May every day be International Women’s Day

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March 8, 2026 is International Women’s Day. A version of this day was first reported February 28, 1909 in New York City. Many countries make it a big holiday and ensure it is a day to appreciate the contribution women have made and their continuing fight for equality and safety. It seems strange that half the human population has to fight throughout history for basic rights that the other half enjoys.

We found these quotes of interest and worth a ponder:

“Women belong in all places where decisions are being made.” ~ Ruth Bader Ginsburg

“We all require and want respect. Man or woman, black or white. It’s our basic human right. ” ~ Aretha Franklin

“Men, their rights, and nothing more; women, their rights, and nothing less.” ~ Susan B. Anthony

“ It has been women who have breathed gentleness and care into the harsh progress of mankind.” ~ Queen Elizabeth II

One could argue that to thrive humankind needs an equitable present and future with women in all places where decisions are made.

Changing Systems

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“We cannot solve a crisis without treating it as a crisis….And if solutions within the system are impossible to find, then maybe we should change the system itself?” ~ Greta Thunberg, activist.

The systems of rules, laws and regulations we live by are made by man, meaning when our human-made systems interfere with the quality of life and treatment we thought inherent, then yes systems can and should change. Change, especially within systems be it a family system, a community system or a traffic system, the will of the people needs to be present to create relevant change. A wise or truth-telling person can be amongst us but until enough of us listen and begin to act on it, that wisdom and truth changes little.

It is hard for many of us, or even those before us to have been able to predict or prepare for the world and emerging systems that are dominating our lives right now. How could we? It seems dark energy has been used to work around the “mainstream and official” systems in place, creating unbelievable far-reaching oppressive ones. Trusting and law abiding citizens have had their trust used against them. Most of us are still digesting the depth and breadth of this corrupt world-wide system we are learning more about. Did we turn a blind eye to questionable things happening in our families, neighborhoods or countries over the years?

We do seem in a crisis. There are bigger words to use but ultimately this appears to be a global crisis. Slowly the layers are getting peeled back. Once past the shock we start to understand how our global systems paved the way for this dark system to get entrenched. Maybe we are thinking this is not fiction or conspiracy theories anymore but a shadow system that has been fed and growing for eons?

What to do? We rise by lifting others, and as one saying goes, “A rising tide lifts all boats”. May we each be part of that rising tide in our own corner of the world and care about all the boats, not just our own. To use our voices and our personal power to be the lift and the light for one another, illuminating the change we seek in all of our systems.

The Power of Mutual Trust

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Every kind of peaceful cooperation among (men) is primarily based on mutual trust and only secondarily on institutions such as courts of justice and police. –Albert Einstein

Quotes can be a wonderful way to slow us down and have us ponder. Thinking about it, when a group of people are working on something together, more can be accomplished and more quickly when they share a high level of trust. Trust takes time to develop as many of us know. Trust means we can rely on each other, that there is a shared understanding and respect, enhancing the cooperation and communication. Trust is foundational to genuine and solid relationships, at both the micro and macro levels.

Do we engage in the same way with those we do not trust? Trust partly grows over time and experience with a person or situation. Did we take trust for granted in our past? Is trust harder to gain these days? Growing up forty or more years ago did we live in a world where we mostly trusted people, from our parents, to friends, to any of the professionals or leaders we encountered? Or maybe trust wasn’t as common as some of us thought.

Does trust in our day-to-day life seem the same or different? Is it absent in some situations that we used to trust implicitly and now those same situations we question? One assumes we still share mutual trust with the people in our orbit we have trusted over the years. Do we?

Are we more careful now in terms of trust as we meet new people and do new things? In tumultuous times a lot depends on each one of us and how we choose to act and engage. If mutual trust is the basis for peaceful cooperation, it speaks to the powerful impact of trust, and that of being a trustworthy person.

Launching Ageilicious YouTube Channel

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As a nod to a new year coming, it seemed a good time to complete a longtime goal of setting up a youtube channel as a way to direct people to Anne’s productions. With tech changing so fast, the dvd copies of her work will be harder for people to find a way to play them. And a channel makes it easier to share. Hey, maybe the dvds become a speciality collector set of coasters! (Now that’s a quirky thought.)

AGEILICIOUS now has her own Channel that includes Why Get Married? the 2005 documentary appearing in 8 short “chapter” links and the TV pilot Quirky View parts 1 and 2 . Quirky View and Why Get Married? include guests from both NM and Newfoundland so you may recognize yourself or someone you know. Anne’s TED X TALK on cooperative producing is also available. And you may discover a few other project links there.

Check out our menu for the channel link, share it, and/or visit the channel directly here. https://ageilicious.com/ageilicious-youtube-channel/

Creating this channel feels like an important way to honor and share one’s work produced over the years. As part of aging deliciously it seems to matter how we share ourselves and our accomplishments, both past and present with others. Not to boast or be selfish, but to share with good spirit so there is more opportunity for connection in the now.

Yes No

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” When you say yes to others make sure you’re not saying no to yourself.” –– Paulo Coelho, Brazilian lyricist and novelist.

Sometimes we are asked to do something, help, run for office, to show up in some way which may be the right thing to do. Yet we also need to ask ourselves is it the right thing for me to be doing right now? It might be the right thing to do, but it actually may be better for someone else to do it, not us. That is an interesting way to check in with ourselves. In our earlier years we may not know what is the right thing for us to do for ourselves. We are still learning and figuring out that kind of stuff. We can’t learn without the experience of how some things feel or the effect they may have on us without us saying yes.

