BEING FEMALE

Years ago I wrote a catchy little country song entitled, “What Is A
Woman?” I was going through a lot of transition at the time, including
divorce. I was questioning who I was and, having gotten married as a
“girl” still in high school, I was trying to figure out what it now meant
to be a woman.

Like my song notes, as females we play many roles. We are mothers,
sisters, daughters, aunts. We are nurses, managers, engineers,
waitresses. We nurture, organize, teach, create.

And oh, how we create! As we are physically able to create a whole other
body, our female bodies have an extra source of creative energy. This
creativity shows up in the “glow” of a pregnant woman, for example. But
we don’t have to be pregnant to tap into and use this source. We turn on
and use this energy at different creative times – maybe while cooking,
designing new flower beds, reorganizing files, or making a quilt.

We are creative creatures, and we are also healers. Most of us care for
a lot of other people in our lives – our children, husbands, friends,
co-workers, bosses, clients, and even our own parents (especially if
you’re a baby boomer). Finding the balance between caring for ourselves
and caring for others can sometimes be tricky. How many of us feel
guilty when we take an hour for ourselves? We are trained at an early
age to put others first. This can be fine some of the time – fine until
we find ourselves at the “burn-out” stage, that is.

There are many ways we can care for, create for, and “heal” ourselves.
It’s important to take time to go for a walk, read a good book, meditate,
go shopping with a girlfriend, take a nap, or do something you really
enjoy doing. So, try a little experiment – create something just for you
at least once a week! © Jill Miller 2005


Leave a Reply