Cesar Chavez by Claudia Romo Edelman

Who was Cesar Chavez? - activist.  

Cesar Chavez (1927-1993) was born in Yuma, Arizona, where his grandfather started a business which gave the family a decent living but then the Great Depression came and a terrible drought of 1933 which affected all. The parents made the best effort to create a stable home. The father created toy cars out of sardine cans, and his mom “baked pies out of nothing.” She was a woman full of wisdom which she passed on to her children.

In February 1939, when the family was pushed off their land, they set off for California as many other families did from Midwest due to the Dust Bowl.

The Chavez family settled in San Jose. There, families of farmworkers crowded into small, run-down houses.

Young Cesar worked alongside his family to help make money.

Cesar and his brother often had to go to school without shoes, often wearing mismatched socks, and being teased. The mother who never learned how to read and write pushed the children to go to school as much as possible.

Many of the schools were segregated, and there was no accountability for teachers how they acted toward segregated children. Because of the racist remarks, Cesar didn’t like going to school. He was happier earning some money.

Even though, the family was often desperate to make money, the parents still had the courage to fight for their dignity by refusing to take abuse from employers. These were Cesar’s first exposure of protest. If what they wanted wasn’t corrected, then they’d leave, which took great courage.

When his father had a car accident, Cesar didn’t want his mother to work. So after finishing eighth grade, he became full-time farmworker.

In 1944, at seventeen, he enlisted in the US Navy. He worked as a deckhand. He hated the strictness. He called his two years in the navy the worst of his life.

The strictness of the navy pushed him to explore freedom. One day, despite being very frightened, he refused to sit in a section reserved for Mexicans at a movie theater.

After returning from the navy, he married his girlfriend, Helen Fabela. After their honeymoon, they moved to different places in search of work.

When they returned to San Jose, they met a Catholic priest Father Donald McDonnell who introduced Cesar to important books about justice, worker’s rights, nonviolence, and historical figures who fought for justice. Cesar became fascinated with Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolence. Gandhi’s work had enormous impact on his life.

Cesar was also approached to join an activist group that wanted fair treatment for all. Cesar got involved and that was beginning of his journey as an activist. He later joined forces with another activist Dolores Huerta to focus on rallying farmworkers. They started a union National Farm Workers Association. They both took a risk of leaving paid positions. Many times they hardly had any money for food or gas.

Cesar led many strikes but he made it clear that violence was not an option. At some point, he also went on hunger strikes, catching attention of Martin Luther King Jr., among others, who expressed his support for the farmworker movement.

Cesar passed away in his sleep. He certainly made a difference in many people’s lives. He dedicated his life to humanity which often came at a cost of his private life.

I found the second part of the book slower. It was overwhelmed with his activism. The first part had a good flow and good information without overwhelming a young reader in details.

This biography exemplifies a man who received a valuable wisdom as a child, and carried it throughout his life. It was reinforced even more with wisdom of others that crossed his path physically or through their work echoing throughout the world. He lacked formal education but he carried with him something much more valuable - wisdom. It is up to an individual what limitations one accepts or doesn’t. Some imposed by family, school, society. Cesar spent a lot of time in nature and was well connected with his natural instincts which whispered wisdom as well.

Source: Roaring Brook Press, MacMillan

 

 

 

TRENDING INSPIRATION: “The fight is never about grape or lettuce. It is always about people.” – Cesar Chaves

 

“True wealth is not measured in money or status or power. It is measured by the legacy we leave behind for those we love and those we inspire.” – Cesar Chaves

 

 

 

Traits:

·         Cesar came from a place where parents made the best effort to create a stable home despite poverty.

·         His mother couldn’t read or write but she was a woman full of wisdom, passing it on to her children.

·         During his childhood, he experienced racist remarks at school which made him dislike school. But the wisdom he gained throughout his life carried toward serving humanity.

·         His family was often desperate to make money, but the parents still had the courage to fight for their dignity by refusing to take abuse from employers. These were Cesar’s first exposure of protest.

·         The strictness of the navy pushed him to explore freedom by refusing to sit in a section reserved for Mexicans at a movie theater.

·         Catholic priest introduced Cesar to important books about justice, worker’s rights, nonviolence, and historical figures that fought for justice.

·         Cesar became fascinated with Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolence. Gandhi’s work had enormous impact on his life.