Maybe we want to be generous and kind towards others, yet again, we need to make sure our “tank” is full first. Or at least half full before we start offering our “yes” to others. This really is a reminder to check in with ourselves as we move along in our life. Our energy changes. Our inclinations toward how we can best contribute or participate changes or shifts. And the gifts we can offer as we move along in the living years changes too. We (hopefully) are a tad wiser with age, wisdom coming with knowledge and experience, and that wisdom is part of knowing when we can say yes to others without saying no to ourselves.

Hold the Moment

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These days we often are reminded to stay present, breathe, slow down, be in the now, be mindful; all are different ways to get our attention to be in our bodies. Of course we have to make plans into the future or we’d never get anything done, yet there is a way to be aware in the present as we plan ahead. And for dwelling in the past, we can find ourselves ruminating on something that happened months or years ago. The best place to spend as much time as possible is RIGHT NOW. That can mean savoring each detail of our cup of tea or coffee as we make it, from the cup we choose to our favorite spot to enjoy it. Or how we pay attention to our pet when they come to us for attention, maybe noticing the feel of their fur, eye contact and that tail action. As a human, often our thoughts are elsewhere rather than enjoying the simpleness of where we are and what we are doing right now.

Sometimes a special moment finds us, we feel it and want to capture it in our mind’s eye, to commit it to memory. Beyond reaching for a camera, we can remind ourselves to “Hold the moment”. Have you ever been in a situation you know you want to remember, and somehow give yourself a hint to be able to retrieve it when need be? Maybe your parents are dancing in the kitchen, or you have a laughing attack with a dear friend, or it is snowing the first day of summer. “Hold the moment” often pertains to the feeling inside of us the moment evokes. It seems another way to appreciate something special as it is happening right in front of us.

Fill Your Boots

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Here’s a sweet original British expression you might have heard, “Fill Your Boots”. It has a few meanings but generally it is accepted to mean enjoy yourself, take full advantage of an opportunity, or to do something with enthusiasm. It usually comes in the form of hearty encouragement from someone else, to another.

In contemplating a second helping of dessert, we might hear “Fill Your Boots”. It isn’t about holding back but encourages us to take and do more…take more good stuff for ourselves. Well maybe more dessert isn’t the best good stuff example, but this is the idea of us being encouraged by someone else to have or take something we might want. And it usually comes from a place of generosity too. It can pertain to most anything, be it things or an experience. Another expression along these same lines is “Have at it”, meaning go for it.

Newfoundland was part of Britain until 1949 when it became part of Canada. Of course Newfoundland to this day is steeped in their centuries of British traditions, language, and sayings. Fill Your Boots is just one of many.

Hey, maybe try it out on someone and see if it gets attention, or understanding. Or it might just get weird looks if they happen to be wearing sandals? HA

Growth

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Many of us keep our favorite sayings, quotes or wise thoughts in one place, be it a book or file , something we can easily find when in need of comfort or inspiration. Leo Tolstoy kept a collection of daily thoughts selected from the world’s sacred texts during his time, from late 1880s to early 1900s. Some of these texts were banned. Tolstoy collected and printed them in book form as “A Calendar of Wisdom”. This was his last published work, and censored for nearly a century, yet for him he saw these 365 pages as daily thoughts to nourish the soul.

British author Matt Haig in 2021 published what he calls The Comfort Book, made up of notes, proverbs and stories as his way to find wisdom and comfort during tough times. Below is from Matt on page 76, titled “Growth”, which seems in keeping with our aging deliciously theme and maybe a comfort for the times we find ourselves.

“We grow through hard times. Growth is change. And when everything is easy, we have no reason to change. The most painful moments in life expand us. And when the pain leaves, space remains. Space we can fill with life itself. “

When something rings true for us it can feel like wise comfort and hope. Books and words can be mentors to be kept near, and returned to often.

Frenzy

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It feels like we are in some kind of frenzy on the planet right now. Frenzy defined as a violent agitation, mania, a craze, temporary madness or delirium. Yes, that is what it can feel like when we hear all the goings on in this moment. Sometimes it can seem hard to discern what is what. If memory serves, we are not used to so much intense calamity piled on top of one another, again and again, over and over. Part of the calamity includes a sense of chaos without any grown up style resolution or problem solving. It feels like we are being constantly pummeled with never-ending gobsmacking events worldwide. We don’t want to become numb but it also is hard to be available daily to process the latest whatever and figure out what action or response might be ours to do. With constant news of chaos and violent acts, it can feel like a hate frenzy of some sort when taken in all at once. Overload and harsh.

And what happens to a frenzy? Does it wear itself out? Get something sobering poured on it suddenly to drop the voltage? And in the face of frenzy, what do the rest of us do? What is the opposite of being in a frenzy or part of one? Being in a calm, cool and collected place? Sounds like we need to pay attention to ourselves, or inner selves to stay in a calm, cool and collected state so as not to feed the frenzy around us, and in the world. And support others around us who also want to stay calm. We can support each other in a frenzied worldwide time. Maybe our calmer energy can help to quiet the frenzied energy? Let us trust that is how this works.

As Winston Churchill said, ” Stay Calm and Carry On”.