The World of Women

I joined a writing group at the beginning of the year. We banded together to support each other in becoming more active writers. We have a team of dynamic leaders who do internet research, come up with topics that we discuss together and swap editing and proof reading tasks.  I was keeping pace until we hit the suggested topic of ‘women.’ Now being a woman, you wouldn’t think that this would necessarily be a daunting topic. Yet, I found it so.

What can one say about women, collectively, that isn’t a gross generalisation and therefore an injustice? There is a big span – not all women are saints and not all women are promiscuous. Women come in all sizes, shapes, colours, nationalities, ages and relationship statuses. All of these factors affect how that woman is able to express herself and operate in the world and even how she views the world, depending on which country she is living in.
 
Mothering comes in all forms – not every woman who gives birth is a mother and women who haven’t given birth to children can be excellent mothers. Many women today are child-free by choice and they use their mothering energy, their natural desire to nurture, to care for humanity and the planet we live on. So not even the word ‘mother’ is a clear marker of what being a woman is about.
 
In the 21st century, having female reproductive organs is also not an indicator of being a woman. After all, with the advent of modern surgery and with the awareness and acceptance of the transgender community, there are many women who do not have female reproductive organs.
 
Qualities such as tenderness, delicateness, gentleness and sweetness used to be considered strictly feminine attributes but this is no longer the case, as many men are embracing these qualities as natural and inherent in themselves.
 
These points are all offered to help you understand my dilemma. It seemed an impossible task to write about women but I decided to look a little deeper to see if I could find a common denominator or at least a quality that is unique to women in spite of a vast and varied range of women before us.
 
A few years ago, I started attending presentations under the banner of Esoteric Women’s Health. I know it sounds a cliché to say ‘It changed my life.’ But, in fact, that is the truth of it.  So when I hit this writer’s block about how to write about women, I remembered how I used to feel about being a woman versus how I feel today and started to look for a way to describe those differences.  I’ve spoken with many other women who have also attended these presentations and who, like me, started to make changes in how they lived and specifically how they felt about who they are as a woman.
 
I can say from many open discussions that the common trait we all experienced when we first started meeting was low self-esteem.  Surely, this is not all we have to define us as women? I’m happy to report that these same women are no longer suffering from low self-esteem. But that is perhaps the topic for another blog.
 
Through presentations, group work and modalities such as Esoteric Yoga – a Stillness Program for Women we started to honour ourselves as women. Thinking of ourselves as a woman, rather than a human being, seemed to allow the women to blossom, no matter what their age, background or professional standing.   
 
One of the qualities of being a woman that we explored (and embraced) is Stillness.  I’ve capitalized the word in order to denote a Divine Stillness rather than the little stillness that is associated with the lack of movement. Stillness is a state of presence, a state of being.  From that place of Stillness, all manner of things can be done and accomplished, BUT, the doing and the accomplishments come with a totally different energetic imprint. Stillness is in the quality of the movement. 
 
This state of being is inherent in all of us (women and men) but Stillness is something women seemed to be more attuned to. When a woman connects to her inner Stillness, she feels the beauty of being a woman. She realises the power of her delicate, precious nature. She doesn’t need to compete in a man’s world or raise her voice to be powerful. It is in the sway of her hips and the smile on her lips.
 
Stillness will attract a real man faster than any design by Victoria’s Secret. Children will gather at the skirts of Stillness even if they do not know the woman. 
 
So this is where my pondering on ‘women’ has brought me. Stillness is the common denominator that all women have an opportunity and responsibility to connect to, no matter the outer appearances. Of course, it is possible for any woman to override this innate state of being. Life can be difficult at the best of times and many women have decided that being rough and tough is the safest way to cut their path. That doesn’t mean that they have given up or walked away from their Stillness. It just means they are ignoring and burying it.
 
Stillness is within and can be tapped into at anytime by sheer intention to do so.  Like anything, the more you focus on it or practice it, the easier it becomes. It is never too late to return to a State of Stillness.  
 
Once you experience true Stillness, you will cherish the joy of being a Woman. 

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