Right now I am reading Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. It's one of those books that throughout the day I'll be thinking of how I can't wait to have some time to get back to it. You can read more about the book here if you want, but primarily it's about female friendship, suffering and survival. I also found it interesting that nu shu-the secret code writing used by women in the remote area of southern Hunan Province-developed at least a thousand years ago and appears to be the only written language in the world to have been created by women exclusively for their own use. Tells quite a bit about their culture and the strength and resourcefulness of all women I think. -j
Meditation: Becoming
Quote:
"One is not born a woman, one becomes one." - Simone de Beauvoir
From Anne. W. Schaef's book "Meditations For Women Who Do too Much"
Meditation:
We live in a society that puts so much emphasis upon youth, looks, and attractiveness that we have very few models for womanliness.
Without knowing how to get there, we are suddenly expected to be women and to have the wisdom and stature of a woman.
In a society that knows little about process, there is an assumption that one is a little girl and then suddenly one is a womana. In our sexualized culture, becoming a woman almost always is linked to our sexuality. Womanhood is much more than being ssexual and producing babies. Womanhood is the progressive process of bringing all we have to offer as persons to ourselves and those around us.
A. W. Shaef's words for the day:
I am being a woman. That is a process, not a state.
Jen, I thought you'd like the above. Schaef says in her book that she created the book of meditations "not to tell one what to do, not to tell one how one should be, and not to give answers."
Instead, Shaef says, the meditations are "intended to stir up some feelings, get one thinking, and perhaps add to the quality and vitality of one's life."
After reading your blog today I thought you'd enjoy the meditation. :-)
Love,
Ann
THANK YOU! This brought tears to my eyes! :) And oh what a process it is, (being a woman that is!) Thanks for sharing!
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