Her name is Tipper because on the tips of both of her back paws is a little white patch. She’s from Sheila’s latest litter, one of 4 females. She was the one who always came up to me when I passed by and I couldn’t resist her. Of course my Dad and I wanted a dog but we don’t have a proper fence and I don’t like the idea of chaining a dog…it should be free to roam the yard.

But I just had to have her.

When I caught her and brought her home, I cleaned her up a little bit because she was sticky with food. I could feel her spine she was so thin. Not as thin as her mama but that’s a different post.  She was also shaking.

So I rechristened one of the kitchen towels as “Tipper’s towel.”  When Dad came home she had just scouted the place and found a little corner to sit. He recommended we use one of his old pants as a bed and she seemed to like the idea.

She’s about 6 weeks old and she is still getting used to her new environment. She had no problem eating and the cats that adopted us will now realize who’s the priority now. I am a little scared because I’m taking responsibility for another being other than myself. I think it’s time

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Dianne Dixon, CAPM, Entrepreneur, Farmer, Blogger and Author of the Jamaican Foods Min-E-Book. She writes on a variety of subjects including Health & Wellness, Personal Development, Career & more! Follow her on Twitter: @Transitionyte

Dianne

Wednesday, July 6, 2011
So this morning, I got awakened by the bane of my existence and even now, he’s crowing like a little bastard. I have the theme to “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka” running through my head because, really, he needs to wind up on my plate.
Yesterday, I stepped on the bus for the first time and I have to say, it was an experience. Since we have no transportation, the bus is the only way for us to head into downtown. I had to take care of my paperwork so that I can get access to my money and get my paperwork done.

I told my Dad that I was so glad he walked me through this because I didn’t know anything. It’s just good to benefit from his knowledge. So we went uptown, downtown and got paperwork plus food stuff, plus waterboots…there was a pretty good list.
I withdrew $10K from the bank and at the end of the day, I only had about $2000 left. Money works differently here. What I used to pay here has to be divided by 84 or 85 to get the American equivalent so I’m constantly doing that just to get some perspective. Because of that, I’m seeing that things wind up being cheaper here than there which means that my money goes a lot farther here. That coupled with the fact that I don’t have to shop for fruits/veggies because I’m in farming means my money stretches even farther. I will have to shell out some money to get my packages tomorrow but I expected that.

