Posts
International Women’s Day and the current topic in the cafe about the dehumanisation of women in the media have
made me think. Rather than let myself be depressed by what I cannot
change I am looking to the future. The way we think, the things we do
and the way we bring up our children is what will shape society and
what it will bring for us as women. So on this note….
…I start with our current featured artist, Strawberries.
Understanding ourselves, where we come from and where we might go and where we WISH to go is the key to unlocking our future.
the key idea by © strawberries
A deeper understanding of our desires and needs is the first step.
Unlocking by © RC deWinter
“Tell me what’s inside your heart,” you wrote,
so I went hunting for the key to that neglected vault:
repository of old hurts, old loves, old lives, old dreams,
perfect hiding place for guilt and fault.
Reservoir of secret hopes,
ofttimes flooded o’erfull by streams of tears:
enough to float all happiness away,
stranded, drifting in a sea of years.
Hunt I did, in every dusty nook,
looked high and low in all the chambers of my weary soul:
each sealed room, each spiraled stair, each twisting endless hall,
that damnably elusive key my goal.
One dim map, one ancient candle frail,
nothing breaking clumsy fall, a flight:
so steep a drop, but in that darkness lay,
so long abandoned, my heart’s key, once bright.
Take the key, unlock my fragile heart,
together we’ll discover what has long been sleeping there:
revealing each layer, lying close upon another,
tightly packed, no room to move, no air.
Out pours passion, out pours pain,
out pours need, pain’s brother in arms:
an overwhelming gush of bitter juice,
which only Love can heal with its charms.
Realising how strong we really are and what we can do is another step.
I Am Strong by © Tamarra BaVincio
Standing up for ourselves will help, too. Accepting our anger as righteous and realising that anger can be freeing.
provocation by © autumnwind
snake
you have bitten me
one last time
through my children
you reach me now
vile manipulation
rattle yourself so righteous
three chambered heart
venomous creature
how you slither
I see you
I hear you
I loathe you
you have wounded
my soul
often paralyzed my heart
with disbelief
then rage
I am livid
now you delude
those closest to me
replicating nightmares
creating new ones…
for your own personal revenge
you are the viper
in this cruel enough world
you are the shadow
created not from the sun
you crawl
dark covering dark
beware the hawk
it circles
marking targets
it’s eyesight keen
and quite deadly
though I may not witness
from this earthly plain
when your eyes are forced open
they shall one day see
for now
my weapon is drawn
as I defiantly crave blood
would I scream
the world would hear me
…and taste my tears
as I discover now after all
I have become the monster
you are
let us do battle then…
I have died enough
in this lifetime
*
*
*
forgive me
Holding on to our passions and making dreams come true.
Passion Framed by © Heather King
Letting go of old beliefs and making new beliefs become reality.
Im the dreamer in his song by © Sukhwinder Flora
Spoken in tongues
That are all and one
We ploughed our way
Through the change
And caged beliefs
A story told from
Ages past
All my life
Ive had this feeling in my soul
But not asked
Because the questions can mislead
But all my life I’ve known
We’re not the only ones
I’m the dreamer in his song
But I’m only a shadow of you
Not love
Not truth
I’m only a shadow of you
He tried to take
My energy
Refused to see
I didn’t belong
to him
Was not his prize or property
They only fed the fire that was already raging
They were not the course of my making
But all my life I’ve known
We’re not the only ones
I’m the dreamer in his song
But I’m only a shadow of you
Not love
Not truth
I’m only a shadow of you
She has lions
In her hands
They choose to listen
And understand
They chose to stay
With her
By her side
With no chains or whips or lies
Or circus acts
Or clowns and their masks
There are vultures waiting to dive
To bend and break
Manipulate for their own gain
But this is not a game
That I will play
No more feathers for others
To take
Broken vases
And whispering fences
Move with the tides and rise
When my light is weak
But all my life I’ve known
We’re not the only ones
I’m the dreamer in his song
But I’m only a shadow of you
Not love
Not truth
I’m only a shadow of you
And there’s this flame that burns on and on
The nameless unchosen one
I don’t own this light
But I want it to own me
And while I’m alive
I’ll sing out loud
I’ll sing like you’re mine
I’ll sing like im free
And we’re not the only ones
I’m the dreamer in his song
Im am the river running
And nothing can stop this flood
No terms
No conditions
No pre-written verse
Because I’m the difference
The difference
The difference
The difference
Im the difference
We shape our own futures, become who we want to be, and a little playing along the way will only help.
progress play II by © Cynthia Lund Torroll
We don’t have to adhere to roles laid out for us, but define ourselves.
woman not defined by © Alenka Co
I’m not defined by years
by gender, colour, race or creed
if you go looking there, you won’t find me.
