Hope in the Slums

I'm so excited to share this video journal with everyone!  Thanks to some amazing filming by my sister in law Kathryn, here's a followup to My Journal - Hope in the Slums about our experience in the Bawana slums.  Click here to learn more about the Robin Raina Foundation.

Fruit and Veggie Wash

It's so nice to be eating fresh raw fruits and veggies again!  In India I had to worry about the water used to clean fruit and then there were all kinds of foreign bugs.  Here, our food's tainted with pesticides, wax and other chemicals.  I always make sure to spray my fruits and veggies with Veggie Wash.  You can buy it online or at Whole Foods.  It's amazing to see the difference in the fruit when I use it.  The waxy film disappears from apples, and that shiny glow fades from blueberries.  It's made with citrus, which can be kind of strong and bothers some people (my husband included), so make sure you rinse it off really well before serving.

Here's a recipe for a homemade Fruit and Veggie Wash from All Health Trends, using natural grapefruit seed extract.

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. baking soda
• 20 drops of grapefruit seed extract

Combine all ingredients in a large container. Then, transfer to a spray bottle with a pump. Spray mixture on produce, and rinse thoroughly after 5 to 10 minutes.

Ginger's Voice

The minute I met Ginger I was intrigued.  She has such a zest for life, and I'm always excited to hear about her latest adventure.  She recently returned from a trip to Cambodia where she met children infected with HIV and AIDS.  I'm honored to share Ginger's voice.

Cambodia Gives New Perspective on Taking Risks

By Ginger B.

My husband and I purchased a trip at a charity auction to raise money for Friends Without a Border, the funding and program supporter for the Angkor Hospital for Children (AHC) in Siem Reap, the second-largest city and tourist center of Cambodia.  We didn’t think too much about what we were getting into, both of us being a bit spontaneous and even more so after finding the open bar.  All we knew was we were going on an adventure, but little did we know it would change us forever.

There is an HIV problem in Cambodia that continues to rise in rural areas.  When farmers find themselves in the close company of the city’s prostitutes -- with little education on HIV and a cultural stigma against condoms -- the men contract the disease.  Returning back to the farm months later, they bring home the disease to their wives.  As their family grows, they unknowingly pass the disease to their newborn babies.

As the doctor told us these stories on our drive towards the outskirts of town, it became clear that these children had seen the darkest moments of the world:  loss, physical pain, and shattered dreams.  They had lost parents, felt the painful repercussions of HIV-related illnesses, and had an uncertain future dependent on medical advances and their access to them.  On top of this, they lived in poverty.  I expected a very glum situation.

We arrived at the first home.  The children were playing hide-and-go-seek, laughing, smiling, with joy in their faces.  When they saw the doctor, one child came forward, no less content than the others.  The doctor sat with him, checking his supply of pills and giving him a short physical, joking with him and tickling his feet.  Although small for his age, nothing about the child would have indicated his illness.  And in his eyes there was not a speck of that glumness I anticipated.  He was surrounded by his extended family, cared for by this doctor, and in one of the most beautiful places in the world.  He didn’t have much in the way of anything material, but what he did have was enough.

As we drove back down the little dirt road, I felt privileged to be able to peek into this world.  To see joy in people’s eyes firsthand, due to nothing except that for today, things were okay.  Today they had some food, today they had health under control, and today they were surrounded by loved ones.  That was all that was needed. What I realized is it takes very little to live, and the chance to be happy does not suffer as long a person has food, good health, and have a community to feel connected to.

So what does this have to do with risk?  Many people, including myself, hold back from doing things because of the fear of losing something.  Fear of losing time, money, or face to others and even yourself.  What if this doesn’t work?  What if it’s a waste of time? What will they think if it’s a total failure?  Who am I to think I can do this?  It can be paralyzing. 

But, to look into a world and see somebody who has lost everything, and still see joy, the world still turning, hope and love still swirling around, then why NOT take a risk?  There is nothing to fear, the best humanity has to offer is still there even at what most westerners would consider the “bottom.”  The only difference is lack of material things, but this rare experience showed that our stuff isn’t the stuff that joy is made of.

T.S. Eliot wrote, “…And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.”  Those children in Cambodia gave me something to walk away with that would change me forever, by showing me my own world in a new way.

This year, I will take more risks.

To make a donation to Friends Without a Border, providing funding and program support to the Angkor Hospital for Children in Siem Reap, Cambodia, please visit http://www.fwab.org/.

Fashionable Inspiration

I saw these bracelets on The Blonde and The Brunette.  The Ettika saying bangles are not only fashionable, but they're also the perfect gift for someone looking for that additional inspiration. 

Blog Your Heart Out!!

Today is Blog your Heart Out day, from the Go Red For Women movement of the American Heart Association.  I've been open about my battle with heart failure starting at the age of 25, and how the disease has affected my life; writing about What Happens When you Get the News?, Grateful for Diagnosis and Heart Procedure One Month Before the Wedding.  In fact, I started this blog as a way to inspire hope and share my tips on reduced stress living, especially for moms!

I'm happy to talk about my experience with Go Red For Women, and the importance of promoting awareness for heart disease.  Immediately after I posted my story on Go Red For Women, I was contacted by a woman named Elissa.  Elissa was also diagnosed with cardiomyopathy at a young age.  She was looking for some type of a connection, and to know she wasn't alone.  I live in Los Angeles, CA and she lives all the way in St. Paul, MN.  Go Red for Women connected us.  We immediately became friends, sharing our experiences with one another.  Elissa and I are still battling heart failure, but together we are stronger.
Go Red for Women not only connects women who are scared and in search of support, but it also promotes awareness for the number one killer of women.  Forward this to your friends and sign up for Go Red For Women.  You never know when you can help save a life.

My Journal - Stop Waiting!

I sat with a snake charmer and his two snakes, including a cobra.

Looking back at my time spent in India, in some ways it feels like I never left and in other ways I was gone an entire lifetime.  I learned invaluable lessons about myself, my family and most importantly, I caught a rare glimpse into a world I only read about in books and watched in movies.  There were moments leading up to my trip where I contemplated staying home, hoping another opportunity like this would come my way.  The timing didn't seem right.  Even though my husband was supportive, how could I leave him and our children?

Then I heard Naomi Levy speak about her new book Hope Will Find You.  She spoke about how so many of us spend our entire lives waiting.  Waiting to get married, waiting to get divorced, waiting to have kids, waiting for the kids to go to college, waiting for the perfect job, waiting to hear what the doctor's results are, waiting to see if the chemotherapy will work...  Or like me, waiting to travel across the world because of guilt and fear. 

So many people are stuck in the waiting room.  Passing time rather than living life.  I saw more smiling faces in the slums of Delhi than in the some of the nicest hotels in the world.  Think about the happiest moments in your life.  It doesn't take much to stop waiting and start living!