The Newsy Neighbour Magazine
March Issue 113
Article Provided By: Marcy Field
Do
you ever ponder this question? Perhaps it is time to. It could lead to a
decision that changes the course and outcome of your life. A similar question
was posed to me about 20 years ago and led to the creation of my personal
mission statement. To this day, I still carry it around in my wallet on the
original scrap of blue paper. I may forget it is there for a while but when I
rediscover it, I am always amazed at how my life and what has taken place or is
transpiring align.
We
truly live in the best of times or the worst of times (depending on what you
choose to focus on.) Rural communities witness this annually. As spring gets
ready to unfold, the sheer determination of nature is evident as we watch it return
to fulfilling its destiny of grow, to
spread out, to travel and to leave a legacy.
It does this successfully and fairly consistently globally year after
year.
A Truly Canadian Alberta Legacy
“There is no resignation in Nature, no quiet folding
of the hands, no hypocritical saying, ‘Thy will be done!’ and giving in without
a struggle. Countless millions of seeds and plants are doomed each year to
death and failure, but all honour to them – they put up a fight to the very
end! Resignation is a cheap and indolent human virtue, which has served as an
excuse for much spiritual slothfulness. It is still highly revered and
commended. It is so much easier sometimes to sit down and be resigned than to
rise up and be indignant.” Nellie McClung – In Times Like These - 1915
Nellie McClung was a Canadian suffragette (feminist), politician, author, and social
activist. She was a part of the social and moral reform movements prevalent in
Western Canada in the early 1900s. Being part of Alberta’s Famous Five, who
campaigned for women to be recognized as persons, her legacy is evident,
despite some efforts to remove it from history. Suffragists didn’t only focus
on the right of women to vote, they also campaigned for improved public health,
equality in employment and education, social assistance and condemned violence.
Much of the social reform existing today is due to the efforts of women
actively engaging in public education and agitation being the change they
wanted to see.
One Hundred-Plus Years
Later
A bit closer to home, in 1912 a small group of women,
who I believe were tuned in and aware of the social and political climate they
were living in, gathered together and formed the Carseland Public Benefit Club.
Today they are the longest serving independent public service organization in
Alberta. Their original Minute Books and other items are preserved at the
Glenbow Museum in Calgary.
More important is the living legacy they aspired to continuing
in their community, through the vision and efforts of 21st century
women, who continue with a belief in their power and ability to make a
difference. It is a significant difference in the lives they touch through
their fundraising and personal engagement.
Their major initiatives in 2016 included a donation to
National Service Dogs, an organization whose mission is to “empower people to
achieve their full potential with strategically trained and certified service
dogs, catalysts for restorative change.” Another donation went to Inn From the
Cold to provide for homeless veterans. They care and are reaching out to this
group of veterans once again, showing they are not forgotten and people care.
Other funds were sent through the Red Cross to the victims of the Fort McMurray
Fires, to STARS Air Ambulance, to the Veterans Food Drive and to Hope Bridges
Society. They recently kicked off 2017 with a $5000 donation to the Wheatland
and Area Hospice Society. The vision and mission is still alive and vital after
105 years.
Recognize Your Ability to
Create Change
Every effort, no matter how small or large, does makes
a difference to someone. On March 8th International Women’s Day is
celebrated globally. One hundred and three years later, the call remains the
same as that of the early suffragettes – Be Bold for Change and Equality
Matters.
Together, women and men, we are the human race. I
believe this brings with it a responsibility to help humanity be all it can be.
It starts with each of us doing our part. It requires each of us to take action
for mutual success.
That little blue piece of paper and my personal
Mission Statement “Impact the world I touch through belief in myself and
others, motivating and encouraging all to become all we can be.”
Twenty years later it continues to shape the choices I
make and the actions I take towards how I want to be remembered.
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