I can’t tell you what I am
truly I don’t know
but I do think and wonder
wonder why we feel the same
regardless of definitions we assume
to define us, separate us ….
why would I want to be separate from you?
I think once I was by your side
when we were part of a star
then air and earth and sea
till here we are, on this pebble in space
spinning together through a universe of stars
I don’t know what we’re doing here but I do know this:
we’re not defined by years,
by gender, colour, race or creed
I think we leave a trace wherever we’ve been
and we’ve still far to go
The future is not cast in stone. We make it happen by the decisions we make and through the things we stand for.
Spinning the future by © annacuypers
We don’t need to let ourselves be restricted by preconceptions and outdated role models.
Because you’re a girl by © msdebbie
Dear women,
I like Twitter and Facebook as much as the next person, but on Thursday, 8 March 2012, I have to admit, I was kind of trembling in my tummy, delirious in my daydreams, feverish in my furore, that we still need to have an International Women’s Day (IWD).
Really? Yeah, really. Looking back over the previous UN Themes, since 1975 (year of my birth), gave me a pretty nasty feeling…we still have so much, SO MUCH, to do:
- 2012: Empower Rural Women – End Hunger and Poverty
- 2011: Equal access to education, training and science and technology
- 2010: Equal rights, equal opportunities: Progress for all
- 2009: Women and men united to end violence against women and girls
- 2008: Investing in Women and Girls
- 2007: Ending Impunity for Violence against Women and Girls
- 2006: Women in decision-making
- 2005: Gender Equality Beyond 2005: Building a More Secure Future
- 2004: Women and HIV/AIDS
- 2003: Gender Equality and the Millennium Development Goals
- 2002: Afghan Women Today: Realities and Opportunities
- 2001: Women and Peace: Women Managing Conflicts
- 2000: Women Uniting for Peace
- 1999: World Free of Violence against Women
- 1998: Women and Human Rights
- 1997: Women at the Peace Table
- 1996: Celebrating the Past, Planning for the Future
- 1975: First IWD celebrated by the United Nations
The aspect that makes me most nauseous. How often do we need to read about equality, equal rights and equal access?
The world needs to change. For girls especially. My advice:
For every person who makes you feel bad, because you’re a girl – breathe.
For every person who says your opinion is unimportant, because you’re a girl – ignore them.
For every person who offers rudeness, because you’re a girl – thank them for reminding you of good manners.
For every person who calls you stupid, because you’re a girl – stand tall.
For every person who wants you to hurt, because you’re a girl – thank them for hiding behind pettiness.
For every person who denies women’s achievements, because you’re a girl – defeat them and strive for whatever inspires you.
For every person who judges your value based on how you look, because you’re a girl – be comfortable in your own skin, with your own face, elevate your mind over superficiality.
For every person who suggests anger and rage are masculine, because you’re a girl – yell and scream as much as you wish.
For every person who shares a rape joke – then tells you to lighten up, take a joke, because you’re a girl – report them.
For every person who thinks things are good enough the way they are, because you’re a girl – change them.
For every person who tells you it’s impossible to be as good as the boys, because you’re a girl – reject them.
For every person who thinks they can do anything to you without complaint or repercussion, because you’re a girl – show them you know your rights, your worth as an individual, and cannot be trapped by their miniscule mind.
Our fate is ours to define, in our art, our writing, the way we live and the way we think.
Ka by © Barbara Bezina
After all, there is a whole world out there….
The awakening by © su2anne
What am I?
I find no form… a
Nebulous cloud
Ephemeral. Contracting
And
Expanding I touch the
Infinite. Star
Clusters surround. I
Float.
Buoyant
Uplifted
Bedazzled . An
Evanescent rainbow
Spanning the
Universe.
