Birth and the Woman Within

A woman believes she knows who she is - where she's come from, what she's been through in life... and in our minds we often limit ourselves to that perception. We feel we can do only what we have done in the past; that we can be only what we have be what we have been. We know ourselves only by what we have already proven to ourselves and to others... anything outside of our past experience of ourselves seems impossible, out of reach.

Birthing a child can be an experience that opens us up to the realization that we are MORE THAN we thought of ourselves...we are more capable, more powerful, more wise, more loving, more woman, than our minds would allow us to believe. In our hearts that knowledge is there all along; through the process of empowered birth a woman can let herself recognize and acknowledge that power, and free herself to revel in the awe of the realization that nothing is impossible for her, that no fear is stronger than her will, that the whole world is open before her. A woman is rebirthed during the birth of her child... born again into a new understanding of the lovely dichotomy of empowerment and humility... bringing into the outside world the woman she has always been, but didn't realize herself.

As with any birth, the new life is not fully formed, is in need of nurturing and protection as it grows and develops... once you have caught a glimpse of the YOU that is vitally, powerfully you, hang on to it and never forget that that is yourself, and you are splendid.

Beauty Ideals

In other cultures the body of a woman who has borne children is not considered unattractive; in fact a woman who didn't have signs of childbearing on her body would be considered as a child herself. But unfortunately Western culture really drives home the exact opposite ideal, that of looking like you've not had the kids you've had - flat stomach, smooth skin, perky breasts... and even if we get empowered and stop buying into the popular culture that we're raised with, a lot of it is pretty deeply ingrained and it takes a lot of will to break free of it and experience really enjoying our bodies.

It seems that Western culture is determined to reduce women to nothing more than eye candy. The miracles her body can perform, such as childbearing and breastfeeding, are portrayed as evil curses that will "ruin" her body and reduce her attractiveness. So much time and money and energy are spent by the women in the US and elsewhere in the pursuit of a body that is in a lifelong state of "unmarred" and yet hyper-sexual youth... it is a continually growing industry. But all this does is reduce a woman to the status of object, a lovely doll who strives for conformity in her body and face. Any signs of experience or character or individuality are considered to be flaws that need to be fixed, hidden, or apologized for. Even very young girls begin to realize that their worth in society as attractive, successful females rests on forcing themselves into a mold of how they are supposed to look, an unrealistic ideal that even the most beautiful supermodels do not in reality attain. Our culture flows so deep in and around us that to combat this negative attitude is an uphill battle against a mud flow of resistance, both internal and external.

I think there is a lot of room for most women to learn to support each other in defining your OWN ideal, and striving for that, rather than trying to live up to some air-brushed, computer enhanced version of someone else's idea of what every woman should look like.

What if we are all beautiful? What if we are all amazing and powerful and gorgeous shining lights in this world, and believing anything else is a disservice to the Universe?