it.
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This book is not theoretical. It is practical! Jerry White had part of his leg
blown off by a landmine in 1984, while "on a camping trip in Israel." He has since cofounded Survivor Corps.org, was
co-recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize for Peace and is a leader of the
International Campaign to Ban Landmines. You can't argue with him about what
it's like to be a survivor - he's been there.
There are incredible stories in I Will Not Be Broken. Some of them
involve famous people Jerry has spent time with - Princess Diana, Queen Noor,
Elie Wiesel, the Dalai Lama and others. But most of the stories are those of
"regular" people - like you and me - who have been through crisis and
survived.
In a chapter called "Everyone Has A Date With Disaster" Jerry tells us: ""We hate to call bad news
normal, but it is...everyone indeed has or will have a date with destiny,
maybe even more than one... All of us will face trauma in our lifetime... It is
a given that life will shock us."
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We just became affiliated with We're so excited!
Square-Peg-People.com officially started back in June of 2005, so next month is
our third birthday!! Woo hoo!!
Looking forward to seeing you next month! We'll party!
and the awesome Square-Peg staff | Noah Urban  of BFG
Productions
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Chief of
Operations, Lauren (aka Slightly-British-Daughter),
was Person of the Month for May at Bone-sigh arts.com.