It Was Dark... But Then It Changed

🌤️ It Was Dark... But Then It Changed

By Zipolita – Tina Winterlik

It’s easy to feel like the world is falling apart. Sometimes it feels like we’re heading straight into disaster: war, poverty, inequality, climate collapse... and it’s hard to know where to find hope.

But history reminds us: we’ve been through darkness before. And somehow, some way... we came through it. Not perfectly. Not without pain. But we survived. We changed. We grew.

So today, I want to share some moments in history when things felt hopeless—until they weren’t.

🕯️ 1. The Black Plague → The Renaissance

In the 1300s, Europe lost over half its population to the Black Death. Entire towns were wiped out. People thought it was the end of the world. But from that deep loss came rebirth. Labour became more valued. New ideas emerged. And out of the ashes came art, science, and invention: the Renaissance.

🕊️ 2. World War II → Human Rights & Public Health

After the horrors of World War II—holocaust, nuclear bombs, and global grief—countries came together and created the United Nations. They drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Canada and other countries built public health systems and welfare programs. Out of the worst violence came new commitments to peace and dignity.

🌍 3. Apartheid → Mandela’s Dream

South Africa endured decades of brutal apartheid. Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years. But when he was released, he didn’t call for revenge—he led with love and truth. He became president. The country transitioned peacefully. It wasn’t perfect, but it was transformational.

🌈 4. Civil Rights in the U.S.

There was a time in the U.S. when Black Americans couldn’t vote, go to school with white kids, or even sit at the front of the bus. But people stood up: Rosa Parks. Dr. King. Fannie Lou Hamer. The Civil Rights Act passed. Laws changed. Minds opened. The struggle continues—but so does the hope.

❤️‍🩹 5. The AIDS Crisis → Activism & Treatment

In the 1980s, governments ignored the AIDS epidemic. LGBTQ+ people were dying, forgotten. But they organized. They protested. They cared for each other. Today, HIV is treatable. The movement helped transform healthcare, science, and LGBTQ+ rights forever.

🌱 6. The Ozone Hole → Global Repair

In the 1980s, scientists discovered a huge hole in the ozone layer. It was terrifying. But the world came together and banned the chemicals causing it. Now, the ozone is healing. A reminder that when we act together, nature responds.

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💚 So What Does That Mean for Us?

We are living through dark times again. But darkness isn’t the end. It’s the part of the story before the turning point.

We can be the generation that:

• Chooses community over competition
• Demands climate action and real equality
• Shares wealth, art, stories, and dreams
• Raises kind, brave, thoughtful children

You might feel powerless. But you’re not. You can speak. Share. Create. Help. Plant something. Tell the truth. Rest. And begin again.

History teaches us one thing over and over:
It was dark. But then it changed.

Let’s be part of the change this time. 🌍

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📝 By Zipolita
Follow me on Instagram: @zipolita
Blog: TinaWinterlik.blogspot.com

💬 Feel free to share this post, and tag me if it gives you hope too.

Sweet Dreams Liz! R.I. P.

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Blog post by Tina Winterlik © 2011

http://tinawinterlik.blogspot.com 

Good-by Liz, Rest in Peace, I loved you in National Velvet! Thanks for all the hard work you did with your Aids Foundation. Sweet Dreams and Now you can continue your work with the angels!

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February 27, 1932 -- Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor is born in Hampstead, England.
March 23, 2011 -- Taylor dies at Cedar-Sinai in Los Angeles, California.

http://www.torontosun.com/entertainment/movies/2011/03/23/17728291.html

Publicity photo of Elizabeth Taylor for Argentinean Magazine, 1947

Wikipedia - Liz Taylor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor, DBE (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011),^[1][2] also known as Liz Taylor, was a British-born American actress.^[3]


Beginning as a child star, as an adult she came to be known for her acting talent and beauty, and had a much publicised private life, including eight marriages and several near-death experiences.

Taylor was considered one of the great actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age.

The American Film Institute named Taylor seventh on its Female Legends list.

Lassie Come Home featured child star Roddy McDowall, with whom Taylor would share a lifelong friendship. Upon its release in 1943, the film received favourable attention for both McDowall and Taylor. On the basis for her performance in Lassie Come Home MGM signed Taylor to a conventional seven-year contract at $100 a week but increasing at regular intervals until it reached a hefty $750 during the seventh year.

