“Women are the first
environment. We are privileged to be the doorway to life. At the breast of
women, the generations are nourished and sustained. From the bodies of women
flow the relationship of those generations to both society and to the natural
world. In this way is the Earth our mother, the old people said. In this way,
we as women are Earth.” ~ Katsi Cook
I came across this very profound statement by midwife, Katsi
Cook, and it started the wheels of thought turning in my head. There’s a lot of
wisdom held in those sixty-four words, however, I’m only going to focus on a
very small part of it.
Katsi Cook’s statement speaks volumes about self-care, when
it comes to women. From the day we come into this world as female children, we
are born with a great amount of power and responsibility. You see, we have been
tasked with ushering in the future generations, and teaching them the ways of
the spiritual and natural world.
As women, we have a duty and responsibility to all the women
who will come after us. This is especially important for new mothers, or even
those who hope to become mothers one day. The world as we know it no longer
recognizes the power and authority of women. Regaining power and control begins
with the following mindset (popular word for internal belief):
I AM POWERFULLY WORTHY OF ALL THINGS GREAT AND SMALL.
Over my lifetime, I learned something that I am going to
share with you now: women are the heart and soul of every family, community,
nation, and indeed the world. Upon our creation, we were emblazoned with the
ability to empathize and express compassion, even unto ourselves. Think about that for a moment.
I follow the Nicole Phillips’ Kindness is Contagious
blog, Dr. Susan Mathison’s Positively Beautiful blog,
and Cris Linnares like a puppy dog
follows a child. Why? Because, these women got it going on, and even inspirers need
a little inspiration sometimes. Each of them has traveled seemingly very
different paths in life, yet has met in the Age of Women.
What has any of that to do with the Katsi Cook statement? We
are the birthers of the nations. If we ourselves are sick, what will we birth,
but more sickness and dysfunction? As the birthers, we need to care for
ourselves and ensure that we are strong and healthy, starting from the inside.
This is the Age of Women where:
- No longer will we stand by and watch as our daughters are over-sexualized in the media to the point of eating disorders and self-hatred.
- No longer will we accept verbal or physical beat-downs of our daughters by other girls, to the point of suicide.
- No longer will we accept or condone the verbal and physical abuse propagated and condoned by weak men, to the point of demoralization.
- No longer will we self-talk ourselves into doubt and fear, to the point of subjugation.