Yes I can!

Justice has always been a part of who I am. When I was a little girl, I used to rotate the position of my stuffed animals in my bed, making sure that each one of my sweet little friends had a spot on my pillow. When I woke, there would always be a handful of them along the floor, which made me exceedingly sad and feeling a bit guilty.

“At least the rug softened their fall”, I tried to convince myself.

Stuffed animals turned into live strays and injured creatures that I would bring home and beg my parents to accommodate until I could rehabilitate them and hopefully set them free. Snakes, frogs, birds, even spiders became the norm along side the menagerie of our domesticated dogs and cats.

Later, I became the voice for the misfits and the bullied. While my heart bled for the mistreated, it also became enraged by my school’s tolerance of such behavior. As I grew (and my childish innocence diminished), I noticed that it wasn’t just our schools that seemed to accept violence, discrimination, bullying and hate; our neighborhoods, businesses, even our police departments condoned it, or at least turned a blind eye.

My pursuit of a law degree came about by way of awakening; my undergraduate experience opened my eyes to injustice and I managed to find a way to make a difference as a student leader. Still, my plans to really make a difference were overshadowed by my need to pay back students loans and learn how to live the lie so persuasively communicated all around me.

Six figures later, my third marriage was in trouble, my three sons grown and gone, and I simply couldn’t understand how I had ended up where I was. To make matters worse, before we could address our marital problems, my husband became sick; he died ten months after his diagnosis, and I didn’t even have a chance to tell him how angry and unfulfilled I was! Then grief struck like an F-5 tornado …

My husband’s death aroused in me something most unexpected, however. The anger and despair that had taken over my life lifted and in its place was the vision of my life that had never left. Through the eyes of my 6-year-old self, I became reacquainted with the truisms I had held so close to my heart: that goodness shall prevail, that love will reign, and that compassion lives in us all. My vision had simply been concealed by anger, sadness, and suffering.

And then came my new friend: World Pulse. In just a few short months, I found a connection to people I never would have dreamed of coming to know. My eyes cleared, my heart opened, and for the first time in a very long time, I believed – truly believed! – that I could contribute to the transformation I so desperately want in this world; transformation that includes freedom from poverty, injustice, violence, and oppression. I want to be a part of a world that resists fear and the violence it breeds and instead celebrates life and all the diversity that makes it so intoxicating. I want to wake up, for once, and be excited for the day ahead, the people I’ll meet, the positive actions that will transpire, and the change that necessarily will flow from the endless possibilities …

VoOF correspondents have a unique vantage point; they are able to touch thousands of people instantly with a perfect blend of emotion, relevance and persuasion – an ideal recipe for local and global transformation. I want to touch and get to know people who wake with a sense of hopelessness, despair and fear; I want to tell their stories; I want to participate in change at the global level; I want to help create constructive opportunities for people and invite them to ride this transformation train alongside me and all my World Pulse sisters so we can reach a place where we can put our babies to sleep and know that they are safe, that their mamas are safe, that their communities are safe, and that the world in which they live is safe.

I can do that … yes indeed!