STANDING YOUR GROUND.

Warrior Female – Fabienne Arietti

I’ve been reading The Sacred path of the Warrior by Chogyam Trungpa.   And no, I do not have ambitions to morph into Xena the Warrior Princess. The Warrior is a person who is fully realised, who understands him/herself.

The Warrrior in Trungpa’s book is not a soldier doing battle, the Warrior is  a person who knows themself and is secure in the knowledge.   the Warrior knows that  wherever he/she stands  he/she is always in the exactly right place.   I like that idea and I think that it is important especially for women.

Unfortunately, the World constantly tells women that they have no place there  because their hair is not shiny enough.   Because they’re not tall enough, small enough, the right shape, the right dress size.  Because they’re not wearing the right fashions, the right shoes, carrying the right handbags.    The world tells us that our interests are restricted to Shopping, Chocolate, Shoes, Handbags and Babies. 

You don’t believe me?   Open any newspaper, or magazine.   Look at the pootographs of politicians, sportspeople, business people , the people who influence the world – they’re nearly all  men.  The commentry reports  their ideas and actions.   This demonstrates to  young men that they have the potential to take a significant place in the world.   

But  if you are a women in a position of power, even a woman as powerful as Angela Merkel or Hilary Clinton or Mary Robinson.   Even if your ideas and actions are affecting the lives of millions of people, the commentry is commonly about what you are wearing, you hair, your shoes.   The implication being  that your ideas and actions are insignificant. 

On Wikipedia male scientists get an average of five paragraphs.   Women scientists get a couple of lines even those women who  have made huge contributions to science.  

Clearly the World is not going to make room for us so we have to claim it for ourselves.   Women of the world  stand your ground.   You DO have a place in the world. Take a stance and remind yourselves, This is MY place in the world.   This is the right place for me.