Until a recent Saturday night, I was feeling pretty good about myself.
I work from home mostly and take care of two young kids at the same time while my significant other commutes to Vancouver daily.
I cook, clean, do laundry, pack lunches and then sit in my bedroom at night trying to do some professional - or completely juvenile - writing, depending on the case.
So, I've been thinking, "Yup, I'm the man! I can do it all!"
But then I was tasked with attending the Howe Sound Women's Centre 30th anniversary gala at the West Coast Railway Heritage Park on April 14 and I can say without hesitation that I am most certainly not "the man."
Stephen Lewis is the man.
The evening's keynote speaker - former leader of the Ontario NDP, Canada's UN Ambassador and the UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, just for starters - was likely one of the most eloquent, fascinating, likable and charming speakers I have had the pleasure of hearing.
It's a shame the subject matter of which he speaks is so difficult to hear.
Forced prostitution, gang rapes, rape camps and the tales of the severe marginalization of women around the world are just some of things that Lewis talked about, which will haunt my mind for quite some time.
But Mr. Lewis is actually doing something about it all.
I often loudly bemoan the small inconveniences in my life, but after hearing some of the horrific tales of abuse and humiliation women are subjected to in war-torn areas around the world - well, I feel pretty small standing beside a person making a difference like the inspirational Mr. Lewis.
No less inspirational were the evening's other speakers - Mina Dickinson and Katrina Pacey.
Dickinson's tale of escaping persecution in Iran and working to make a difference for other women as a board member at HSWC made me realize you never know the real stories behind the people you see every day on the street.
Pacey's achievements as an advocate for social justice in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside showed me that the battle for gender equality rights and for those society marginalizes is waging right outside our own doors too - not just in war-torn countries.
I bet all three speakers have families, kids, "real" jobs and real life responsibilities, but somehow they find the time to see beyond themselves and try to make the world a better place, like the volunteers at HSWC.
So, yes, I'm feeling inadequate for not doing more so far, but now also inspired to join the fight somehow and maybe one day be the man - and woman - that these speakers embody.
