Saturday, February 12, 2011

Oppression looks differently, but it still exists.

The following is addressed to females (obviously). But guys, you can aid in restoring the dignity that’s been lost…
How might it have been different for you if, on your first menstrual day, your mother had given you a bouquet of flowers and taken you to lunch, and then the two of you had gone to meet your father at the jeweler, where your ears were pierced, and your father bought you your first pair of earrings, and then you went with a few of your friends to get your first lip colouring; and then you went,
for the very first time,
To the Women’s Lodge,
To learn
The wisdom of women?
How might your life be different?
--Judith Duerk, Circle of Stones
(Minus the bit about lipstick and jewelry defining femininity)
In a day where Emotions are down-played, women are taught from a young age that their menstrual cycles and femininity breed irrationality. Tampon ads such as, “Out of sight, out of mind” foster us to believe the lie that life may be continued during menstruation as though nothing were different. Little do we know that our ignorance of our bodies and intuition is exactly what causes our emotional roller-coasters, proving our “irrationality” true.

I know that every female reading this right now knows what I am talking about when I say that every emotion you experience has some sort of significance. For those of you who don’t sort through your emotions and thoughts on a regular basis, you probably feel like a basket-case when you are on your period and have frequently used it as justification for your “unreasonable” behavior.

But when we begin to look at the significance of our fatigue and tenderness of heart that comes pre-menstrually, we see a unique sort of intuition the woman has to offer the world. In the words of Christiane Northrup (M.D.):
Premenstrually, the veil between the worlds of the seen and unseen, the conscious and the unconscious, is much thinner…the premenstrual phase is therefore a time when we have greater…ability to recognize and transform the difficult and painful areas of our lives.
If we let ourselves retreat, rest, and be fully honest to confront what comes and analyze what it is that‘s taking place, wisdom is unleashed not only in our own lives, but the lives of those around us.

So let yourself rest. Let your mind wander. Experience your intuition fully. And set aside time to think before you speak. But whatever you do, don't neglect your femininity.

The world needs your attunement to what's taking place.