Searching for the Succulent

Searching for the Succulent

 

 

We dress her up.  We pin her up.  We touch her up.

We expect a poster, a magazine spread. 
We expect a woman not to age.  Not to change.

Where did we go wrong?  What happened? 
Where did we lose our perspective? 
When did we start teaching women that they were not good enough? 
That they had to change in order to be noticed. 

When did we start teaching women that they had to be noticed in order to have worth?

A resent study reported a significant increase in breast augmentation for 'women' age 13-19.  When I read this study my heart dropped.  What are we teaching our young? 

 

And when, as women, did we come to believe we had to change the female form in order to accept the female form?  In order to be beautiful.  Perfect.  Put together.  Confident? 

Why do we have to hold it all together in such a way that we are compared to the air brushed pictures we have come to emulate?  What happened to the succulent, wild woman that let her hair down?  That danced barefoot in the rain? 

We cover ourselves up with makeup.  We unground ourselves with heels.  We tummy tuck, get breast implants, botox, liposuction.  We wrap ourselves up in plastic.  We bake ourselves in tanning beds. 

We do all of this in order to present, and ultimately, to accept ourselves as beautiful. 

I understand we live in a culture where certain things are expected.  Taking care of ourselves out of self love is imperative.  Dressing up and presenting ourselves with confidence and beauty is an expression of self respect. 

 

Being a woman is about striking a balance between our soul-self and our expression of that self.  As a woman we have to pick and choose what represents who we really are.  What represents and reflects our Spirit and stay true to that. 

 

And the only way to do that is to know our Self. 

Not who culture tells us to be.  But who we really Are.  On the inside 

Sadly, our culture and, it seems, our belief systems about ourselves ask us to represent and reflect who we think we SHOULD be.  Expressed in our form.  Which, as culture would lead us to believe, defines our Essence, Spirit, Worth. 

Actually, we are created in such a way that our spirit and our body thrive on living honorably and being authentic.  I am sorry to say, our culture has long forgotten that. 

Our women need to ground.  We need to see more of the sacredness of women.  The real, raw, unapologetically authentic woman.  A beautiful mess of emotion and passion and heart.  A woman who grounds herself into Mother Earth.  A woman who considers and connects to her Spirit.  Her purpose.  The reason for her life on the planet.  A woman who is in touch with herself and gets a bigger picture of Life and Spirit and Sacredness.  A woman who is comfortable in her skin, in the temple that was created for her.  A woman that takes care of her form in a loving and honorable way. 

A woman who understands that it’s not about what heels you wear.  It’s about how you fill your shoes.  It’s about how you stand.  How you treat people.  How you treat yourself. 

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I want the wild.  I want the heart. 

I want her hair down and her heels off. 

 

I want the succulent, wild woman. Created in God’s perfect image. 

Just the way you are. 

I Would

I hold space for many women.  Space to learn and discover who they are.  

I sit with them, knee to knee, and I draw out the female cycle.  I explain how it works.  Why it works.  Why it is important.  I speak with them about what they will feel in their bodies with each ovulation, with each period.  I encourage them to get to know themselves, to get to know their bodies.  

Why every women is not taught this is beyond me.  In all of our education, with all of our knowledge, why is this left unsaid?  ...But that discussion is for another day, another post.  

I was blessed with a boy to nurture and raise.  I am fully aware that one of my purposes for being his mother is to raise a man that respects, honors, and cherishes the natural order of the feminine.  

I do not have a daughter but if I did, I would:

I would let her dance in her innocence.  Dance and laugh and dance some more.  And I would smile as I watched the wind blow through her hair and carry her laugher into forever.  

I would do nothing but love her.  Love her deeply and unconditionally, so she finds comfort in love.  So she allows herself to love and be loved.  

Everyday, I would walk the ground with her.  Barefoot.  Let her absorb the energy of Mother Earth.  Let her give and release energy back to Earth Mother. 

I would show her how to be comfortable in her skin.  That I love my body.  I would teach her how to love her own.  

I would show her how to take care of herself, not out of vanity, but out of love for her Self.  I would show her the true essence of beauty.        

I would remind her that her body is a Temple.  Sacred.  That is should be honored.  

Before the tides change, I would speak with her about how she will step into her cycle.  How her body will change, grow, and develop.  We will talk about what it means to carry oneself with honor.  Not to give it all away.  Not to hide it in shame.  But to walk with confidence in who she is and who she is becoming.  

I would prepare her to bleed.  To welcome the transition into womanhood.  I would gather women, my sisters, so that we could speak of the sacredness of womanhood.  Share our stories.  Bleed together.  Be grateful for Mother Earth. 

I would encourage her to both Sun Bathe and Moon Bathe.  Take in Masculine.  Take in Feminine.  Be content and open under the Full Moon.  For just as the Moon pulls the tides of the oceans, I would acknowledge that it pulls the tides in myself.  In my daughter.  I would encourage her to be grateful and protective of her time to balance, renew, and restore.  

I would teacher her about the sacredness of her sexuality.  That sex is more than an act.  That there is a spiritual connection, an intimacy and vulnerability, a giving and receiving of energy.  

I would teach her to honor her body.  To honor her cycle.  To chart her cycle.  

I would teach her to stand in her femininity.  Her fertility.  To know herself.  And to know her Creative Power.