Big Ocean Women are women of faith. This foundational identity not only unites us with other people of faith, but it connects us to a higher power. This connection gives us access to strength beyond our own. For most, our faith gives us more than standards and direction, but also an ideal which we strive…
The Family: Source of Intergenerational Power Recently, I attended a wedding reception for a family friend. I was struck by the deliberate and intentional ways that this family has held onto their own family culture. The celebration included specific elements celebrating their blended heritage, from traditional Polish dances to Italian dishes. Cousins, aunts, uncles, and…
We, as women, are the gatekeepers of knowledge and wisdom for ourselves and our families. In my experience, gaining knowledge is a very creative process, involving struggle followed by new discovery. We contribute to the world as we learn, innovate, and then pass our understanding to others. Because we wear so many hats, our opportunity…
The Strength of a Nation During a presentation many years ago, an inspiring woman stood in front of us waving her arms in the air as if she was pretending to play baseball. Or so we thought! She asked us what she was doing. Quizzically we looked at her and said, “You are playing baseball.”…
Women, as always, the thoughts and hearts of the Big Ocean board members are with you. This month as we discuss the Model of Powerful Impact, we humbly acknowledge that there are many of our members who are struggling right now. There are those who come to our cottages seeking hope that the philosophy of…
One idea that drew me to Big Ocean was the tenet of valuing the irreplaceable role of fathers and building interdependent relationships with men. I am often troubled by the terrible trend in the media of portraying fathers and men as bumbling buffoons, as incompetent, as unnecessary. I was grateful to find a feminist movement…
Dear Big Ocean Women, Many of us understand Mother’s Day can be fraught with personal feelings of longing, loss, guilt or disappointment. For many, the word “mother” might seem disjointed from their real-life experiences and situations. Yet despite this challenge, our growing maternal feminist collective continues to use and promote the word “mother” to describe ALL…
November 2016 Board Message I am so grateful to report that our Big Ocean delegation was tremendously successful as they attended and presented at the global event, UN Habitat 3, in Quito, Ecuador. Many things were accomplished and our delegates: – Distributed Days for Girls kits and taught menstruation programs to schools and a foster home for young…
Growing up in a home of Buddhists, the importance of family was deeply planted in my soul. It was family solidarity that enabled my family to survive the racial hatred expressed against them before, during, and after World War II. It was family solidarity that supported my parents through the loss of their six year…
Message from the Board, August 2016 We are at a crucial time in history. All around us we see women seeking to influence society at every level and in most cultural settings throughout the world. Never has there been such emphasis on giving women a voice and encouraging us to stand in our power to change the…