4. We are global peacekeepers
Mother's Day has come to mean a day of flowers and cards and warm, fuzzy messages. But in 1870, Julia Ward Howe had a different idea. Howe, who wrote Battle Hymn of the Republic, was devastated by the destruction and death in the aftermath of the American Civil War. With war beginning again in Europe, Howe wrote the original Mother's Day Proclamation. She called on women around the world to join together and find means to bring peace to the world "in the name of womanhood and of humanity."
3. Our support system rivals any in the world -- our girlfriends
Any woman with close girlfriends knows how valuable they are. As our confidantes, friends, sources of encouragement and reality checks, they are our ultimate support systems.
2. The unbreakable bond between a mother and her child
Becoming a mother is an indescribable experience and although Arnold Schwarzenegger tried it in the 1994 comedy Junior, women alone experience the joy and blessing of childbirth.
"Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." -- Elizabeth Stone, 19th century feminist, institutionalized by her family for holding different religious beliefs.
1. We can make change happen
Many of us in developed nations have equal rights and freedoms because women of decades -- and centuries -- past diligently fought for them. But for many, equality remains a dream.
A United Nations report stated "women constitute half of the world's population, perform nearly two thirds of its work hours, receive one-tenth of the world's income and own less than one-hundredth of the world's property."
But this is changing.
Every day, more women join the cause of creating global equality, ensuring the world they pass on to their children will be better than the one their mothers passed on to them.
"Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose." -- Helen Keller, a deaf and blind woman who became a role model for millions.
Find out more about International Women's Day at www.internationalwomensday.com
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