Hand in Hand, we touch the world!

I wrote this blog post for another site Iam on for International woman's day, back in early March. Just wanted to shared it.

"The woman who survives intact and happy must be at once tender and tough. She must have convinced herself or be in the unending process of convincing herself, that she, her values and her choices are important -Maya Angelou.

I hope that every woman can find the inner strength to reach their goals; the support to not walk alone and the opportunities to achieve and see their brilliance. I say to every woman, mother or not, that you can impact the next generation of girls and boys to have positive images of themselves, to affect our culture to protect and nurture the emotional lives of countless girls and boys, so they will grow up to be woman and man, hand in hand, with integrity, mutual respect and kindness towards each other.

As a seventh generation Australian Muslim woman, a Mother of three beautiful boys, I have great gratitude and feel honored to have many beautiful, kind women in my life. To my single Mother, who lives a life of upholding justice and one that services the under privilege. To my Sisters, in their varying characters, who give their best. To my friends, who always commit to the greater good of building stronger, healthy families and community. To the woman who I know and who have touched my life, who have inspired me or helped me, your advice, your achievements, your drive, in whatever form, I hope that you will never be discourage of being your true, unique self.

To educate a woman is to educate a family. A woman that looks after the next generation, in whatever capacity or approach, understanding her purpose, strengths, and goals, is truly a remarkable leader. She has insight in herself and passes this on to whoever she associates with.

To every woman that battles away in the home, in the work place, or in life in general, being truth to themselves and upholding good values, I hope and know that every day you give an honorable standing, a life worth lived. I hope and pray that we can, and will live in a world where no woman lives with violence, that she will be respected for her mind, and her body is honorable, and not to be exploited or touch without her will.

The woman leaders of tomorrow are being nurtured today, and you do have a huge impact on someone, somewhere. Never underestimate your contribution to the lives you touch. Any effort is never wasted, because together, hand in hand, we can change the world, by beliving in our selfs:)"

Totally Agree

I get some great emails, and I agree with the qualities this sister was writing about have a read. Enjoy! and put into practice!

Do you want to improve your life? Do you want to be more awesome, but just don’t know how to go about peeling off the unnecessary layers?
> I’ve put together a list of 79 ways you can improve your life which I will be sharing with you for the next few months.
>
> So share these gems with your family and friends and join my facebook page
> http://www.facebook.com/zakiaaftabusmani for more interesting articles and posts.
>
> Here we go!!!!!!
>
> 1. Care
> If you want to be awesome, you have to care. Care about the people around you and even people you’ve never met.
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> 2. Give Value
> We all have something to share. Always focus on what you can do for others. What do you love and what are you good at (or want to become good at)?
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> 3. Be honest
> Honesty feels good and is the right thing to do. But why do many choose to lie instead? Most often it’s because it makes their life easier, or does it? It usually might seem like it in the short-term, but in the long-term, honesty always wins.
>
> 4. Be honorable
> Be honorable and respectable. This means doing the right things, keeping promises and in general, being someone who does the right thing.
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> 5. Integrity
> Having integrity for me means being ethical and following a moral code that is both practical and benefits all of humanity. It’s idealistic, but it is certainly worth striving for, isn’t it?
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> 6. Follow your passion
> Find your passion and follow it. Never give up. There is always a way to make a living doing what you love. It may not come in the form you think, so be open-minded.
>
> 7. Take responsibility
> You are responsible for your life. There is no one to blame. If you’re not happy with your life or with your circumstances, you are the only one that can take responsibility and start changing it. What are you waiting for?
>
> 8. Be positive
> Being just a little bit more positive can mean a lot of things. Reading a good book, checking out positive quotations or even learning new skills that you enjoy. The possibilities are endless. Even though being positive is cliché and kind of irritating, it is still useful.
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> 9. Take action
> You can dream and you can wonder, but nothing happens without taking action consistently. You don’t have to be perfect. Learn as much as you need to know the next step and take action!
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> 10. Focus on your strengths
> Stop trying to fix your weaknesses. You can’t be perfect. Focus on your strength and let other people do what you’re bad at.
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> Wishing you the very best.
>
> Wassalam
> Zakia Usmani
> http://www.facebook.com/zakiaaftabusmani