(I apologize for the length of this article, but I hope you’ll bear with me and read to the end, and view the video that appears near the bottom as well as the MSNBC feature link. This is not a request for a donation.) 

On Thursday I attended a luncheon at a local diner of historical note, Ruth’s Diner, in Emigration Canyon. They have a delightful deck and tiered brick patio set up for casual dining outside under the shade of trees. It’s very popular with locals in spite of the fact that Ruth died years ago, and the restaurant has changed hands several times, the last being a little over a year ago. Mostly known, as far as I can tell, for their hamburgers and mile-high biscuits (that aren’t a mile high anymore, just big), the food quality varies, but the pleasure of backyard dining in the mountains has not diminished at all.

This luncheon was a reunion of the women from an Osher class a few sessions back, the class I’ve mentioned previously as “women and wisdom.” In a promo pamphlet, the instructor says it this way.

“We will always fail at staying young, so why not succeed at aging?” Aging is about gain as well as loss. Our 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and 80’s are not a time to fear, but a time to anticipate with excitement. These discussions open up possibilities for savoring the fruits of long-life experience, and reaping and sowing the gifts of wisdom.”

That’s why I think of our group as “women of wisdom,” rather than “crones,” as others in the group have called us. I always seem to learn something when we occasionally meet, and judging from the comments of others, the experience of bonding with other women as we “ascend further into wisdom” is invaluable. Women have more strength and have done far more toward earth’s survival (much more than just producing babies), all the while being somewhat dismissed as incidental or of secondary importance by many of our political and religious leaders over the years. Thanks to classes like these, that’s about to change because women all over the world are beginning to change the way they think about themselves.

From Vivian, one my fellow “wise women,” I learned about about an enterprise to assist a very special group of Ugandan women who struggle daily against poverty that we can barely imagine. As I read more about these women who are willing to work so hard just to keep their families together, I felt compelled to help in however small a way as possible. I know my blog has a fairly low readership, but I know some who do read who are special and caring women, and well . . . Christmas is coming in less than three months, and most of you will be shopping anyhow, so I thought you might be interested in Beads of Life. Also, you can verify the operation by checking out NBC’s John Larsen’s BeadsForLife story  which was featured May 18th on MSNBC.

Beads in bracelets, necklaces, even in loose packages you can use to design your own, are available for purchase. Even if you don’t feel they’re appropriate for yourself or those on your gift list, spread the word to others you think might be interested. The world in its present chaotic state needs us wise women now more than ever.