The Year of the Woman
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Around the end of every calendar year, my life starts circling around a theme which I’ve taken by the ovaries and tried to live out in the coming year. In the past I’ve embodied Gratitude and Giving, I’ve Intended and Manifested, I’ve Radically Expressed myself, and I’ve Collaborated, Connected and Created.
The last week of December, I was at a loss for what it was that’s been recurring in my life. And one day, it just hit me. The year of the WOMAN.
This speech by Madonna is so timely. And what I relate to most is how “other feminists” were around her, but she was just trying to be an artist.
My whole life, I feel like I’ve related more to men. When I was young, although I had lady friends, I always felt more comfortable around males. I had two brothers, a dad who was always there when we got off the bus to spend time with us, I had no fashion sense (and still dress primarily in yoga pants and pajamas with no makeup and no hair-dos – not that this is necessarily a male quality, but it’s not necessarily female, either!) and I had no idea what feminism was. When I got to college, I actually didn’t even quite understand what “Women Studies” were and why anyone would want to learn about that specifically.
Until I had a baby.
And I had to learn what I considered a lifetime of education – including studying the human body, the WOMan body, connecting with the earth, learning about medicines, natural ways of healing, the history of the woman, how this age of the patriarch came into being, natural labor positions, post-partum traditions and a myriad of other topics – all smushed into a short 8 months or so.
And the feminine in me was born.
And like Madonna – I realize now – how helpful it would’ve been to have had a woman figure and mentor, whether it was at university or when I started working, to turn to throughout the years to remind me of my power as a woman. And how now more than ever – if you are a woman with gifts to give (and we all have them) – how we should give freely to all women….how we should connect with all women….how we should honor all women….how we should praise all women for sharing whatever it is the Universe has given us to share.
In the past year, I have learned more about business and growing my business from a heart-centered space from so many talented and successful women, than I have in any amount of traditional schooling. I have seen women out-rank and out-earn their partners which make their partners realize they’d like to go along for the ride. I’ve gone to women-only conferences and felt the power and heart and soul of women who not only want to change the world but ARE changing the world with their businesses that involve coaching, natural products, videography, graphic design, financial consulting, business strategies and so, so, so much more.
And then of course there was my realization that I had one day this past year during my pregnancy, looking around at all the human beings walking and driving around me who were actually birthed by aaaaaaaaall the powerful mamas out there (which you can read on my Birth Story Blog). This realization gave me a profound sense of not only gratitude for women, and not only connection to these powerful mamas, but a deep intuitive knowing that these feminine warriors can do anything we put our mind to.
The thing is, the more we connect with ourselves first, and share our deepest desires and goals and aspirations with the world and begin to create that which we were meant to create in the world, we give other women the permission and the power to do the same. And guess what? There is room for ALL of us to do this and more. Now, this isn’t meant to exclude men in the least, but to suggest to them that it’s not a bad thing or a less macho thing if they were to tap into their feminine attributes a little more too. This might mean listening more. This might mean letting emotions wash over more. This might mean softening more in certain parts of their life. You’d be amazed at what kind of abundance comes into your life when you just allow a little more of YOU to creep in.
As my mentor and fellow yogi Elena Brower recently said, “The state of being that you’re hosting right now is being broadcasted and felt by every single person around you.” So, what are you broadcasting? What would you like to broadcast to those around you and to the world?
Every single morning (or, if my infant wakes me up early and demands that it’s “go-time” immediately, it will be later when he’s napping) I have a routine of Giving Gratitude, Listening to Silence, Moving physically through Yoga, and Reading and practicing a passage in my Miracles book. This is my broadcast. I want people I come into contact with to feel my clarity…to feel me at my truest essence…to feel all the woman in me and more.
This year, at least for me, is the year of the Woman. What’s your year going to embody?
C’mon ladies…(and lady-loving men…I mean, really loving.)
And Thanks, Madonna