I hope you find this week’s features inspriational. Please congratulate the featured artists and writers on showing us a little of their soul and a little piece of the puzzle on how to ‘become’.
…I start with our current featured artist, Strawberries.
Understanding ourselves, where we come from and where we might go and where we WISH to go is the key to unlocking our future.
the key idea by © strawberries
A deeper understanding of our desires and needs is the first step.
Unlocking by © RC deWinter
“Tell me what’s inside your heart,” you wrote,
so I went hunting for the key to that neglected vault:
repository of old hurts, old loves, old lives, old dreams,
perfect hiding place for guilt and fault.
Reservoir of secret hopes,
ofttimes flooded o’erfull by streams of tears:
enough to float all happiness away,
stranded, drifting in a sea of years.
Hunt I did, in every dusty nook,
looked high and low in all the chambers of my weary soul:
each sealed room, each spiraled stair, each twisting endless hall,
that damnably elusive key my goal.
One dim map, one ancient candle frail,
nothing breaking clumsy fall, a flight:
so steep a drop, but in that darkness lay,
so long abandoned, my heart’s key, once bright.
Take the key, unlock my fragile heart,
together we’ll discover what has long been sleeping there:
revealing each layer, lying close upon another,
tightly packed, no room to move, no air.
Out pours passion, out pours pain,
out pours need, pain’s brother in arms:
an overwhelming gush of bitter juice,
which only Love can heal with its charms.
Realising how strong we really are and what we can do is another step.
I Am Strong by © Tamarra BaVincio
Standing up for ourselves will help, too. Accepting our anger as righteous and realising that anger can be freeing.
provocation by © autumnwind
snake
you have bitten me
one last time
through my children
you reach me now
vile manipulation
rattle yourself so righteous
three chambered heart
venomous creature
how you slither
I see you
I hear you
I loathe you
you have wounded
my soul
often paralyzed my heart
with disbelief
then rage
I am livid
now you delude
those closest to me
replicating nightmares
creating new ones…
for your own personal revenge
you are the viper
in this cruel enough world
you are the shadow
created not from the sun
you crawl
dark covering dark
beware the hawk
it circles
marking targets
it’s eyesight keen
and quite deadly
though I may not witness
from this earthly plain
when your eyes are forced open
they shall one day see
for now
my weapon is drawn
as I defiantly crave blood
would I scream
the world would hear me
…and taste my tears
as I discover now after all
I have become the monster
you are
let us do battle then…
I have died enough
in this lifetime
*
*
*
forgive me
Holding on to our passions and making dreams come true.
Passion Framed by © Heather King
Letting go of old beliefs and making new beliefs become reality.
Im the dreamer in his song by © Sukhwinder Flora
Spoken in tongues
That are all and one
We ploughed our way
Through the change
And caged beliefs
A story told from
Ages past
All my life
Ive had this feeling in my soul
But not asked
Because the questions can mislead
But all my life I’ve known
We’re not the only ones
I’m the dreamer in his song
But I’m only a shadow of you
Not love
Not truth
I’m only a shadow of you
He tried to take
My energy
Refused to see
I didn’t belong
to him
Was not his prize or property
They only fed the fire that was already raging
They were not the course of my making
But all my life I’ve known
We’re not the only ones
I’m the dreamer in his song
But I’m only a shadow of you
Not love
Not truth
I’m only a shadow of you
She has lions
In her hands
They choose to listen
And understand
They chose to stay
With her
By her side
With no chains or whips or lies
Or circus acts
Or clowns and their masks
There are vultures waiting to dive
To bend and break
Manipulate for their own gain
But this is not a game
That I will play
No more feathers for others
To take
Broken vases
And whispering fences
Move with the tides and rise
When my light is weak
But all my life I’ve known
We’re not the only ones
I’m the dreamer in his song
But I’m only a shadow of you
Not love
Not truth
I’m only a shadow of you
And there’s this flame that burns on and on
The nameless unchosen one
I don’t own this light
But I want it to own me
And while I’m alive
I’ll sing out loud
I’ll sing like you’re mine
I’ll sing like im free
And we’re not the only ones
I’m the dreamer in his song
Im am the river running
And nothing can stop this flood
No terms
No conditions
No pre-written verse
Because I’m the difference
The difference
The difference
The difference
Im the difference
We shape our own futures, become who we want to be, and a little playing along the way will only help.
progress play II by © Cynthia Lund Torroll
We don’t have to adhere to roles laid out for us, but define ourselves.
woman not defined by © Alenka Co
I’m not defined by years
by gender, colour, race or creed
if you go looking there, you won’t find me.