·         When Cesar was approached to join an activist group that wanted fair treatment for all, he got involved and that was beginning of his journey as an activist.

·         He later joined forces with another activist Dolores Huerta to focus on rallying farmworkers. They started a union National Farm Workers Association. They both took a risk of leaving paid positions. Many times they hardly had any money for food or gas.

·         Cesar led many strikes but he made it clear that violence was not an option.

 

 

 

FURTHER INSPIRATION AND RECOMMENDATION:

 She was a science-trained sceptic accompanying her husband on his spiritual journey to India. On the way to India, she just reminded herself to be open to the experience. And she was caught by surprise when she went through awakening by Ganges River. Her awakening shattered her old identity and opened her to a universal realization: everything is connected through unconditional love. She herself became a spiritual teacher living in the Himalayas, leaving behind the strict scientific education.  

She became a global spiritual leader and bestselling author of Come Home to Yourself: Wisdom for Life from the Parmarth Niketan Ashram, and Hollywood to the Himalayas.

Breakdown Mayim Bialik’s interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUDl_SInWv0

Who was Catherine the Great? by Pam Pollack

 Who was Catherine the Great? – one of the greatest leaders of Russia. During her reign, Russia became the most powerful empire in the world.

Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst (1729-1796) was born in Stettin, a military town in Prussia. She spoke German, so she learned French, the language of aristocrats. She listened closely to what adults discussed. She was a good observer and she noticed that her mother’s bragging and being the center of attention made her unpopular. So she didn’t want to be this way.

At fourteen, Sophie was chosen to marry Peter, the future emperor of Russia. She was actually excited about it as she was adventures and life in a big country and as cold as Russia didn’t scare her.

Peter was also from Prussia, but he missed his homeland and didn’t like studying Russian, and didn’t like Russia. Catherine was opposite. She took it very seriously, studying the language and the rituals of the Russian Orthodox Church.

They married on August 21, 1745, and Sophie became Catherine. Peter started ignoring Catherine from day one of their marriage. She became very lonely. Thus, she started reading a lot. She especially liked the work of philosophers of the Enlightenment.

Peter had many women and was ignoring Catherine. Eventually, she accepted a man that was pursuing her, Sergei Saltykov. She had a baby-boy with him who was accepted as the son of Peter.

Elizabeth the Empress, who didn’t have children, swept Catherine’s new born baby and treated him as hers. Catherine had no say in it.

But giving royalty a son was a big deal, so she used it to her advantage, and started demanding more respect. She became close friends with the British ambassador and the Russian vice-chancellor. She impressed them with her knowledge and intelligence.

She also developed a close relationship with the Polish nobleman, Stanislaw Poniatowski who briefly became her partner and they had a daughter in 1757, but she lived for only fifteen months.

After the death of Elizabeth, Peter openly was taking Prussia’s side, when Catherine fully embraced Russia and its people.

With the help of the Russian army, she was secretly escorted to Kazan Cathedral where the Russian Orthodox archbishop declared her empress in the eyes of the church.

She dethroned her own husband, who died in July 1762 supposedly naturally, but most likely was assassinated.

She was crowned empress on September 22, 1762. She knew that Russia was deeply in debt. She put her salary back into the national treasury. She studied what was happening in Russia for fifteen hours per day.

She sought out the brightest people she could find to fill the important positions. She listened to representative of each region of Russia, giving people voice.

She truly wanted to improve people’s lives. She built hospitals and made sure the doctors were well-educated, in the long run saving many lives against illnesses. She established schools for boys and girls. She created one of the greatest collections of art, thus, becoming a center of culture and philosophy. She wanted to free all the serfs, but that was very challenging to do.

A French philosopher, Denis Diderot, was so impressed with her that he began to refer to her as Catherine the Great, and others followed.

Many people expected her to remarry and have children, but she wanted to rule on her own.

Stanislaw Poniatowski was still deeply in love with her, but she used him as his puppet. She helped him to become the King of Poland. But with time, to put an end to some wars and to make other powerful rulers happy and not to rage new wars, they divided Poland into three parts.

After the war with Turkey, returning soldiers brought with them bubonic plague, killing thousands of people. Catherine almost lost the control of Moscow.

In 1772, Catherine’s son, Paul, who was taken from her as a baby, didn’t have a good relationship with his mother. He imitated his father from the stories he heard about him. He was pro-Prussia and against Russia. She knew he wouldn’t be the right ruler.

