Do you think of yourself as a wise woman?
Women are wise, and we have been throughout the ages. No matter where we live, the color of our skin, or our religious or political persuasion, we have that inner voice of intuition through which we discover our own inner strength and are compelled to care so deeply for others. It also offers us powerful guidance when we care to listen.
There are many women who have the flexibility to nurture, teach, listen, work hard, scrub the toilet, balance the checkbook, close a business deal, and multi-task in a dozen other ways effectively. There are also many women who still long for the freedom to do so. Around the globe, though different in many ways, women everywhere do comparable tasks as defined by their culture. What we share is the common capacity to love deeply.
Women can be passionate and bold, especially if our children and homes are threatened. We can be powerful even when soft-spoken. We have honed our skills and have demonstrated our strengths at work and at home. This is true whether we call home a hut or a mansion and whether our work is running a business or working in the field. We are more alike than different. When we remember this we share a sense of sisterhood. Even though our daily routines may be different, our capacity to love and touch hearts is our common link.
Women encompass so many qualities of strength. We tend by nature, and work with an iron will when necessary for our survival. Our greatest gifts are often also our greatest challenge. It appears to be universal that we find it easier to do for others rather than take good care of our self. Over and over we are called to realize that we cannot give from an empty cup.
As wise women we treasure our dear friends. It has humorously been said that having genuine friends is God’s way apologizing for our family. As we grow older we find the value in creating our ‘family of choice’ and learn to we savor our juicy friendships as a gentle way of healing the hurtful experiences of our past.
Compassion just seems to be the way a woman’s heart is wired. We learn from and support one another. We explore, share in circles, care when called, laugh and cry together, and create simple rituals through which we experience the warmth of belonging. When women experience fear or stress we more naturally ‘tend and befriend’ rather than ‘fight or take flight’. We gather, talk, create, find comfort and ignite strength from the re-assurance and wisdom of our soul sisters.
As women, the need to connect is a remarkable part of our essential nature. We experience connection not only with those we love, but also through all of our outdoor experiences. Nature, inner and outer, calls to women. The great outdoors renews us because it is a regarded as a feminine force that constantly changes and, like us, has its on-going cycles of creation. It provides a reflection of our inner complexity and an awareness of our authentic magnificence that we carry outward.
Learn to temper your critical voice by surrounding yourself with wise women. Strengthen your own wisdom by daring to ask:
“Dear God (or Spiritual Presence of your choice),
Help me to accept the truth about myself, no matter how magnificent it is!”
