Category Global health and disparities

FMM 6 28 19 Clashing Symbols

“Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby.” ~ Langston Hughes.  I was born in a part of the world that was always famous for its rain.  Manchester, in the north west of England was so wet and dreary that […]

FMM 6 21 19 I’ve looked at Clouds

“The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival.” ~ Aristotle. When I think about it, I had the childhood that an anthropologist would have paid money for. Being plunged into the Jamaican countryside was an immersion experience for this eight-year-old English girl.  In typical Jamaican […]

FMM 6 14 19 Sing out Loud!

“As long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest.” ~ Nelson Mandela. There is nothing like waking up before dawn in the cool hills of Jamaica; there is peace and quiet before the roosters start to crow, and the dogs start their chorus.  Once the daylight […]

FMM 6 7 19 An Inconvenient Life

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” ~ George Bernard Shaw. Childhood memories are often unreliable.  They say that the only true memory is the first time we remember something.  After that, each time we recall, we are remembering the memory – like making a copy of a copy of a copy.  […]

FMM 5 31 19 Set a Better Example (upcycled)

“Lively up yourself” Bob Marley Is there anything as unattractive as a slouch? Someone who walks with no energy, arms folded or hands in pockets, looking as if they would rather be anywhere than where they are? It has always made me crazy to see people who approach their job in this fashion – it […]

FMM 4 19 19 Natural Wonder

“The art of art, the glory of expression and the sunshine of the light of letters, is simplicity.” ~ Walt Whitman. I am by nature suspicious of flowery speech.  I have a memory of my father explaining something to me as ‘purple prose’, passages of literature that are too fulsome, too many superlatives and flashy […]

FMM 4 12 19 Crowning Glory

“Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart” ~ Khalil Gibran. The other day I met up with someone I hadn’t seen for a while.  And to be truthful, I did not immediately recognize her.  She was an acquaintance rather than an old friend, and it was only through the […]

FMM 3 22 19 Intentionality

“When you eat mindfully, by paying attention to what you eat, you get more pleasure with fewer calories.” ~ Dean Ornish.  My father was a man who had great faith, but who also believed in doing his part to ensure good outcomes.  He would say he always knew when God wanted him to do something […]

FMM 3 15 19 Real Talk

“I just go with the flow, I follow the yellow brick road. I don’t know where it’s going to lead me, but I follow it.” ~ Grace Jones. I don’t remember when (if ever) I got the ‘birds and the bees’ talk, but I heard about girls and periods early.  They didn’t want to tell […]

FMM 2 8 19 Where do you put your eye?

“We are stardust, we are golden, we are billion year old carbon” ~ Joni Mitchell. When I first decided I wanted to write I bought a subscription to a magazine called Writer’s Digest.  There were many helpful articles such as how to get published, how to jumpstart ideas, and other tips and suggestions.  I had […]