Spanista » Self Care Rituals, Reflections & Resources for Joyful Living by Ginny Shiverdecker

Woman of Wonderlust Amelia Earhardt, What Wisdom Would You Share?

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Dear Wellness Seekers,

Woman of Wonderlust Amelia Earhardt, What Wisdom Would You Share? Wednesday we explored The Power of Courage in today’s world as character study of Nate Boyer of the Seattle Seahawks. Today I would like to explore The Power of Courage from a historical perspective. This character study is about one of my heroes since I was a girl – iconic aviator, Amelia Earhardt. A person whose wonderlust defined her life completely.
Fourth of July weekend marks the Anniversary of her MIA mystery – July 2nd is the date her attempted 22,000 mile light around the world mysteriously ended over the South Pacific in 1937. While the mystery about her disappearance remains, last September a piece of her airplane, the Lockheed Electra was found in 1991 was confirmed to be an aluminum window piece that had been added to the plane in Miami, thanks to advancements in technology. See Discovery.com for more.
Amelia was an Extreme Sports Rock Star of her age — A symbol to men and women alike of celebrity power and perseverance of the most elegant kind — the kind of adventuresome spirit that is so essential to the American persona. Where are these heroes of today?
In today’s terms, courage of this nature is supported by loads of technological breakthroughs and many inspiring examples of people stepping outside their comfort zones to set about accomplishing something no one has ever done before. Back in the early 1900s courage was also supported technological advances mostly spawned from intellectual energies channeled to fight and win WWI. But for women — exploring courage was a vastly new horizon that came about as result of the WWI when our men were deployed to the war effort in Europe and women were required to step in to run businesses and work in all for of labor to produce the progressive munitions needed to fight Germany. Flight was the new frontier for all — the newest battleground where technology spread its wings.
Amelia was a product of the times. She became smitten with the power of flight while she was a nurse at the Spadina Military Hospital in Toronto, Canada tending the wounded returning from the war. Many patients were the first pilots to experience the perils of war. So she saw the trauma first hand. One would think it would have deterred her but it had just the opposite effect. She fell in LOVE with airplanes and every aspect of piloting. And she stepped into her world of Self Care and never looked back as she defined her pursuit of happiness and the American Dream.
Amelia’s Self Care style ran deep. Her calling to explore the world on her terms seems to have come from a place inside her that defied logic. Let’s reflect on some of her courageous firsts:
  1. First person to fly solo across both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans — note she did this before anybody did it.
  2. First female to purchase her own airplane in 1922. With the help of female friends and family who believed in her quest.
  3. Amelia was the first female passenger on the first transatlantic flight by invitation of George P. Putman, who became smitten with her and eventually they married. There are some fascinating accounts of the nature of their relationship worth reading.
  4. First female aviator to capture the attention of Vogue magazine with her unique aviator style – flight suits, leather jackets carves and pleated flight pants.
  5. First aviator, as a result to have a commercial fashion collection based upon her lifestyle that was sold at top line departments stores Marshall Fields and Macy’s. The first woman to attract a powerful portfolio of sponsors.
Amelia was a tour de force and George P. Putman knew it and to a degree enabled it. But in the end she was the driver at every turn.
Woman of Wonderlust Amelia Earhardt, What Wisdom Would You Share? I wonder about this when I look up at the stars on summer nights during July 4th celebrations. While the recent discovery about her Lockheed Electra indicates she and Fred Noonan her navigator most likely landed on an uninhabited island in the South pacific, it is left to the imagination as to what actually occurred. Was she marooned with Fred on this remote island? Had they crashed and been injured? It seems less likely now that they crashed in the Pacific Ocean believed after all. See Discovery.com for more.
Recently I was on the campus of Purdue University where she became an honorary professor and the Engineering School of Innovation building is dedicated. Her airplane hangs from the rafters. And the cafe is named after her with wonderful large-scale image don the walls.
I thought I heard her whispering to me while I gazed at her airplane suspended in the air….’Freedom to explore your dreams is the true source of happiness’. I am so glad I was born in America. Happy Fourth of July!
To Your Self Care Journey To Joy,

Ginny

 

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