We are going to get some tomatoes and chicken as well but for now, we have enough meat for the two of us. But I have to say, the concept of growing what you eat is highly attractive because having gone to school, worked and lived in Miami for most of my life and battling through the crap of corporate America, I am realizing more and more that opportunity is EVERYWHERE in this world and that Profits beat Wages everyday of the week. I will be working on travelling because that’s a part of the reason why I made this radical change but for now, I am decompressing, relaxing, acclimating and just getting as far away from the old life I lived. I, in some ways, have to let it die so that I may live the life of abundance and travel that I want to live. I want to and need to just separate myself, take care of myself, protect myself. I draw from the lessons and experiences from the old chapter and am just looking at the world as a free woman versus being a stressed out “must work to pay the bills” prisoner. My Dad was right; I felt like a prisoner in the US and I didn’t realize it until I decided to leave. Miss some conveniences but I will adjust.
Another thing I learned was that they don’t have Waterboots for women. Not many women, if any, go into farming. I was called a Female Farmer. What can I say except “Yes, I am a little different.”
Anyway, we did our thing yesterday and then on the way to the bus, it rained, and I mean POURED. Visibility was poor, all windows were closed so the windows inside started to fog because of all the people but we had to weight. When we got moving, we saw that the roads were flooded. We’re talking the “No-Name storm that hit Miami when I was in college and flooded Sweetwater” flooded. Cars were on the side of the road with their hazards on because they just couldn’t make it through some spots. Now, I’m up in the mountains so you would think that the water would just slip down. Nope, it sits there and most likely dissolves the roads to the “pot hole” stage. There is no runoff here. Of course, like Miami, you have some people who are speeding down and you have to wonder, why would you speed down a hill when the roads are wet and there is no railing to prevent you from going down into the gully? Seriously?
So we got home and had dinner and by 8:30 – 9pm I was ready to head to bed thanks to that 4 o’clock cock that just couldn’t let me rest. Oh yes, one day, bird, one day. I got up, had some business ideas, put them on paper and my dad and I had a discussion around 5am. He enlightened me about he thinks my ideas are sound but I just had to remember that I wasn’t dealing with progressive people. The older want status quo but the younger may be the way to go. We’ll see.
So I took a shower, ate and went with my dad to the farm. I helped him weed and tend to the goats in my waterboots. It was so peaceful and quiet. We climbed, worked and just talked. I told him I needed a machete because really, hand weeding is just not working. He said, yes, I would get one but he would have to teach me how to use it or I would lose a limb. As I intend to remain intact, I’m all for the idea. I got my gloves, did my weeding and my hands were so dirty. Then my Dad got philosophical and religious about the earth. I said Yes, I agree, but I’m still a woman and my nails are dirty. It was not an indictment of working the land, just a factual observation. I was hot, sweaty, my hands were dirty and the “Farm-Master” gave me a passing grade for my first day of farming. So he cut some callaloo for dinner and got some of the herb that I want to dry and sell. This herb grows wild here but because many don’t know what it is, it’s considered a weed. Thanks to my great-grandmother, whom I never met, my father showed me. Now it’s being air dried so that I can get it ready for testing aka eating J
Met some other neighbors who keep reminding how much I looked like my father. Jury’s still out whether that’s good or not.
I got home and I just had to take a shower because really, I’m a woman and the rest of the day, I just need to read and get some ideas on paper.
I went to one of the neighbors to return some onions and ask for a breadfruit to be roasted and as I was walking away I was stopped. Apparently my farming adventures brought some unwanted passengers on the back of my legs. I had felt something but didn’t put two and two together until I showed up with a pair of shorts at the neighbor’s house. I told my father and his words were “Two Ticks? Welcome a bush!” Apparently, all it took for me to have two bloodsucking insects attached to my leg for the initiation to be complete. Who knew?

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Dianne Dixon, CAPM, Entrepreneur, Farmer, Blogger and Author of the Jamaican Foods Min-E-Book. She writes on a variety of subjects including Health & Wellness, Personal Development, Career & more! Follow her on Twitter: @Transitionyte

Dianne

Tuesday July 5, 2011

Yesterday was a pretty hectic day walking around, taking stock of the lands so I was pretty tired. I think I fell asleep before I hit the bed. This was about 9-9:30p(Jamaica doesn’t have Daylight Savings time so we are 1 hr behind East Coast time right now)

Blissfully sound asleep, what do I hear?: Er-er-er-Errrrrr. I’ve decided that the onomatopoeia we learn as children is wholly inaccurate especially when it comes to chicken. So is the idea that they only make noise when the sun is about to rise. BULLSHIT!

They sound like some guy trying to fake a cock-a-doodle-doo and is about to go hoarse because he’s failing miserably. Except that these are chickens and they aren’t getting hoarse! I was trying to convince my dad to take them out. According to him, they are wild. Their owner moved and left them behind. So, I said, No one would miss them. BUT they are hard to catch. This requires gaming skills beyond those of Wile-E-Coyote because really, skill-less as I am, I see me with an anvil on my head trying to catch these suckers.

Then one of them has the NERVE to come up to my window and make his presence known. I told my father, these cocks must die. After some discussion where he made me aware that’s what they do and how catching them would be difficult, I made it clear that the only bird I like is the one that’s on my plate, he then called me cruel. To which my response is “And?”

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Dianne Dixon, CAPM, Entrepreneur, Farmer, Blogger and Author of the Jamaican Foods Min-E-Book. She writes on a variety of subjects including Health & Wellness, Personal Development, Career & more! Follow her on Twitter: @Transitionyte

Dianne

_________________
Dianne Dixon, CAPM, Entrepreneur, Farmer, Blogger and Author of the Jamaican Foods Min-E-Book. She writes on a variety of subjects including Health & Wellness, Personal Development, Career & more! Follow her on Twitter: @Transitionyte

Dianne

Every time the Olympics roll around, I get excited to see the world’s best athletes slug it out. I get to enjoy watching my favorite events, cheer, scream at the TV, and discover some new favorite athletes to keep my eyes on.

