Women...Time to Awaken to Your Power; Others Will Follow Your Lead

“IT IS OFTEN SAID THAT THE FIRST SOUND WE HEAR IN THE WOMB IS OUR MOTHER’S HEARTBEAT.

ACTUALLY, THE FIRST SOUND TO VIBRATE OUR NEWLY DEVELOPED HEARING APPARATUS IS THE PULSE OF OUR MOTHER’S BLOOD THROUGH HER VEINS AND ARTERIES. WE VIBRATE TO THAT PRIMORDIAL RHYTHM EVEN BEFORE WE HAVE EARS TO HEAR. BEFORE WE WERE CONCEIVED WE EXISTED IN PART AS AN EGG IN OUR MOTHER’S OVARY. ALL THE EGGS A WOMAN WILL EVER CARRY FORM IN HER OVARIES WHILE SHE IS A FOUR- MONTH-OLD FETUS IN THE WOMB OF HER MOTHER. THIS MEANS OUR CELLULAR LIFE BEGINS IN THE WOMB OF OUR GRANDMOTHER.

EACH OF US SPENT 5 MONTHS IN OUR GRANDMOTHER’S WOMB AND SHE IN TURN FORMED WITHIN THE FORM OF HER GRANDMOTHER. WE VIBRATE TO THE RHYTHMS OF OUR MOTHER’S BLOOD BEFORE SHE HERSELF IS BORN. AND THIS PULSE IS THE THREAD OF BLOOD THAT RUNS ALL THE WAY BACK THROUGH THE GRANDMOTHERS TO THE FIRST MOTHER. WE ALL SHARE THE BLOOD OF THE FIRST MOTHER – WE TRULY ARE CHILDREN OF ONE BLOOD.”

“When Women Were Drummers,” by Layne Redmond

This excerpt from “When Women Were Drummers,” is such a stunning metaphor of truth and wisdom shared and collected by all women simultaneously across time and space. When I look at my life between birth and now, I see a host of women who have had an impact on the way I approach and navigate my life. I can see the connections made from my role models to their role models, whether it is the influence my Mom had on me or that my grandmother had on my mom, or that my Great Grandmother had on my Grandmother; their guidance intersects in both linear and non-linear ways. And, even though I didn’t meet my Great Grandmother while she was living…I am thinking that not only was her bloodline being passed down, but also all her hopes and dreams for herself and the women, including me, who had not been born yet. What if the contemporary women I’ve been inspired by were in the dreams of those who lived before them? What if I could embody the qualities my female ancestors held,…but, in my lifetime, where a greater freedom and laser focus might unfold in the quickening of results and dreams manifested beyond what they ever imagined? As I write these words, I am feeling my “heartbeat” and can almost hear the “drumming” in the distance.

I have contemplated what qualities or ways of being my Mom and Grandmothers would want me to embrace in my lifetime, and maybe in particular at this time in history. Given that reflection, allow me to introduce just a few women in particular who I feel have mirrored those qualities for me so I could/can better access them in myself. I’d like to give recognition to these women and their female guideposts in the following narratives, whose stories became interwoven in my story in a sense. After all, “We truly are children of one blood.”

Sister Mary Camille Kelley

“Women Who Make A Difference,” is the tag line of Mercy High School, an all-girl high school located in Michigan that I attended in the mid 70’s. Although the motto was not officially incorporated into the marketing of the school till decades later, I can state unequivocally that the nuns who led Mercy during my time there laid the groundwork for that catch phrase being used today. It was at Mercy that my critical thinking skills were developed and honed. It was at Mercy that the principal, Sister Camille Kelley, not only invoked the values of compassion, mercy, and justice throughout the curriculum, but also wanted the young women who attended to understand the world in which they lived and would be embarking into upon graduation. That’s why birth control methods were discussed, why alternative lifestyles were addressed, and why world religions were explored while the school maintained its Catholic identity. When some of the parents questioned her less than conservative approaches to “lesson plans,” she did not back down. She stood in her truth. “Our intention is to share information that will serve your daughters now, and when they leave here and go out and make sense of the world.” I would understand later, that this young principal, and other sisters who taught there at that time were in part, not only mentored by the Saints of their Faith – like Mother Teresa, but also influenced by the politics and contemporary women of their time such as Gloria Steinem or Germaine Greer, who in the late 1960’s early 70’s were standing up for women’s rights and making waves in the patriarchy of the time. My takeaway? To make decisions by connecting to both my heart and mind, and to stand in my truth.

Oprah Winfrey

I literally and figuratively grew up watching Oprah Winfrey. I was 25 and she was 30 when her show went national. I evolved as a person/woman as I watched her shows and listened to the topics her guests presented along with and including her own personal stories. Oprah shared her vulnerability and courage long before author Brene Brown would do her research on the subject and ultimately be a guest on Oprah’s show. I always took what Oprah shared to heart – I live my life differently because of the content Oprah brought to my living room on a daily basis. What did I learn? The importance of purging and organizing to lighten my load; to always remember to “breathe” if I am ever attacked so that I can let out a scream and or shout; to think twice before I criticize anyone because “shame is a spirit-killer”; to be more compassionate based on the stories/interviews Oprah did with people who were grieving or struggling; I also began to understand how I compartmentalize issues in my own life because of her interview with Bill Clinton; I now embrace my shadow side, (discussed in her interview with author Debbie Ford), because it will free me up to be more of who I am on a conscious level; and I acknowledge the importance of gratitude or “Simple Abundance” via Oprah’s (interview with author Sarah Ban Breathnach). Oprah introduced an array of women who she was inspired by, and I was forever changed by, along with millions of other women. As a result, I take more risks to be the change I wish to see in the world.

Rachel Maddow

Rachel Maddow

I am shown/ informed daily how important historical perspectives are through the wonderful broadcasts of Journalist Rachel Maddow, of MSNBC. Dare I say I am wiser, and often comforted because of her ability to relate the big picture in a timeline, as it relates to any given current news story. I see her critical thinking skills, her integrity, and empathy coming through her broadcasts, as well as her humility as she asks guests if her introductions caught all the nuances of their intended stories. In this time of our nation’s political story and the Coronavirus crisis, I am appreciative of the press, but in particular for Rachel, a well-educated journalist who speaks “truth to power.” I feel supported as I watch her navigate, along with her audience, these tumultuous times in our country.

In conclusion, I believe my female ancestors would appreciate the life-giving ways that these women have conducted themselves; that they would have dreamed and hoped that I would be taught, influenced, and nurtured by such admirable, wise women. I am grateful to all my relations and to all those women beyond the familial, who have influenced me throughout my life and in doing so raise the vibration of all women collectively.