February 2009: Heart Matters
February is a heart-filled month that includes Valentine’s Day, V-Day (See below.) National Heart Month, and Black History Month. Throughout the month I plan to have information on healthy hearts, including recipes that are naturally healthy for the whole body, a profile of two sisters who have been Black activists all their lives, and some thoughts on love and friendship. (Picture of the Richardson sisters below.)
Since I am going away this week, I am experimenting with post-dating two of the postings. However, I just post-dated Profiles and it is already up and running, so when I return from my trip, I will check with my webmaster. The recipe will feature pomegranate seeds, which are now available beyond Thanksgiving, not only as the whole fruit, but already packed as seeds for those who are too busy to peel their own pomegranates. (I peeled one and froze the seeds.)
While most of us are familiar with Heart Association Month and Black History Month, as well as Valentine’s Day, I am not sure how well known V-Day is, since it has been in existence only 10 years this year. It was started by Eve Ensler, who is a writer/performer/activist. In 2001 I attended a performance of her work, The Vagina Monologues in New York City. I also saw her perform in Philadelphia in her work, The Good Body. Both The Vagina Monologues and The Good Body are available in book form. More importantly, you may want to go to Eve’s website, www.VDay.org to see the impact she is making to prevent violence against women all over the world. She is a role model for all women that one person can make a difference. Here is an excerpt from her website:
V-Day is a global movement to stop violence against women and girls. V-Day is a catalyst that promotes creative events to increase awareness, raise money and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations. V-Day generates broader attention for the fight to stop violence against women and girls, including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM) and sexual slavery.
Concerning Valentine’s Day: When I was single for 13 years after my divorce, Valentine’s Day was not my favorite holiday. However, somewhere in those years I began to appreciate Valentine’s Day as a day to celebrate love of family and friends, and now V-Day. So whether or not you have a sweetheart, spouse, or partner, you can still celebrate this month of love by extending the meaning to all the people in your life who love you and are loved by you. However, love must be in the air, because I just received an email about a marriage that took place during WWII with the wedding gown made from a parachute. Here is the photo and I will post the story in time for Valentine’s Day.
Throughout the month I will be including some pictures of roses that a friend emailed me, one of which is featured above and one below. Happy February!
