Women Changing The World
In honor of the 100th anniversary of International Womens Day AND the launching of her first e-book, Heather Plett (Sophia Leadership) invited people to share their reflections on the following question:
How can women change the world and how can we change the world for women?
First, I will admit that I adore Heather and the honest energy she shares over the internet. Taking part in any of her initiatives is a no-brainer for me. And yet the response to this question was not quick in coming.
I knew right away I had to let go of the "change the world" concept. Not because I don't believe that women, or indeed even ONE woman, can change the world. It's just that "changing the world" immediately sets my heart racing and the "go-getter" part of me in scramble mode. Even if my soul knows a single ripple can start a flood of change, my mind needs to be soothed into ignorance. It is from this place of deep ease that the answer came.
(I will also admit to not having read any other responses as of yet. I'm anxious to, but know that the powerful influence of individuals reflecting on and responding to this question will shape my own response. I want to start from a clean canvas, sketch my own authentic response, then fill it with glorious colors from others.)
I believe that the feminine energy holds a power that the world can unlock. (Note I said "feminine energy", which everyone is privy to. We all contain both feminine and masculine energy no matter the parts between our legs.)
This power is non-judgmental awareness. It is a way of being (versus the more masculine energy of "doing").
- It is the power of a mother who loves her child unconditionally.
- It is the power of a woman who cries at a story on the t.v. screen and carries the empathy with her when faced with the story in her own life.
- It is the power of countless women who endure rape and forced societal submission and decades of historical erasure only to keep existing, keep speaking up, keep this awareness of her self and of her sisters and the pain and continue to LOVE.
- It is the power to grow and bring life into a world that is full of judgment while she embodies a deep awareness of the love underneath it all.
It is the power that keeps life alive.
Oh women - oh men who honor their feminine selves - let us finally awaken this power.
Let us embrace the awareness of war and murder and suicide and hate while we eat our morning meal in deep gratitude. Let us embody the divine that asks nothing more than to be recognized and not splintered into countless religions or confined to the walls of a human-made church. Let us see within every being the part of ourselves that we ignore and finally stop judging it.
How can women change the world? And how do we change the world for women?
I do not have a specific tool or method. Nor am I sure that any one tool will work for everyone. (Some people are activists on the courthouse steps. Some are writers comfortable in sharing their words online. Some are just mothers (or fathers) who impart their powerful messages through their children. Some have yet to find their tool.)
But I do believe that women - any woman - can change the world.
How?
By being fully a woman and not judging any man nor her fellow sister. By being fully alive and not being imobilized by fear of physical or social death.
By celebrating life in every form and role - the homemakers, the 80-hr / week laborers, the farmers, the homo- and hetero- and bi- and whatever-other-label-sexual, the underweight and overweight, the financially blessed and the homeless.
By starting with an honest - even if painful - awareness of all that is.
By looking non-judgmentally at her own life, her own thoughts, and her own world.
By not giving up in this journey.
By sharing - honestly - her stories and fumbles and triumphs with others.
By listening - openly - to the stories of her fellow travellers.
By acting in the world based off of what she hears from others and the whispers that grow louder in her own soul.
It all begins with awareness.
Namaste.
Thank you to Heather for inviting such a beautiful and well-needed reflection. You can learn more about Heather here or visit Sophia Leadership at www.sophialeadership.com .