I can’t tell you what I am
truly I don’t know
but I do think and wonder
wonder why we feel the same
regardless of definitions we assume
to define us, separate us ….
why would I want to be separate from you?
I think once I was by your side
when we were part of a star
then air and earth and sea
till here we are, on this pebble in space
spinning together through a universe of stars
I don’t know what we’re doing here but I do know this:
we’re not defined by years,
by gender, colour, race or creed
I think we leave a trace wherever we’ve been
and we’ve still far to go
The future is not cast in stone. We make it happen by the decisions we make and through the things we stand for.
Spinning the future by © annacuypers
We don’t need to let ourselves be restricted by preconceptions and outdated role models.
Because you’re a girl by © msdebbie
Dear women,
I like Twitter and Facebook as much as the next person, but on Thursday, 8 March 2012, I have to admit, I was kind of trembling in my tummy, delirious in my daydreams, feverish in my furore, that we still need to have an International Women’s Day (IWD).
Really? Yeah, really. Looking back over the previous UN Themes, since 1975 (year of my birth), gave me a pretty nasty feeling…we still have so much, SO MUCH, to do:
- 2012: Empower Rural Women – End Hunger and Poverty
- 2011: Equal access to education, training and science and technology
- 2010: Equal rights, equal opportunities: Progress for all
- 2009: Women and men united to end violence against women and girls
- 2008: Investing in Women and Girls
- 2007: Ending Impunity for Violence against Women and Girls
- 2006: Women in decision-making
- 2005: Gender Equality Beyond 2005: Building a More Secure Future
- 2004: Women and HIV/AIDS
- 2003: Gender Equality and the Millennium Development Goals
- 2002: Afghan Women Today: Realities and Opportunities
- 2001: Women and Peace: Women Managing Conflicts
- 2000: Women Uniting for Peace
- 1999: World Free of Violence against Women
- 1998: Women and Human Rights
- 1997: Women at the Peace Table
- 1996: Celebrating the Past, Planning for the Future
- 1975: First IWD celebrated by the United Nations
The aspect that makes me most nauseous. How often do we need to read about equality, equal rights and equal access?
The world needs to change. For girls especially. My advice:
For every person who makes you feel bad, because you’re a girl – breathe.
For every person who says your opinion is unimportant, because you’re a girl – ignore them.
For every person who offers rudeness, because you’re a girl – thank them for reminding you of good manners.
For every person who calls you stupid, because you’re a girl – stand tall.
For every person who wants you to hurt, because you’re a girl – thank them for hiding behind pettiness.
For every person who denies women’s achievements, because you’re a girl – defeat them and strive for whatever inspires you.
For every person who judges your value based on how you look, because you’re a girl – be comfortable in your own skin, with your own face, elevate your mind over superficiality.
For every person who suggests anger and rage are masculine, because you’re a girl – yell and scream as much as you wish.
For every person who shares a rape joke – then tells you to lighten up, take a joke, because you’re a girl – report them.
For every person who thinks things are good enough the way they are, because you’re a girl – change them.
For every person who tells you it’s impossible to be as good as the boys, because you’re a girl – reject them.
For every person who thinks they can do anything to you without complaint or repercussion, because you’re a girl – show them you know your rights, your worth as an individual, and cannot be trapped by their miniscule mind.
Our fate is ours to define, in our art, our writing, the way we live and the way we think.
Ka by © Barbara Bezina
After all, there is a whole world out there….
The awakening by © su2anne
What am I?
I find no form… a
Nebulous cloud
Ephemeral. Contracting
And
Expanding I touch the
Infinite. Star
Clusters surround. I
Float.
Buoyant
Uplifted
Bedazzled . An
Evanescent rainbow
Spanning the
Universe.
I hope you find this week’s features inspriational. Please congratulate the featured artists and writers on showing us a little of their soul and a little piece of the puzzle on how to ‘become’.
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