Category Global health and disparities
FMM 11 3 17 Perfect Harmony
“Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony.” ~Thomas Merton. My father loved music. He also loved to sing. And he sang in a beautiful tenor voice, although he could provide a little bass if necessary. Many people share at least two out of those three qualities! He grew […]
FMM 10 27 17 Points of Light
“People find meaning and redemption in the most unusual human connections.”~ Khaled Hosseini. Language is a tricky thing. Even when you think you speak the same language, words may have very different interpretations. People from the English-speaking world have to learn to avoid saying ‘football’ when in America. If you live in the US, although […]
FMM 10 6 17 Comfortably numb.
“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent.” ~ John Donne. Some people are born story tellers. They may be telling you their shopping list but somehow they weave tension, drama and humor into the reciting of the mundane. There are those who you love to hear […]
FMM 9 29 17 Zip-lining Away!
“The reason why the world lacks unity, and lies broken and in heaps, is, because man is disunited with himself.”~ Ralph Waldo Emerson. There are many beautiful places in Jamaica. The name itself is descriptive: Land of wood and water (Xaymaca was the Arawak name for the island). It is said that when Christopher Columbus […]
FMM 9 22 17 Dry Wit
“Everything is funny, as long as it’s happening to somebody else.”~ Will Rogers. My father had a strange sense of humor. His jokes would often be met with a split second of silence, before the audience, whether in church, the classroom, or the huge assembly hall where as chaplain he would lead morning devotions each […]
FMM 9 15 17 Stripped Bare
“Good timber does not grow with ease. The stronger the wind the stronger the trees.” ~ Thomas S. Monson. I traveled to Jamaica with my family in 1963, sailing on the SS Ascania. Our journey was extended by several days, as we had to observe protocol, and allow a killer to exit the Caribbean before […]
FMM 9 8 17 Silencing Critics
“We cannot change anything until we accept it. Condemnation does not liberate, it oppresses.”~ Carl Jung. To those of us who grew up trying to please others, the opinion of others matters far too much. Children whose parents have a particular standing in the community (here I am thinking of parsons and teachers) grow up […]
FMM 9 1 17 The Less I Know
“Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.”~ e. e. cummings. Do you remember the first time you had to question a long-held belief? When I was young, I was totally flummoxed when my brother tried to tell me that Sunday was the […]
FMM 8 25 17 To a Fault
“The person who is brutally honest enjoys the brutality quite as much as the honesty. Possibly more.” ~ Richard J. Needham. Before we moved to Jamaica, we were advised of a few requirements. Ladies should wear hats and gloves to church (this was in 1963). Parsons should wear a dog collar and robe (in the […]
FMM 8 18 17 Isms and Schisms
“All the world is full of suffering. It is also full of overcoming.”~Helen Keller. I grew up in a tradition of caring for others. But more than that, we were taught to respect our common humanity, and recognize that all human beings deserve respect. My parents were practicing Christians, and they lived their beliefs. At one […]
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