What I was not expecting was to be subject to witless punditry and third-rate broadcasting. It’s one thing to have your take on the Olympic Games; it’s another to force it on everyone by robbing us of right to enjoy these two weeks.

In your effort to dominate in covering the London 2012 games, you seem to have forgotten a few things:

1. You lack the experience, quality coverage and real estate – I grew up watching NBC’s coverage. The reception was so clear the sound was so clear that I felt like I was there. While it was long on speaking, they had the necessary affiliates. If I didn’t want to hear Bob Costas talk about something, all I did was change the channel to another event. The point is I didn’t have to be subjected to constant jabbering when what I wanted was to see the competition. You have ONE CHANNEL that is fuzzy, grainy and at times, inaudible. A single channel with such poor reception for the Olympics is nothing and had you really grasped the gravity of this event, you would have realized that you lacked the capacity to really do right by these games.
2. You talk too much – Your attempt at analysis and banter is unimaginative, boring and superfluous. The point of the Olympics is to watch the games, not to have some of your pundits belabor a point until it’s dead and decomposing. And in your talking you mention multiple times the number of events that are happening. Here’s a radical concept: Show the events instead of talking about them. Like I said, radical
3. You constantly disturb coverage at the most crucial moments – Imagine watching a replay of the opening ceremonies, getting to the skit between The Queen and Daniel Craig only to be rudely and abruptly interrupted by lottery results. Seriously? Here’s another crazy idea: how about streaming the lotto results in the crawler and keeping the continuity of the coverage thereby preserving the experience. That would show the audience that you had enough respect for the games and what they mean to those of us who enjoy this time of year.
4. Your programming is inconsistent – You say you’re going to show one thing and show another. Case and point: I remember watching the start of the men’s gymnastics final and there was that sudden, rude commercial break in. Now, you would think after they’ve shown all the commercials (some of them twice) they would go back to gymnastics. But that would be too much to hope for. We were taken to beach volleyball.  While I enjoy both sports, your failure to keep your programming straight left such a bad taste.
5. Your insecurity about the giving viewer a choice– This above all of the others truly disgusts me. In your poorly constructed effort to be more than you are capable of being, you turn off NBC channels separating us from potentially superior Olympic coverage. I pay for my cable. I pay for those channels. By turning off the channels I pay for, I am NOT getting the service for which I pay. So whom do I speak to at your company about getting my money back for those days and times for which I have no NBC programming?  You robbed me of my right to choose where I watch the Olympics and that tells me a couple of things:
   1. You know that your coverage is rubbish and don’t want the competition because you fear losing your audience
   2. You are more interested in showcasing your “panel of experts” and have them chat ad nauseum about stats, betting odds and whatever else will kill more airtime.

Having seen your CVM Television Facebook page and reading the litany of curses and recriminations, people are getting more and more fed up with you by the second.  I looked forward to the laughter, tears, suspense, frustration, thrill and even the sadness that is the Olympics. Thanks to your substandard and myopic coverage you have poisoned that experience. The saddest thing is that I am not surprised this happened. When it comes to customer service, you get gold, silver and bronze in over-promising and under-delivering.

Do I think that your management team should be ashamed of themselves, give people back their right to choose their coverage and beg the Jamaican people for forgiveness?

Absolutely.

But your pride will prevent you from truly making things right. You’ll hide behind contractual obligations, skewed so-called increased viewership, exclusive rights, attempt to save face by claiming you’ve “handled” the complaints before ever admitting that your coverage of London 2012 is a fiasco.

So to the management team of CVM Television I would say don’t worry about it and look on the bright side: I couldn’t possibly think any less of you than I already do.

Then again, it’s still early…

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Dianne Dixon, CAPM, Entrepreneur, Farmer, Blogger and Author of the Jamaican Foods Min-E-Book. She writes on a variety of subjects including Health & Wellness, Personal Development, Career & more! Follow her on Twitter: @Transitionyte

Dianne

Money has always been an issue in my life ever since I was a child. My parents moved from Jamaica to America in search of a better life. Working hard to achieve the American Dream, being broke became a recurring theme from my childhood all the way up.