Her first assignment under her new contract at MGM was a loan-out to 20th Century Fox for the character of Helen Burns in a film version of the Charlotte Bronte novel Jane Eyre (1944). During this period she also returned to England to appear in another Roddy McDowall picture for MGM, The White Cliffs of Dover (1944).

But it was Taylor's persistence in campaigning for the role of Velvet Brown in MGM's National Velvet that skyrocketed Taylor to stardom at the tender age of 12. Taylor's character, Velvet Brown, is a young girl who trains her beloved horse to win the Grand National. National Velvet, which also costarred beloved American favorite Mickey Rooney and English newcomer Angela Lansbury, became an overwhelming success upon its release in December 1944 and altered Taylor's life forever. Also, many of her back problems have been traced to when she hurt her back falling off a horse during the filming of National Velvet.

National Velvet grossed over US$4 million at the box office and Taylor was signed to a new long-term contract that raised her salary to $30,000 per year. To capitalize on the box office success of Velvet, Taylor was shoved into another animal opus, Courage of Lassie, in which a different dog named "Bill", cast as an Allied combatant in World War II, regularly outsmarts the Nazis, with Taylor going through another outdoors role.

The 1946 success of Courage of Lassie led to another contract drawn up for Taylor earning her $750 per week, her mother $250, as well as a $1,500 bonus. Her roles as Mary Skinner in a loan-out to Warner Brothers' Life With Father (1947), Cynthia Bishop in Cynthia (1947), Carol Pringle in A Date with Judy (1948) and Susan Prackett in Julia Misbehaves (1948) all proved to be successful.

Her reputation as a bankable adolescent star and nickname of "One-Shot Liz" (referring to her ability to shoot a scene in one take) promised her a full and bright career with Metro. Taylor's portrayal as Amy, in the American classic Little Women (1949) would prove to be her last adolescent role. In October 1948, she sailed aboard the RMS Queen Mary travelling to England where she would begin filming on Conspirator, in which she would play her first adult role.
Wikipedia - Liz Taylor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra 2.jpg Cropped screenshot of Elizabeth Taylor from the trailer for the film Cleopatra.

The story of Cleopatra, the famous queen of Egypt. Having been driven out of the palace by her jealous brother, she regains her title with the help of the visiting Roman emperor, Julius Caesar. Determined to unite Egypt and Rome in a great empire, she seduces him and bears his child. After he is murdered, she works her wiles on his general, Marc Antony. She succeeds very easily, and all is ready for that great empire when Caesar's successor, Octavian, wages war on the two of them.
Release Date: June 12, 1963


Click here to see the many beautiful Photos of Liz on Google Search

http://goo.gl/bra8f

We mourn the loss of legendary actress, businesswoman, and fearless activist Elizabeth Taylor. 

If you want to honor the memory of Elizabeth, you may do so either by making a contribution in her name to the foundation or by posting a personal message here http://www.facebook.com/pages/Elizabeth-Taylor-Tribute

Elizabeth Taylor Aids Foundation

Mission Statement

The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation (ETAF) was established by Elizabeth Taylor in 1991 to raise funds and awareness to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS, and to provide assistance for those living with the virus.

With its focus on direct care and prevention education, ETAF provides funding to AIDS organizations throughout the world, providing support services to populations in need.

Through Miss Taylor’s fundraising activities, specially-hosted events and public appearances, ETAF receives contributions which are disbursed to service organizations and entities involved in the fight against AIDS.  Each recipient foundation is researched by ETAF and personally reviewed by Miss Taylor.

Through The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, Miss Taylor (1) supports organizations delivering direct care and services to people living with HIV/AIDS, and (2) supports organizations that provide education to the public regarding the AIDS virus and the prevention of AIDS.

ETAF provides financial support for organizations and entities both within the United States and internationally.

ETAF supports existing organizations and entities that have exhibited integrity in managing their operations along with the knowledge and ability to expediently provide services or achieve other designated goals.

Miss Taylor’s AIDS fundraising and advocacy efforts have served to raise much-needed funds and awareness of the pandemic.  It is her deepest wish to eradicate AIDS and to this end, the Foundation operates at zero overhead cost.

Miss Taylor personally underwrites all costs for raising and administering the Foundation’s funds, allowing 100% of all donations received to be put to work serving people with HIV/AIDS.

www.elizabethtayloraidsfoundation.org