On April 29, 1998, I submitted a sample of my blood so that I would be placed on the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) Registry, now known as the Be The Match Registry.

Marrow donations can save people form life-threatening diseases like leukemia. Around 70 percent of patients do not have a match within their families and depend on the registry for hope. It is not hard to help, and the potential upside is tremendous. One can find more information on the Be The Match Web site at http://www.marrow.org/index.html.

Please join me, and join the registry.

Ideas and data make up the way of knowing. Planning and predictablty usually follow. Many of us know the way of knowing and forget the way of not knowing.

It is a way that embraces surprise, enjoys the unexpected, and welcomes wonder and mystery. In the way of not knowng, one lets go of the need to know or control and allows life to come to them.

This balance allows a person to adapt to all situations.

Love and life are filled with unknowns, and much is beyond our control.

Even the coming and going--the times and circumstances of birth and death, and the joys and sorrows in between---are mysterious and impossible to predict.

What wisdom might come if, even briefly, we opened more consciously to the truth of change and mortality?

My mother died on October18, 2000, and it still affects me today. While it does not affect me to the point of disfunction, I make it a point to remember her and acknowledge how we were similar.

At the same time, I recognize how all I love will leave me, or I will leave it--my lola being the most prominent of those things. I let the preciousness of each life, and this moment, guide me, knowing that each time I leave my lola may be the last time I see her alive. This is how I reconcile not participating in some organizations I would like to, or not going to certain events that I would like to. It is not a sacrifice. Rather, it is a delberate reconciliation of choices and circumstances.

I, like many others, am in a position of taking care of an elderly family member. It is well documented that caretakers experience excessive stresss, which can drain their energy reserves for other loved ones who need them too. Whenever, I need to relieve my stored-up mental strain and refuel myself, I begin with simple stretching movements to ignite blood flow and release tension. I also find it helpful to check in with myself, to get a sense of whether I am feeling exhausted, depleted, overwhelmed, under attack, anxious, or spread too thin. If I am, I give myself permission to let it all go--even for only five minutes. That allows me the opportunity to not be responsible for anything or anyone. Just for that moment, I am not in control of every detail, and I take care of myself, so that I can return with more affection and better attention for others.

One of my favorite shows is NOW, a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) show. This week's show was entitled "Justice Delayed," and it was about the tens of thousands of rape kits that are backlogged and untested in the United States of America. These kits could very well lead to the arrest and conviction of thousands of rapists, all of whom have not faced justice, and who may have also raped other victims since. To make matters worse, there is a ten-year statute of limitations on rape cases, and many could expire each day, and more and more rapes are reported--and unreported--each day.

It puzzles me as to why this is not more commonly known about. Yet part of me understands that there are a multitude of causes to advocate for and work on. I myself wish I could be more involved, yet the boundaries of physics make it an unrealistic goal. In the meantime, I must be content and proud of doing what I can, despite how much I tell myself that I could be and should be doing more.

I just posted this Microsoft Forefront Sweepstakes Widget for 500 credits. You can earn free credits too!

It is important to take pride in what one does and who they are. That alone can aid a person in developing a higher sense of self, confidence, and esteem. These traits exhibit themselves in a person's countenance, posture, and behavior and affect how colleagues, friends, and even strangers, interact with them.

Life never fails to demonstrate that everyone and everything is interconnected. That is a powerful realization. The past is important in informing the present so that people can make decisions that are vital to how the future will be. It crosses time. A decision to donate money to an organization that fights hunger and poverty in another country is an example of how it crosses space as well. Only we ourselves set the boundaries of our own influence.

While being the underdog can be a difficult existence, many are familiar with a story where the underdog triumphs. The scenario is played out in books, on screen, and even in real life. Many look for these stories because they speak to the idea that anyone can succeed., even against difficult circumstances and situations.

There are a few lessons learned from realizing this. First, everyone can succeed. Second, everyone is an underdog sometime in their lives. Third, there is hope.

Knowing that there are real life examples of triumphant underdogs through history, it is easy to maintain hope.

Movements are strengthened by symbols. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a symbol of the civil rights movement. Whether they are flags for countries, logos for organizations, or brands for products, symbols magnify the movement. For many, displaying a symbol is an easy way to be a part of a movement.

Tomorrow, April 22, 2009, is Jeans for Justice Day in Sacramento. Women Escaping a Violent Environment (WEAVE), a local nonprofit organization, sponsors the day.

In 1999, the Italian Supreme Court overturned the rape conviction of a 45 year-old man. The man was found "not guilty" of raping an 18 year-old young woman because the court believed that because she was wearing jeans, there was no way he could ahve raped her without her help taking the jeans off. The court stated:

"It is common knowledge...that jeans cannot even be partly removed without the effective help of taht person wearing them...and it is impossible if the victim is struggling with all her might."

The court basically said that she must have assisted the perpetrator.

The judgment sparked a worldwide outcry from those who understand that coercion, threats, and violence go along with the act of rape. The unpopular verdict became an international symbol of myth-based injustice for sexual assault survivors. Now, every year, as part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April, a day is reserved to protest the decision and make the statement that what one wears is never an excuse for rape.

I will have my jeans on. Will you?