My parents worked hard, long hours while I went to school but there never seemed to be enough money. When I got old enough, I worked and because things were tough I sometimes had to take on two jobs to pay for my tuition and books using short term loans to buy more time. Making Washington scream was something I learned to do because I was built and bred on survival.

As an adult, I went through some of the most terrible times with money. It all came to a head in 2003 when I dropped to bottom. I was exhausted, stressed, worried and at the heart of that was lack of money…or so I thought.

Earlier this year, I had a major breakthrough. I have been working on myself really, taking care of my being, creating this life that I want to live but the one aspect of my life that I couldn’t get a handle on was money. It was always so elusive. I would hesitate to mention it, talk about, ask for it. This seemed strange to me because money is a reality I needed to face if I wanted to live a life of abundance. No matter how much I worked, slaved, money always ‘ran out’.

I sat back and really just dug deep, deeper than I had ever gone on this subject; there was no backing out because that meant I was hiding myself.  I thought about my relationship to and with money and this time, a light bulb went off. Since money was such a struggle, when I asked for money for books or tuition from my parents, it was always this heavy sigh which I took to mean ‘burden.’ My financial need was a burden. When I got older and just lost my job or was laid off, money would be scant. I considered myself a burden because I didn’t have money.

That was a realization I never had before.

I equated my self-worth with my bank account. I thought that when I was financially strapped, I was too much of a burden to date or even consider dating. I was afraid that if I asked for help, that meant I wasn’t inadequate.  So when financial tightness kept happening, I would shut myself off and live alone with my ‘unworthiness.’

I was floored because now, I had a reason for what I was feeling. Because I was young and needed financial help from my parents that meant that I was a burden.  I was scared of money because its absence meant that I was not good enough.

So one of the first steps I took was to forgive my parents. Just because they were unskilled in the money arena didn’t mean that I was a burden.  It meant that they didn’t know how to really have a beneficial relationship with money.

Then I really just had a chat with myself and awakened to the fact that what I had within me was more than all the money in the world. I would no longer be frightened of money or of having a money conversation. That fear was what was keeping money away from me. So once I realized I was living in poverty-consciousness, I was able to make a switch to money consciousness which would help me to attract the circumstances to create more financial abundance.

Finally, I decided to initiate a re-parenting. I took responsibility for myself and decided that I would provide for me in a way that my parents couldn’t. I was going to take a stand for my financial abundance, declare it as mine and trust that the steps I take would lead me to where I wanted to go.

It’s an ongoing process that meant I was going to have to monitor my internal conversation and triggers but not long after that, I found my first set of clients, one of which turned into a long term project who recommended to potential second client.

It’s still a challenge but whenever that issue comes up, I’m able to handle it more effectively.

So what’s your relationship with money like? How are you letting money determine your worth? Leave a comment below!

_________________
Dianne Dixon, CAPM, Entrepreneur, Farmer, Blogger and Author of the Jamaican Foods Min-E-Book. She writes on a variety of subjects including Health & Wellness, Personal Development, Career & more! Follow her on Twitter: @Transitionyte

Dianne

Part of the reason why I moved back to the country I barely know or remember was because I knew that I would be able to do more and have an easier time doing it than in the US. I decided to do farming because I had always felt like the food I got in the US was just not as nutritious as it should have been because farmers there grow for yield and not for taste or health or value.

Then I saw the documentary Food, Inc. and that clinched it.

I also had this strange feeling that with the world economic crisis being what it was, food prices would continue to increase and, quite frankly I wanted to be on the producer end where I could not only feed myself but sell to the local market at farmer’s price.  Granted, toilet paper doesn’t grow on trees so I would have to buy certain amenities but raising my own livestock, growing my own fruits and vegetables meant I wouldn’t have to go too far to “shop” for certain foods.

