Puppy Kisses

Even though I’m definitely a cat person, I like dogs, too. They’re loyal and playful, loving and spontaneous. But, aside from puppy kisses, I have never been a fan of dog drool. Whether being sprayed by a shaking dog’s slobber or licked as a friendly dog’s greeting, I almost always have the same reaction – get me to a sink.

Don’t hate me for my fastidiousness, though. It seems I could be compromising my health compared to the likes of you who might share your ice cream cone with your favorite canine. Researchers from the University of Arizona and the University of California-San Diego suggest that canine saliva contains essential probiotics that can make dog-owning families healthier than non-dog-owning (and, therefore, non-canine-saliva-exposed) families. Apparently, a study is being readied to confirm these results, and to better understand the link between contact with dog saliva and the reduction of asthmatic, allergic and inflammatory symptoms.

So, go ahead and enjoy those puppy kisses. And, I will, too . . . while I wait and hope for a similar kitty-kiss study.

Funny?

By, Jacky Fleming

To tickle your funny bone (or maybe to irritate it), I've gathered up a gaggle of feminist comics, by some amazingly creative artists, for your Monday musing. Which do you connect with most?

By, Judy Horacek

By, Tom Gauld

By, Barry Deutsch

By, Corinne Mucha

Likeagirl

 I'm a little late in getting on this bandwagon, but I couldn't be more supportive of the recent #likeagirl campaign, started by Always, and exploding like fireworks all over social media.  For years, to be told that one does anything "like a girl" was the gravest of insults.  Why?  Because the phrase supported the stereotype that girls do everything less-well than boys . . . simply because they are girls.

Check out this YouTube Video that nicely explains this stereotype, and which gives us good role models and examples for changing society's ideas about gender roles, expectations and assumptions.  Then, spread the word and help chip away at this common form of sexism.

Words of Wisdom

Today, my friends, is International Women’s Day – the annual holiday to promote equal rights for women. While women have certainly come a long way (baby), there is still much work to be done to ensure that all women are treated as equals to men and that socialized gender inequality is addressed. In the spirit of the day, I offer sage wisdom from wise sages. 

Pick your favorite, please.

1. “Woman is the companion of man, gifted with equal mental capacity.” – Gandhi

2. “The fastest way to change society is to mobilize the women of the world.” – Charles Malik

3. “We've begun to raise daughters more like sons . . . but few have the courage to raise our sons more like our daughters.” – Gloria Steinem

4. “Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

AND “A woman is like a tea bag – you can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

5. “The day will come when men will recognize woman as his peer, not only at the fireside, but in councils of the nation. Then, and not until then, will there be the perfect comradeship, the ideal union between the sexes that shall result in the highest development of the race.” – Susan B. Anthony

6. “Women have served all these centuries as looking glasses possessing the magic and delicious power of reflecting the figure of a man at twice its natural size.” – Virginia Woolf

7. “Human rights are women's rights and women's rights are human rights.” – Hillary Clinton

8. “I measure the progress of a community by the degree of progress which women have achieved.” – B. R. Ambedkar

9. “The question isn't who's going to let me; it's who is going to stop me.” – Ayn Rand

10. “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any.” – Alice Walker

Worth Quoting

Anyone who knows me knows I’m a sucker for a good quote.  

Today, for your reading pleasure, I present you with ten little wonders I’ve stumbled upon lately.  

Which one speaks to you?

1.  I would rather have a mind opened by wonder than closed by belief. – Gerry Spence

2.  Money often costs too much.  – Ralph Waldo Emerson

3.  If you want others to be happy, practice compassion; if you want to be happy, practice compassion.  – The 14^th Dalai Lama

4.  Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field.  I will meet you there.  – Rumi

5.  Fear is the cheapest room in the house.  I would like to see you living in better conditions.  – Hafiz

6.  Say not, “I have found the truth,” but rather, “I have found a truth.” – Kahlil Gibran

7.  Trying to satisfy one’s desires with possessions is like trying to put out fire with straw. – Confucius

8.  The constant assertion of belief is an indication of fear. – Jiddu Krishnamurti

9.  The winds of grace are always blowing, but it is you who must raise your sails. – Rabindranath Tagore

10.  What we plant in the soil of contemplation, we shall reap in the harvest of action. – Meister Eckhart