What Yasmeen Lari Did at Age 81!

The times we are living in can feel overwhelmingly heavy, especially when reading/hearing the details. Sticking our heads in the sand doesn't serve to make anything better--nor does staying in the dense energy of so many things wrong or hard. We do what we can, and when taking action from a light and joyful heart, we accomplish two things (at least!): we feel empowered and we help others.

Each action we take makes a difference! Here's a quick story of a woman who encountered very challenging events and did what she could to make a difference. Enjoy!

When most women may be considering their retirement options while in their 60s, 81-year old Yasmeen Lari, Pakistan's first female architect, had a different plan for her life.

Ms. Lari, who co-founded the Heritage Foundation of Pakistan, brought people together to make sustainable bamboo huts for Pakistanis displaced from their homes due to earthquakes and severe flooding in her native Pakistan.

This amazing woman had spent her professional life designing modern buildings and retired in 2005. When a catastrophic earthquake occurred that year, Ms. Lari came up with the idea to create low-cost, low carbon shelters that can be assembled quickly and accommodate up to 5 people each.

When flooding occurred in the following years, Ms. Lari saw that the bamboo homes she'd been responsible for having built, had withstood the floods! So her work continues on, and people's lives are better for it.

How can you rise up from the deluge of sad and bad news, and shift your joyful self into taking action about something you care about? Once you decide, you will know you are helping to create a new world. If you already are, thank you!