So in light of all this, imagine my “surprise”, if you will, when my father shows me the May 25, 2012 Gleaner that stated that in order for the country grow and develop, the General Consumption Tax, GCT, would now be added on to basic foods that were previously exempt. These include eggs, Jamaican patties, live birds, animal feed, milk-based products, biscuits,…

Now, to a lot of people this sounds like no big deal. I mean, you all go to Starbucks with US$20 so US$1-US$2 is nothing, right? Well let me put some other factors into the mix. Jamaica is a developing nation where illiteracy is high and so is unemployment and some types of crime. It is more agrarian than industrial so wages here tend to be a lot lower with barely any adjustments should the market sneeze.

People may make a little money here and there to help pay for food and bills. Not everyone has a car and a lot of people need to rely on buses and taxis to get from point A to point B. There is a lot of walking in the hot tropical sun for a lot of people, myself included.

Now, because of unemployment, many people have turned to selling in the markets; essentially they’ve created their own jobs as higglers and street vendors. Points to them for taking lemons and making lemonade. They sell fruits, vegetables, legumes, hygiene products, shoes, from their carts and are an important part of the Jamaican grocery shopping experience.

What’s been happening is that the police who shop with these street vendors are running them and taking away their carts because they’re not supposed to be selling there in the market.  These people have basically been forced into entrepreneurship and are having their means on income smashed, locked up, etc. without any consideration of they have accomplished. Obviously, the law needs to deal with this but, that’s another post altogether.

Now, this entrepreneurship can be someone’s only means of income. So say they are selling and they have about $300 for lunch. For J$200 (which is a little over US$2), they could buy a Jamaican patty when they get hungry plus a drink and maybe get some change. Now, that Jamaican patty is now subject to and additional GCT along with any fruit or vegetable being sold in the market. As a result, they may need to raise their prices, may not make as many sales and that J$300 they had before for lunch may be half of what it was.

What the current government is doing is reducing the GCT from 17.5% to 16.5% and widening the taxable base; Some people will bob their heads and say, “they reduced the GCT” but basically, they are making up the 1 percentage point decrease on volume!

So those little food items people would get is going to cost them more and the same money they would have used to buy their groceries will now buy less. For those who are working, their wages will not increase to compensate for this change.

But when looking at the numbers and what’s now subject to GCT, I can’t help but see what’s NOT being mentioned. Licensing vehicles for fitness and getting plates are now subject to a 50% increase.  That coupled with a possible increase in the price of gas means that fares will have increase and as there is no school bus system, getting kids to school will now cost more in addition to home food prices. I was speaking to a neighbor who has a special needs child and a son who is going to tertiary level. The price of school books will increase. I went to university and remember paying over US$100 for my books (that’s plural) and selling them back for maybe half of that. I thought it was a racket but there was an established method in place in the US.

Jamaica doesn’t have that.

But what really strikes me is that Jamaica has no capacity to deal with special needs students. People have to pay for school here; it’s not like the US where you get your bus schedule, get picked up and go to school with your lunch money. Here, people need to pay for  their terms and special needs is not a part of that. My neighbor has to pay J$25,000 per term for private schooling to make sure her daughter gets the education she needs. But, what about those who could barely afford regular school for their children (again,  plural) who now have to face the rising cost of food (and growing children tend to inhale food), transportation and no rise in salary if they are employed?

You see people look at the numbers and say, that 1ppt decrease is good faith. I see things a little differently. This is the kind of “shit rolls down the hill” trickle down economics that will bring tears of anger and frustration. The little things add up and you’re left with a bigger problem than when you started.

I’m no financial analyst; accounting scares me and economics is better debated by Alan Greenspan and those of that ilk. However, as a former marketing analyst for a major retail corporation I was taught that the numbers tell a story. From what I’m seeing, the numbers are telling me that things are going to get more frustrating if this plan goes through as it stands. My father predicts rioting and I hate to think he’s right but…I have a feeling he’s not wrong.

My father and I are working on creating a situation where we only have to do a supply run once a month. It will take a little time but that’s one of our goals because if my father is right, the less I see of Montego Bay, the better, the safer.

Let’s see how this goes…

******************************UPDATE*****************************

Well, as my father puts it, the game is afoot! GCT is now 16.5% and the taxable base has been expanded. In the meantime, we’re planning where to plant some pineapple seedlings we got from a neighbor.

