WFWP Montana engages in discussions on self worth and celebrates life

Editor’s Note: WFWP Montana Representative Marguerite Felig organized two recent events in Billings, one virtual and one small in-person gathering, in an effort to spread positive inspiration and remind us to treasure ourselves during these uncertain times.

Here we are, men and women, boys and girls, and grandmas and grandpas held in isolation since March 2020. We are in need of inspiration not of our own making! Virtual media, like a long, long selfie stick, stretches far beyond my small and now extremely finite four walls. I’ve finally found some good ways to engage in one-on-one connections, and group meet-ups. If you’re like our Billings, Montana individuals and families, just invite Zoom and other social distancing platforms to add a welcome, timely intervention. As many users are already aware, they’re free and relatively easy to use. 

It was a breath of fresh air to use Zoom on May 9th, 2020 to connect nine WFWP Billings members for a gathering on the occasion of Mother’s Day, where we also featured the WFWP Leadership of the Heart educational curriculum.

 Participants shared kind and loving words, including beautiful poetry, in honor of their mothers at our first ever virtual meeting. This is one of the poems that a WFWP member had written himself and shared with the group: 

“Your Mother” 

by Melvin Terry

 Although you cannot hear her voice, 
Or see her smile no more,
Your mother walks beside you still, 
Just as she did before.
She listens to your stories, 
And she wipes away your tears.
She wraps her arms around you, 
And she understands your fears.
It’s just she isn’t visible to see with human eye, 
But talk to her in silence and her spirit will reply! 
You’ll feel the love she has for you, 
You’ll hear her in your heart. 
She left her human body, 
But your souls will never part.

The second half of our meeting was devoted to the Leadership of the Heart seminar series, as we dove into the content of Session 2, entitled “Self Worth.” Participants took time to reflect inwardly and were challenged by questions such as “Who am I, the true me?” and “What is my true value?”

This in-depth curriculum was a reminder to invest in our own sense of value and self-esteem through meditation, by developing the gifts our Creator has placed in our care and by recognizing the altogether loving aspects of the self. For many women, including myself, this time of isolation with family is the very best opportunity to make “My True Self” a priority! By identifying ways to enhance my self-worth and real value, I can improve my relationships with my husband and children and recognize my worth and unique value in the sight of my Creator.

Soon after our WFWP meeting, a WFWP member and I spoke of her concern for a neighbor who lived across the street, a ‘garden fence pal.’ They each would go out to do yard work, shovel snow and share pleasant, neighborly conversation. Michele grew worried because she hadn’t seen her neighbor in a while, but had received no news, so she asked the neighbor’s son about her. “Oh,” he told her, “She’s been sick in bed.” After a short while, relatives came to the neighbor’s home, and Michele found out they had come for her funeral. Michele told me she was so sorry she hadn’t known her neighbor’s illness was serious, or she would have visited and comforted her.

In a state near Montana, the spiritual distance, lack of compassion and absence of “Love your Neighbor as Yourself” and “Walk a Mile in the Shoes of Another” were all too evident in the actions of people who should have been trustworthy and responsible. A person was murdered through negligence by police in Minneapolis. Since then, oceans of demonstrations and tide pools of universal outrage, mainly peaceful and focused on respect for ALL HUMAN LIFE, have been flooding into our living rooms in the news. Here in Billings, one such out-pouring brought more than 1,000 people together to show their non-violent response to a brutal act.

Life is a gift, but not a frivolous, ostentatious gift. Life is of the utmost importance, and that’s why, with some members and friends of WFWP, I joyfully attended Mother Pinkie Scott’s 86th birthday on June 7th. It was also a potluck lunch, and ‘Mother’ Scott, so named because she’s a mother to everyone who knows her and to many she doesn’t yet know, made her signature Deep South dishes: slow-cooked cabbage, ham hocks and beans (my favorite), and her famous, unforgettable peach cobbler. The image at the top features Mother Scott (in the center) and WFWP ladies Fusako, Kimiko, Rie, myself and Blanche at the birthday celebration.

From Billings, Montana, to you, as we begin to emerge from the more isolated stages of COVID-19, please remember to stay safe and keep connecting with those whose lives bring you joy at home, at work and in your community with WFWP. Live with joy for the sake of others, and don’t forget to TREASURE YOU and your WORTH as a divine creation!