As women, we tend to spend a lot of our time throwing ourselves under the bus.
We wear shoes that pinch
or long for – and sometimes deprive ourselves for – bodies that are not our own
we give and give and give to
our children
our communities
and we measure our value in the Difference we can make in the world,
the success that we might realize,
(especially as it’s defined by the dominant culture, which is to say: Money. Titles. Accolades. Pats on the back. Productivity. Outcomes).
All the while and all too often, there is a woman inside of us
who is calling out:
“Slow down! Wake up! Pick up your paintbrushes! Listen, listen, listen!”
But we take on another project. Forget to drink enough water. We wear the shoes anyway.
For a lot of us, ignoring our deepest needs for nourishment, creativity, meaning, and connection
ignoring our dreams, our weirdness, our messiness, our fullness
leads to
overwhelm, illness, sadness, frustration
a feeling of being lost to yourself,
a marrow-deep longing
for something more
for less
for change.
I think it’s a longing to [be]come home to yourself.
Which is to say
To be yourself
to come home to yourself
to BE the home you have been looking for
everywhere else but in your own
wide eyes. hips. feet-on-ground. heartbeat. fascinated mind.
To [be]come home to yourself is to remember who you are, and to connect with what matters most and what’s possible for your life.
To [be]come home is to unearth yourself from beneath the expectations, roles, responsibilities, and models of success
– those externally-defined constructs of “What Women Do” –
to get quiet enough to hear yourself again
and reclaim
YOU.
I believe that women’s process of coming home to themselves
is both an individual experience, and a cultural and generational phenomenon
a critical mass of feminine rising.
In fact, I believe this process is one of reclamation
(of personal power, of the wild feminine, of joy)
and it is nothing less than a modern-day Rite of Passage for women.
But here’s the thing:
Ever since Oprah, there’s been an abundant discourse about living authentically.
And we’ve been talking about women reconnecting with their inner wild selves long before Women Who Run With the Wolves.