_________________
Dianne Dixon, CAPM, Entrepreneur, Farmer, Blogger and Author of the Jamaican Foods Min-E-Book. She writes on a variety of subjects including Health & Wellness, Personal Development, Career & more! Follow her on Twitter: @Transitionyte

Dianne

This weekend was just a little disappointing. We have been building this house and while last week, the posts were laid, this week was supposed to be the erection of my room. For over a month I have been sharing a space with my Dad.

He snores and there are nights when I can’t even hope for a good night’s sleep. He’ll try to turn on his side but even the little barricade between us vibrates (Ok, so maybe it didn’t do that but you get my drift)

So this morning I said to myself, at least I’ll be one step closer to having my own room so that I can continue writing those steamy love scenes for this story I created in my Facebook group without my father asking “Why are you smirking?” (Seriously, there are just some things that my father should not ask and there are certain times when he should not ask them)

Well, as it turns out the guy who’s helping us with the house can’t make it this week because he has a problem with his roof, his wife is not happy, etc. I like the guy, I really do and when he’s helped us, he’s been present accounted for and shares his vision. But the fact that he has problems with time management is not something I quickly and readily embrace. I am used to, “you take care of your shit and do what you say you’re going to do when you’re going to do it.”

That piece of news, mixed with the lack of sleep from snoring, with a touch of it’s hot, I’m sweaty, smelly, covered in grit because I’m roughing it in a house that’s not even half built just got to me. I was not my positive, see the glass as full, light at the end of the tunnel self. I was cranky and hot and just not having it.

I do not question my move to Jamaica by any means but I was questioning why I was not getting what I wanted and needed at this time? I’m always smoky, hot, sticky, gritty, and just “unpretty” wondering why nothing could be clean or nice. I just wanted to have my own space where I can move my little bed in, have some alone time, privacy and not have my every breath overheard.

Now my Dad had decided to take a bath at the local spring and I thought it was a great idea but which shorts was I going to wear. I was even a bit cranky about that. Well, we got to the spring, loaded up our water bottles and then I stepped in. It was so cool. My father moved to a spot further down  and suggested I sit at the mouth of the spring, where the flow was strongest.

I did and I was in heaven. I was starting to feel refreshed, clean, just a little more like me and that’s when I started to get more perspective. The power of water is amazing in its ability to flow and move.  You put a body in front of it, as an obstacle, and it just flows over and around and under; it doesn’t let anything stop it.

If I am ever going to survive this transition in one sane piece, I have to be like water. Obstacles will come but like water, just keep going around, under, over until you reach your goal. I am a firm believer that the journey is more important than the destination but being inherently impatient and goal-oriented sometimes I forget (or ignore) this.

Creating a life the way you want on your terms can be sometimes inconvenient, sweaty, gritty, frustrating. You may have to do things you don’t necessarily want to do including embracing ‘the ugly.’ No one said that creating your own path would be rose petals and mimosas everyday but I have the feeling that the story I’m creating is a meaningful one that will ultimately lead to my goal of realizing abundance in all areas.

So for now, I am embracing the ugly and letting the cool spring just cleanse me of my frustrations, grit, impatience, tiredness.

You know, it’s not so bad now that I think about it…

_________________
Dianne Dixon, CAPM, Entrepreneur, Farmer, Blogger and Author of the Jamaican Foods Min-E-Book. She writes on a variety of subjects including Health & Wellness, Personal Development, Career & more! Follow her on Twitter: @Transitionyte

Dianne

Life in Jamaica has been interesting to say the least but this morning was just a classic example of what it means to rough it!

As some may know, I’m in the process of building a house. My Dad and I relish the day when we just lay in our rooms and just enjoy the fact that we have no rent to pay, no mortgage to deal with and the house is ours to do whatever we please. There are some who will never really know what it feels like. That’s the part of the American Dream I knew I wasn’t going to have in America.

Because the house is in “flux” we don’t have proper electricity or water yet so we’ve had to make do and have been granted help from some of our neighbors who are really pulling for us to get this done. One of the major obstacles is water.

