Women: Let’s March Onward and Inward in 2018
In 2017 women stepped up in larger numbers than ever before to demand appropriate treatment in the workplace. Although it was sad and troubling to hear these brave women’s stories, it was in part the trigger for a renewed era of respect and appreciation for women.
Valuing and respecting women—in fact, valuing everyone—is the foundation for thriving as a society.
Throughout time women have needed to find the courage to stand up and speak out, and to sometimes face harsh retribution. In earlier groundbreaking hard-won victories, women gained the rights to education, to property, to custody of their own children, to vote, and to take office. Slowly and steadily women have been growing in more strength and power in achieving what is, after all, their unalienable rights as citizens in our society. The dynamic of a society is largely a refection of the quality of its citizenry and their power.
True Power
Being a chief executive officer of a company is not power. How you take command of that role will determine the quality of your authority. If you bully your employees—or, as the head of any nation, your citizens or other nations—you are abusing power. A weak, flawed person is often the biggest bully on the street. A true leader—man or woman—who naturally commands respect, is always respectful. Real power, as illustrated by leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, is nourishing and peaceful. Sometimes I wonder if there would be as much war in our world if women were in more positions of leadership, an example being the war-time leadership of the International Congress of Women which met at The Hague in 1915 and led to a spectacular effort to end the war.
Where Do We Go from Here?
We have been evolving as individuals, as societies, and as the world since the beginning of time. To grow is the nature of life. What is that next step of evolution for us as women entering 2018? I believe the next step for women is not in seeking power over men, which would be threatening and demeaning, but in achieving a real balance of power between the two genders. This step is already naturally unfolding as women continue to gather together, to speak out, to get educated and to accept challenges.
Every woman can take an even more profound step by accessing the essence of her being. At the deepest level of our minds and hearts, there is an ocean of silence from which infinite nourishing power—our intelligence, creativity and dynamism—arise. Connecting to one’s silent inviolable source will provide a platform of stability, allowing one to sail calmly through stormy waters. Experiencing deeper silence within us means unfolding more wisdom and an expanded vision of life.
True Power Lies Within
Meditation and Yoga are extremely popular today. Many powerful women such as Oprah Winfrey, Katie Couric, Katy Perry, and Arianna Huffington practice Transcendental Meditation. They all know that strength and the roots of harmony lie within. In just a few minutes time, the TM technique allows one to effortlessly access the source of power within. All these women have realized the importance of diving beyond the layers of doubt, superficialities, and insecurities to a place of pure peace, joy, stillness, strength —one’s inherent truth.
While we continue to march forward outwardly, let’s also march inward and discover the source of the greatest power of all—the nourishing power of love.
About the Author
Ann Purcell is a poet, an award-winning author, a songwriter and CD producer, a regular contributor to the Huffington Post, and has been featured in podcasts and radio shows. She is an international leader of TM for Women.