Then, an imposter pretending to be Peter III created a lot of followers and a lot of trouble. After his capture and execution, Catherine felt she had to be a tough ruler.

In 1773, Paul married a Prussian princess, Sophie, who took the name Maria Fyodorovna.

Catherine, despite not wanting wars, continued to be hungry for more lands, taking over Crimea as she wanted access to the Black Sea, and now wanted to take over Constantinople – to make Russia the largest empire in the world. She didn’t win Constantinople but still gained more new territory.

Catherine loved spending time with her two oldest grandsons. She took charge of their education as she had plans for their future. She also had ideas how she wanted to have the boys raised. She wanted them to plant and to grow their own gardens. They were scolded only in private, and praised in public. She said, “I praise loudly. I blame softly.”

She died on November 17, 1796 of a stroke.

As soon as Paul was crowned emperor of Russia, he enacted a law that only the oldest son could inherit the throne. Catherine became the last woman to rule Russia.

This biography exemplifies a woman who was a great listener and observer, and through this process gained valuable wisdom. She was open to what others had to say, especially philosophers of Enlightenment. She was quiet until she saw an opportunity to demand respect. Thus, gaining power, and with that creating such alliances that backed her to be the ruler. She truly cared about the people of Russia. Her rule wasn’t about filling her coffers with money. It was about what was best for the people, which is very much missing in today’s world.

Source: Penguin Workshop, 2021

 

 

 

TRENDING INSPIRATION: Be a good listener and observer, and through this process gaining valuable wisdom.

 

 

Traits:

·         She was a good listener and observer from childhood.

·         She was adventures, and life in Russia excited her. She embraced its culture, religion, language, people.

·         She was open to what other thinkers had to say, especially philosophers of the Enlightenment.

·         She was ignored at first, but after giving birth to a son, which was a big deal for royalty, she used it to her advantage, and started demanding more respect.

·         With the help of the people who saw Catherine as the right person to lead the country she was declared the empress in the eyes of the church. With her new power, she dethroned her own husband.

·         She studied what was happening in Russia for fifteen hours per day as she deeply cared for the country she was leading and its people.

·         She sought out the brightest people she could find to fill the important positions.

·         She listened to representative of each region of Russia, thus giving people voice.

·         She truly wanted to improve people’s lives, and she did.

·         Some events made her feel that she had to be a tough ruler, and that started building her ego and hunger for more lands.

 

 

 

FURTHER INSPIRATION AND RECOMMENDATION:

 Catherine the Great was highly spirited person. Her character brings to mind another woman’s journey. Spirit Guided by Catherine Anne Williams.

The author, psychologist, shares her journey from addiction and self-destruction to awakening and living in Oneness.

As she shares her personal stories, she blends it with scientific knowledge, spiritual teachings, and practical tools in order to align our body with soul and the Source.

She grew up in a family of scientists with high expectations, and her not being good enough led her to addiction and self-destruction. When she had a near-death experience at nine years-old, that’s when she had her first spirit communication but the connection with her spiritual path came much later. As it happens with most cases, we need to go through certain experiences, often painful, in order to wake us up and start connecting the dots and seeing where those dots lead.

We, humans, struggle with seeing the whole picture. How good and bad events in our lives serve a purpose, not for us to become victims, but to wake us up to see a bigger picture. Thus, the author presents her own story to make a point. How her rejection and abandonment led her to seek other’s approval and love, which further resulted in addiction and abusive relationships. But her greatest suffering became her biggest gifts for spiritual awakening.

The author also points, to what many others stated before and proved through their work with people who healed themselves, that the spirit runs our body, thus, we have this spiritual ability to heal ourselves. The physical body is the manifestation of the flow of information in the spiritual body. Also, we all have psychic abilities, and we know things without knowing why, but we have been programmed to disconnect ourselves from the inner knowing.

Through her own story, she offers a guidebook how to clear the clutter of societal conditioning in order to live from the spiritual center. 

This book offers a range of information, overview of physics and how the universe works, insights from neuroscience, and spiritual concepts from Eastern philosophies. This information is mostly brief thus not overwhelming in its scope. The author’s personal experience reinforces what she teaches about healing ourselves from different conditions which mask our emotional traumas which need to be release.