INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

International Women's Day, today. Way to go ladies! So how far have I really come? To frame it in a time capsule I'll put it in the context of my life.

I've had a little of 60 years to "experience" life as a woman. And I have to say that, whether I like it or not my gender has majorly shaped my life and continues to do so. That being said. I am also very clear that despite the parameters life hands me, I WRITE THE STORY.

I am reminded of that quote by Mahatma Gandhi, "You can chain me, you can torture me, you can even destroy this body, but you will never imprison my mind." I have always taken great care to ensure that my mind always had the opportunity to know and experience FREEDOM, even if my body did not.

I have lived with societal pressures and dictates and mores for many, many years. In that time I have managed to break free of these societal bonds at various times and really know the delight and exuberance and pure empowerment of total acceptance and expressive freedom. 

The moments of pure freedom I have known? They have been a sustaining torch, a light, that has kept me moving  during those other times when all I really wanted to do was curl up in a ball and quit. Is this just a "women's thing"? I don't believe so. The human struggle for acceptance and equality is universal.

The journey from birth to death is about figuring out what works and doing it. It's about honoring all the other journeys that you come up against along the way and celebrating each other's wins, each brilliant spot in each other's path, knowing that there will also be dark moments, and long nights that these moments of brilliance will help us each move through.

After 60 years, for myself, Love has become the common denominator. When I peel away the layers, the behaviors the mores and dictates and look at the brilliance and the FREEDOM I see only LOVE.

Wishing you Love on the most auspicious International Women's Day.

Hugs,
Betsy

Day 65: Find a Journey Worthy of Your Heart and Soul

Why do you get up in the morning? I mean really, why do you get up in the morning?

[1] "The challenge of our time is to find a journey worthy of your heart and your soul." 

There are so many people stuck in their lives, stuck supporting habits that they could easily live without, or even ones they don't really want, stuck dampening creativity for the greater good, stuck, stuck, stuck, and yet we continue to raise our children to leap into that system, both feet and try to make it work for them. Is it working for you? Really? You can say that you are using all of your gifts and talents and that your life is all that it can be? If you say yes, I say GOOD FOR YOU! But if you say no, you need to read on. In order to know where it is your gifts and talents can be best utilized, it's certainly helpful to understand your gifts and talents. Put simply, you need to fully understand YOU. Understanding your WHY is key to getting down to what you are capable of, and understanding the boundaries it makes sense to push at, to expand, to take risks with. At your core lies the key to your happiness and it centers on your WHY. So let's take a look at your WHY.

In order to connect with your WHY, think about what you are passionate about. What do you love to do? What things do you do that you can get lost in because they feel so right? It doesn't have to be anything earth shattering. 

 Here's an example: I LOVE hand thrown pottery: the rich texture of glazes and clay, the hand thrown marks of tactile creativity - I just LOVE it! I'm enthralled when I'm able to go to a potter's shop and watch pottery being made, and I love to throw pottery, to work with the clay, to kneed it and work it, to shape it and mold it. It's a wonderful process and so very hands-on - a creative union of body and mind. I love the rich textures of the glazes - the earthiness of it. It's delightful! 

Something else that rocks my world? People:

I am fascinated with humanity: how we communicate, how we relate to each other, what bonds we form, how we think and feel... the diversity of man's capability to connect in meaningful ways - the breadth, depth, and scope of this connectivity AMAZES me! 

The next step in discovering the core of your WHY is to take apart the things you love to do to see what makes them tick, for you. As I mull over why I am so enthralled with pottery, some concepts come to mind: shaping something - taking a material and turning it into a thing of beauty; the somewhat solitary nature of the actual process - me time is important in my world; creating something that has a purpose and that serves myself and others, whether as an object of beauty or as a useful container. The final act that I "get" about myself is the act of letting go of what I have created and sending it out into the world to serve its purpose and to benefit others. 

So the key elements here are creativity, applying my skills and talents to shape something, and then benefiting the world in some way. Mixed in with this are the concepts of beauty and usefulness of what I create. 

Then I look at my passion for communication and I see many of the same concepts at play: the intricacies of the medium - language and connecting with others in meaningful ways, creativity as we work our medium to be truly heard and understood, and the ultimate sharing of what lies within each of us as we reach out to each other. There is beauty in the human soul and there the creation of new connections and new meanings as we explore each other's worlds. Each of us, even those living side by side, have unique perspectives on life and the world and we each have the opportunity to enrich the experience by sharing who we are, what we believe, and how we see the world. Humanity is a rich tapestry and each of us is a thread in the warp and weave of what we collectively create.

[2] "We need you to provide the things that are unexpected, scarce, and valuable."

[3] "What’s scarce is trust, connection, and surprise."

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[1] [2] [3] Godin, Seth (2012-12-31). The Icarus Deception: How High Will You Fly?