What if we could choose a different way?

What if the societal constructs that run much of the world could be rear ended and  new models and expectations built in their place?

What if there was so much more?

What if women could be seen in other ways – past their role as appendages to men,  sexual objects for the gratification of men and nurturers to all?

What if it was once a different way?

What if?

And this brings me to a wonderful book by Shirley MacLaine, that certainly poses a lot of interesting questions. The book is entitled simply: WHAT IF…

Today I would just like to share with you the final few paragraphs on Page 52

How you react to these words is fodder for your own consideration and I will not be giving my opinions here, as I feel the value in this small excerpt, as it rests in the context of this page of writing, is for you to examine your own personal response to the words.

No doubt your marital status and experience thereof will impact upon your mulling over of these words.

I found them quite thought provoking and as you can tell from my introduction they set me off on quite a few tangents of enquiry. My hope is that these word take you to your own place of self reflection and self discovery-  untainted by my own personal journey through these words.

So now – over to the incredible Shirley MacLaine:

“ After my husband and I split, I made it a point to dodge the marriage bullet. From then on, I had loving sex without commitment. I loved to work hard, and feel I have earned all I have, which is enough for the rest of my life. But mostly I am content. Content with my surroundings, my friends, my family (whom I see when I want to), and my life.

Many women friends of my age are finding exquisite happiness on their own. None of us feels alone. On the contrary, we feel free and creative to be who we are. We often have celebratory lunches (too hard to find a parking place at dinner), reveling in our freedom of aloneness.

Wake Up, women of the world! You have earned the right to be free of taking care of others. Perhaps it isn’t even your nature. Perhaps you are the true warriors of peace.”

As is always the case when I present someone else’s words for reflection, I invite you to go back and read the passage a few more times.

Let it sit with you.

Let it quietly roll about in your mind and consciousness.

Let it guide you to where you need to be – for You.

Discover You.

Love You.

Be You.

- Christine -

Imagine a woman who trusts and respects herself. A woman who listens to her needs and desires. Who meets them with tenderness and grace.

Imagine a woman who acknowledges the pasts’s influence on the present. A woman who has walked through her past. Who has healed in the present.

Imagine a woman who authors her own life. A woman who exerts, initiates, and moves on her own behalf. Who refuses to surrender except to her own truest self and wisest voice.

Imagine a woman who names her own gods. A woman who imagines the divine in her image and likeness. Who designs a personal spirituality to inform her daily life.

Imagine a woman in love with her own body. A woman who believes her body is enough, just as it is. Who celebrates its rhythms and cycles as an exquisite resource.

Imagine a woman who honours the body of the Goddess in her changing body. A woman who celebrates the accumulation of her years and her wisdom. Who refuses to use her life-energy disguising the changes in her body and life.

Imagine a woman who values the women in her life. A woman who sits in circles of women. Who is reminded of the truth about herself when she forgets.

Imagine yourself as this woman.

Patricia Lynn Reilly

Taken from the book: The Strength of Women

There really is not very much I can add to the profound wisdom of this passage and I thank Patricia Lynn Reilly from the depths of my being for writing it. It is funny how certain words find you at the perfect place and time and give you exactly what you need in that moment.

I happened upon the little book that contained this writing, one sunny day in a Post Office queue in Mackay, North Queensland. I have a tendency to shop in Post Offices and Airports, so it was not surprising that my eye wandered whilst waiting in the Xmas throngs. But what was surprising was that it was a book of this nature that caught my eye. It was unusual that this little book took my attention for some reason.

I was not there to buy a book.

I was not needing to read a book.

I just saw the book and felt immediately drawn to it.

For most of my life I have lived with a certain amount of annoyance at having been born a girl. In a world that is so heavily weighted towards men, it just seemed like an uphill battle sometimes. Apart from having to deal with a whole list if issues that come with the simple reproductive capacity we bring to the world, it just seemed like men had all the fun. Made the rules. Called the shots. Had less to worry about.

Then one summer’s day – I found this book and read this insightful passage and the world of my womanhood opened up like a brand new book, waiting to be explored and read for the first time.

The impact each verse had on me was quite overwhelming.

For the first time in my life I felt like part of an incredible Sisterhood!

Part of a wise council of elders.

Part of an incredible group, blessed with the role of giving life to the planet.

Part of a special force for good.

Part of a sensual, beautiful, loving and nurturing energy.

I actually felt glad to have been born a woman.

This was a huge leap for me, and one that has been gradually unfolding over the past few years. Whereas in my younger years I always preferred the company of men, I found myself meeting more and more incredible women.

Strong women.

Inspiring women.

Fun women.

Really funky, and cool women.

Headstrong, and opinionated women.

Compassionate women.

Women who set their own course and knew their own value.

Women who stood their ground and made their own way in the world.

Sexy, smart, empowered women who supported the other women around them.

And the oh so very wise women who took me under their wing and guided me to pastures new.

It is interesting to me that I chose two very male dominated professions on which to build my earlier life: tap dancing and drumming. Perhaps there is something in that? Perhaps I set myself a struggle that I need not have had?  But like all things in life, perhaps it was these very experiences that have informed who I am now and guided me to the work that I now find so enjoyable and empowering?

Who knows?

Time will tell?

But what I do know – in this moment – is that the passage above in pure gold!

It will no doubt mean different things to different people – and that is the beauty of the written word. It can be digested and reviewed in any number of ways subject to the readers experience and expectations.

So I invite you to go back

Sit quietly.

Read it again.

Take from this wisdom whatever it is that feeds your soul in this moment.

Revel in being a woman.

Revel in the women around you.

Find strength and courage and heart and fire in the sensuality and assuredness that is your right as a woman on the planet.

Discover You.

Love You.

Be every inch of the Woman that is You.

- Christine -