Now Jamaica, as a developing country, has not grasped the concept of “water is life.”  There are some communities where people have not had proper water for months and have had to schlep miles to get a few jugs a few times a day. My view is that instead of burying people under paper pushing and perennial circumlocution, make the process simple and easy.

In any case, we  had permission from our neighbor to use her pipe to get water for drinking, cleanliness, cooking and you know, we have been grateful. Then yesterday, my father says they are complaining about us using the water because water is expensive. So they are, in essence, rescinding the invitation because really water is expensive.

In reality it is but had they come to us about helping with the cost since we needed to use it, there would have been no problem.  We would have happily, gratefully contributed to the pot because we really appreciate it. But that was not the message. Now, this is the long line of “grievances” we’ve had with this family because they give me the impression that they are above it all, pious and even sanctimonious in their existence because well, they live in America.

Yes, well, let’s just leave that last one alone, shall we?

So yesterday, we walked over to the community water pipe which is not too far away from our house but far enough that we realize it and got our water. But this morning, we were tired and thought, you know, we need water, we had a lot to get done. Why don’t we hit it one more time IF the circumstances are right.

That was the beginning of Operation: Water-More

Here is a picture of the dog Sheila. Just a little background on her and her “role”:

When my father and I rented the house next door, we met Sheila. She acted like a vicious yard dog but seriously, she’s just a sweetheart begging for belly rubs.

She would get scraps from us and sometimes that’s all she would have to eat for the day because she wasn’t being fed properly. She’s STILL not being fed. Sheila just had her second set of puppies about two months ago. There were about six or seven in the litter and that little one just beneath her belly is the only one left. The rest died. We would feed her, she would feed him but her owner would leave for days at a time. Sheila would get no food, her ribs were (and still are) sticking out, she’s loaded with fleas (so’s junior) and when she saw me or my Dad with food, it was like we were saving her life. Her head would be down in the pot licking every last morsel. We know this because we watch her.

So to start of this not-so-military operation, I took some food for Sheila. My job was recon, to see if her “caregiver” was around. We hadn’t heard anything all morning but wanted to make sure.

I went with the pot of food and Sheila was just chomping at the bit for it because in all likelihood, she hadn’t been fed too much yesterday. When I saw the coast was clear, I called my Dad:

Dad: Hello

Me: The pigeon has flown the coop. Repeat. The pigeon has flown the coop

Dad: *silence* I’ll be right there.

So we filled up our bucket and waterbottles and went our way.

Now, I laugh at this scenario even now because seriously, we had to go (pseudo) military to get an essential item we as humans need.  But at the same time, I think I now have a better understanding of what some Jamaicans are feeling.

My father was telling me about how Jamaica used to be when he grew up here. The idea of neighbors helping neighbors didn’t burn so much. Something as essential as water was not a bargaining chip. It’s because this country has been burned so many times by corrupt politicians that were more about their status and bank accounts than about helping the nation that people have to beg, borrow, steal, wheel and deal.

Jamaica used to be a rich country. It already has a rich history but I meant it was a country whose growth was spectacular. Then in just a year, it took a hard 180 and has yet to come back. Trying to recover from that left it vulnerable to predatory practices like scamming. Its name is being dragged through the mud as it slowly become the Nigeria of the Caribbean.  The country is descending deeper and deeper into illiteracy, unemployment, poverty and ignorance.

Where I am, a few miles outside of Montego Bay in the mountains we are seeing some of that and it’s growing. I question whether the country will ever recover but after seeing the changes that Brazil made, I’m a bit hopeful. The question is whether Jamaica is ready for that kind of change.

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Dianne Dixon, CAPM, Entrepreneur, Farmer, Blogger and Author of the Jamaican Foods Min-E-Book. She writes on a variety of subjects including Health & Wellness, Personal Development, Career & more! Follow her on Twitter: @Transitionyte

Dianne

In my previous post Women & Misogyny: How We Women Contribute To The Hateful Conversation, I asked how we can expect to be valued by others if we don’t value ourselves. Of course, the short answer is that we can’t.

When I was thinking about this, I remembered this scenario/story someone told me about a while back. You put a fly in a clear jar with a clear lid. Now, like any free animal that’s been put in jail, it will try to fly away. Of course it will always hit the glass lid but it keeps trying. Eventually, it stops trying because it’s hurt itself too much and doesn’t want to do that anymore.

