The WWS Party XX; Laugh

This morning a beautiful picture of my sweet Mom showed up as a memory on my Facebook page. For those of you that knew Ginger you know how special she was and is. It made me so happy to start my day reminded that she is here too.

​I’d like to introduce our Guest artist Aimee Erickson. She is an oil painter in the realist tradition. Trained as an illustrator, she has a BFA in Visual Communication Design; her paintings are characterized by strong design, color, and brushwork, and have won many awards. She is the first woman artist to paint an Oregon gubernatorial portrait, that of Barbara Roberts in 1997. She does workshops in  color theory for painters, plein-air painting, and studio painting.

Thank you to those of you who are back for another helping of Wild Women Society, especially those who brought someone new (how to describe the WWS??), I try to kick things off by telling you a bit more about the ‘why’ of WWS. and thank you to those of you who are brand new, for taking a chance - I hope you enjoy yourself.  In case you don’t already know it, my mission statement is to bring women of all age, race, and background together to encourage self-care, I took over the WWS in January of 2012 at party #6 and this is #20!  Consistent through all the parties are you amazing women that attend. And I gather phenomenal women together like this because I love the magic that is created and the opportunities we have to support, encourage and care for each other, as well as practicing self-care.

Gratitude helps you to grow and expand; gratitude brings joy and laughter into your life and into the lives of all those around you.

If you were here in May you know about our Wildchild Amara. $2 of every registration goes to support our WildChild, but more importantly I am wanting to bring Amara hope and opportunity from us as a community. Back in May I had called on the Mt. Park New Seasons to see if they would donate to our goody bags WWS does not qualify for their donations, but in the course of the conversation with their community coordinator I was able to line Amara up as the Featured Artist for October. Amara framed her photos and hung them up the first week of October and a store reception was held for her on the 6th. They will stay up until the end of October so please stop by and see her work, it is beautifully framed and the pieces are for sale. As important as much-needed direct financial support, these avenues for Amara to earn income are what she wants most of all. Amara also made cards and has them available for purchase at the back today.  

I always like to share new books I have read - if you have checked out the books tab on my website or come to previous parties you know I’m a huge fan of Martha Beck, Liz Gilbert, Brene Brown, and Glennon Doyle Melton. Glennon wrote a book called Carry On Warrior a few years ago and her newest book is called Love Warrior. I shared with those of you who were here last time a short video she did on YouTube about Sistering: that carpenters can shore up weakened beams with supports on either side and that is actually called “sistering” and the beam is stronger…that we can support each other and sometimes we are the one that needs help, and sometimes we are the helper, but either way it’s “sistering”.

In Love Warrior Glennon tells her very vulnerable story of her struggles with bulimia starting at the tender age of 10 and subsequent alcoholism, unexpected pregnancy, marriage with 3 children, and her husband’s infidelity. As she works through the pain she discovers this: “The original Hebrew word for woman, a word that is used twice to refer to the first woman, three times to refer to strong military forces, and sixteen times to refer to God, is this: Ezer…the word Ezer has two roots: strong and benevolent. The best translation of Ezer is Warrior. God created woman as a Warrior.”

What I originally hoped to bring to the WWS was my love of bringing women together and the connections that come from that. What I am discovering and learning is this recurring theme of the power of women together.
in the past, accumulation and a strong desire to survive were the drivers and determinants of existence, now we can start to see an increase in integrity, authenticity and emotional connection and their direct influence on our success, More and more people are moving in the direction of the ‘Heart’ to direct their lives. the health and balance of the world is gradually being restored – and this has everything to do with the acknowledgement, acceptance and nurturing of the feminine aspects of our minds.

This is not meant to be male bashing! And I don’t mean men vs. women, I’m speaking of the masculine vs. feminine aspects of our minds

Many people believe that we are already in a new era and rather than the previous masculine club and conquer we will experience more and more of the feminine - like this. I so hope this is true!

So a little bit about the theme of Laugh: Kahlil Gibran said: In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.

Laughing completely changes your energy. As if I need to sell anyone on laughter! But I will tell you this:

Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease. Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body's natural feel-good chemicals. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain.

And that is straight from the internet so you KNOW its true.

And from the great Marlo Thomas: Laughter is important, not only because it makes us happy, it also has actual health benefits. And that's because laughter completely engages the body and releases the mind. It connects us to others, and that in itself has a healing effect.

I WILL claim to be an expert on laughing, having practiced it for many years - from my junior high days with my bestie Gail when we laughed so hard we had ramen noodles coming out our noses, oh, and inappropriate laughing together in church, to giggling with my current roomie Nicole and my Danielle who is the Funniest - just ask her! As I look around this room I have laughed with so many of you! I’m really happy to be putting laughter squarely in the “self-care” category today!

In the words of Shakespeare: With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come!

I spent about half an hour trying to find a funny joke online and NONE of them were funny to me and since I can’t seem to remember a joke to save my life I’m going to leave the real comedy to Joanie.

Guest Musician Sarah Wild, formerly Sarah Vitort, is a Portland native singer songwriter and self-dubbed "superhero in training". Fiery, free spirited, and fun-loving, she aims to inspire and empower people to live authentically and to embrace their own wild sides. As superheroes do, she strives to find the balance between the dark and the light, always aiming to be a creature of love, but not fearing her inner darkness, which is reflected in her work. Her songwriting represents both her deep spiritual beliefs and lighthearted carefree lifestyle alike, and her personal style reflects her love for classic DC Comics characters and badass female vigilantes.

Joanie Quinn is a rainbow haired, Menopause Mom of four. She's saving up for their therapy one performance at a time. Joanie regularly performs in Portland's comedy show "Spilt Milk: you'll laugh til you cry!”, Harvey's Comedy Club, and has appeared at Helium Comedy Club and The Legendary Ice House in Pasadena.