Being Present

I know I don’t blog enough to have anyone read this on a regular basis, but I am compelled to share my experience at the moment and I am going to commit to writing on a more regular basis in the final year of my biennium!

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As I write this, I am in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at the Soroptimist International Convention. I am so full of emotion and a need to be ‘present’ here. The overwhelming feelings of gratefulness, humility and pride are the most prominent.

What a privilege it is to be able to come to an event such as this. 

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I am grateful that I live what seems like a normal, modest life to me, but obviously affords me the opportunity to travel to experience another corner of the world; I am grateful to interact with women from all over the world that all are working towards improving the lives of women and girls; I am grateful that our problems in our world that we address in our communities are of great importance to us but we don’t face issues of not having water to sustain life, we don’t live in war torn areas where rape is commonplace and it is used as a weapon, we don’t live in a world where (usually) women have to ask their husbands for permission to get treatment for an illness. It inspires me to continue our programs because the obstacles that women face in our world we can actually help with!

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I feel humility that I am here with so many talented, gifted, inspiring women from all around the world. We have listened to panels of women all talking about gender equality and water, technology, violence and trafficking issues and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SGD’s). They are all speaking English with so many different accents- Australian, British, American, Swiss, German, Malaysian, African, Indian, and more- all speaking the same language with different tweaks. So many powerful women humble me!

I feel very proud to be a part of this organization with all these amazing women, I’m proud of what we are accomplishing worldwide, I am proud to be a part of the larger organization, but proud of how Soroptimist International of the Americas has focused on how we can make a difference in our countries.

I highly recommend that everyone try to make this venture at least one time in a lifetime. It is truly awe inspiring!!!
Governor Lane