Then one day someone removes the lid.

Now you would think that it would fly away, right? It doesn’t because it was conditioned to believe that the lid would always be there so it doesn’t realize it has a choice.

We have been taught that we are the weaker sex, that we are less than men, deserve to be paid less, less choices, less rights, we can do no better so why expect it?

For a long time these ideas were accepted but lately a few of us have decided that that’s not good enough. In essence, we realized that someone’s removed the lid.

We have started businesses, headed businesses, made key scientific discoveries , written masterpieces that stand the test of time, some of us have even ruled nations. To accomplish this, some male resistance is expected because having a woman in charge is an affront to manhood and decency, or so they say. But the one point of resistance that we’re not prepared for is from other women.

Much like Jacob Marley’s chains, the legacy we forged link by link is a weight we are told we must carry if we are to be considered ‘women.’ It must be unbroken and any attempt to break free won’t be tolerated. Some of us are shunned, ridiculed, berated, stoned, threatened and even killed by other women for breaking through.

Despite all of that the awakening is happening. We realize that it is not for us to live the un-lived lives of our mothers and grandmothers. Who we were taught to be, who they said we were, the value they told us we had, it was all lies. WE decide who we are, WE decide our value, WE HAVE CHOICES!

So in order for us to continue break free and to change the conversation, what must we do?

• Educate ourselves – In March I wrote an article for Amazing Women Rock that looked at lessons the rest of the world can learn from the top 5 nations who managed to achieve gender parity and among all of them women were equal to men, even surpassed men when it came to education. Education, formal and informal, opens doors, creates opportunities, expands the mind. Educating ourselves about the world, literature, even about our bodies, minds, spirits, takes us higher.
• Educate our children – Yes, I mean both boys and girls. They both need to be taught how to respect themselves and others from the cradle up. If we teach children more be confident, intelligent, considerate human beings and to treat others and themselves with respect and dignity, how differently the world would be if/when they become parents.
• Take a stand for ourselves – Martyrdom has too long been the way of womanhood. Disappearing ourselves for the sake of our families/friends/lovers, we’ve lost touch with our own needs. The need to be loved, cared for, to replenish ourselves are all valid and necessary. Having a healthy sense of entitlement and asking for what we want is no longer a luxury. It’s a necessity if we are to not live a life of regret because we realize that we don’t really know who we are.
• Look at ourselves in the mirror – I was just talking to a friend about how some women refuse to look at themselves in the mirror, that they only exist from the neck up. Even then they can’t look at themselves in the eyes. Our self-hatred is killing us, figuratively and literally. We ignore our bodies and the signals it’s trying to give us about our health. We are too busy wishing our bodies thinner, our breasts larger, less cellulite on our thighs…it’s no wonder we can’t look at ourselves in the mirror. I challenge any woman to stand naked and look at herself in the mirror for just one minute and listen to how she speaks about her own body. Would you tolerate anyone else speaking to you that way?
• Know that we have choices – Many of us are born to expectations, circumstances, all of the things that are beyond our control without realizing that we have choices. It’s not until we are older that we catch on and are strong enough to risk disappointing, angering, alienating…whomever because to go on how we have been would mean disaster. We have at least two choices at all times: To or Not. It’s important that we don’t disempower ourselves by thinking we don’t have a choice. They may not be easy, they may not be nice, but we always have choices

I know that all of these look nice in black and white and when it comes to doing them, it’s a different story.  You know what they say about Rome, right? Well I suspect taking it apart will take at least twice as long  Like Gandhi said, we must be the change we want to see in the world. Changing ourselves is the easiest way to change the conversation we have to and about ourselves to and about each other.

So what other steps do you think women need to take to really change the conversation? Submit your thoughts in the comments below.

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Dianne Dixon, CAPM, Entrepreneur, Farmer, Blogger and Author of the Jamaican Foods Min-E-Book. She writes on a variety of subjects including Health & Wellness, Personal Development, Career & more! Follow her on Twitter: @Transitionyte

Dianne