Voices of Women of Spirit and Faith
Ruthie Howard is from Northern California. She currently lives in Las Vegas, NV and works as the Program Manager at the Interfaith Council of Southern Nevada. She considers her religion to be interfaith.
My good friend has asked me if I would like to contribute to this blog and I have waited this long to write this post, because I was stumped with the topic. Who in my life inspires me? Who gives me hope? Who keeps me alive? My mind has been racing and I couldn’t decide who and what situation I wanted to mention, until I realized I wanted to mention everyone.
What a delightful realization. I have reached a point in my life’s journey, where I can say in all honesty and sincerity, that every single person who is a part of my life inspires me, including the people currently in my life giving me direction, those who I’ve met briefly and may never meet again but had a meaningful encounter with, to those who I have perceived to have treated me poorly in the past. I have learned and grown from every one and every situation.
Every single person in my life has been a part of the journey to allow me to discover myself and my opinion of why we are here and who we are: that we are all One, that the purpose of life is to realize that we are all One with a steadfast confidence that Love can and will change the world, and that we are to be the agents of that change.
I am fortunate to, as a profession, be involved with interfaith work at the Interfaith Council of Southern Nevada, where I am surrounded by the most beautiful souls of all traditions and philosophical beliefs driven to better the world through an enhanced, inclusive, expansive view of spirituality and religion. I am also very fortunate to work with a staff at a free clinic known as Volunteers in Medicine of Southern Nevada, a bipartisan community effort to provide free quality healthcare to the uninsured and unemployed residents of Southern Nevada, doing so comfortably, confidently and quietly through the use of volunteers amongst a culture that holds, at times, a dualistic rage towards universal healthcare.
I am involved with national interfaith efforts and organizations as well, where I have met and become friends with the most honest, compassionate, driven people you could ever hope to meet, of all ages and backgrounds. I can honestly say that my life is a complete joy, simply because of the people I’ve met.
I would write about every person, and every meaningful experience, but I am maxed out at 800 words with this entry!
I grew up very introverted, at times with a very unhealthy amount of social anxiety, where I was scared of the world and the people in it. It has been the positive role models in my life who changed this for me. My goal through my interactions with others now, is to be that inspirational figure others have been for me, for everyone to feel this sincere sense of community, love and empowerment. It gives me hope to experience first hand the example of how I want the world to be: a society where we are all part of a Whole, that we are all important, and that we all need to inspire each other to life more fully and to be ourselves, to benefit the Whole.
In closing, I would like to share one of my favorite quotes that I think perfectly represents the types of folks that I am inspired by and give me hope and strength to continue to work for world peace:
Thank you for taking the time to read about my inspirations.
In peace,
Ruthie Howard
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In