STORY BY Kim
Iribarren
A magnificent woman, who stands above the crowd willing to inspire others while putting herself in danger of cobras and tigers to share her heart and implement kind acts for no other reason but LOVE.
I
’ve been blessed to know this woman for over forty years. I have been inspired by her courage and strength to move forward in her ambitions while she conquers her fears. NO doesn’t even exist in her vocabulary! Where there is a will, then there is a way! I met Rosalind many years ago when I was a young teen age girl. She inspired me then and continues to inspire me now. She taught me so many things in life about approaching people and opening yourself up to new adventures and opportunities. She was the first to educate me on nutrition and health. She would bring in cassette tapes for employee meetings and make us listen and meditate. There were times when all of us young women thought she was nuts. As I look back now, I smile at the positive impact I received by having her in my path of life! Her words and kind acts of love impacted others, too. Her lessons were calm and simple. She taught me things like how important it is not to sit or stand with your arms crossed because you block off the rest of the world, it’s like saying you’re not welcome in my space when
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Living Grateful 2016
your arms are crossed. She taught the importance of touching someone gently on the arm, or if they are sitting down, just touching the knee when you meet them to disengage the uncomfortableness of the original introduction. She taught me how you never know how sick a person may or may not be, and so you offer your chair or try to make others comfortable and engage them. Her focus was never on self; it was always about others. Little things like this stuck with me forever. I am amazed to find that she now spends much of her time sleeping by cobras and tigers to supply food and housing for the less fortunate. I remember Rosalind, nicknamed R Star and the name given to her foundation, lived in a four-story gorgeous home overlooking Laguna Beach and I would walk through her museum of a home and just ooh and ah over her worldly collections; her taste is impeccable. But even then, she had
herself set up to help others. She has always been a teacher of sorts. Time has always been a value and wasting it was not an option. She taught me that lesson by showing me the value of using a Day-Timer and never putting off until tomorrow what can be accomplished today. She doesn’t live in a four story anymore as her efforts are in her true love of life, the women and children of Nepal. You can read more about her and help support her foundation at rstarfoundation.org. Rosalind explains about the birth of R Star Foundation, “Women Helping Women & children in Nepal started in 2003 by creating a beginning solution for the poorest of villages in the district of Kavre, Nepal which has always been a communist dominated district. We started with money for 89 goats; we were able with collaborations at Nepal’s federal level to get sufficient help to give 200 goats to
There were times when all of us young women thought she was nuts. As I look back now, I smile at the positive impact I received by having her in my path of life!