Spoke with Galynn today over Skype. She beamed as she spoke about her latest adventure- biking to Steamboat from Fort Collins in a day. Total: 157 miles. She offered the invitation to repeat the feat when I return. Immediately I found myself thinking of all the reasons, excuses, I wouldn’t be able to do that trip.
Galynn reminded me today that we are capable of so much more than we give our bodies and minds credit for. I limit myself with self-doubt, fear, and, well, sometimes plain laziness.
Galynn was one of two inspirations I received this weekend. The other came from one of the housemothers, Josephine, at LCP. In a training this weekend, we were discussing the messages we receive and what impact those messages have on us. After listening to other women speak about broken confidence and increased shame, Josephine said, “When I was younger I was told I could not be successful. I felt challenged. And so I lived to prove that I could be a success.”
I admire her spirit. I’m reminded there’s all types of personalities… those that are told they can’t, so they don't. And those that are told they can't, so they do. And those that do, but think they can’t, so it’s only really a half do of what they could have done. And those that do, do- plain and simple.
I recently read the greatest challenge in developing nations is not material goods or resources. It’s mindset. Citizens of struggling nations have internalized the belief that they can’t- can’t be successful, can’t change their circumstance, can’t. My old basketball coach would come in handy here… anytime she heard the word “can’t” our whole team did pushups. I guess she believed if she eliminated the word from our language, naturally the attitude would be removed from our minds.
In trying to figure out what it is “my purpose” is in the Philippines, I wonder if a part of it somehow is assisting with empowerment. I love the visual of me trekking from one squatter village to another, demanding locals get down and give me 10 for their expressions of helpless or hopelessness.
I jest… and really, this is an issue near and dear to my heart.
I can easily ask friends and family to send clothes and shoes and money to help the situations I’m observing daily. And what research is showing is some of our kind-hearted-giving is really taking away from the nations we’re trying to help. Local economies already teetering on the edge of despair are crumpled in the midst of large cardboard boxes arriving with love from America.
So if it’s not giving of stuff, what then? Carmenia, my supervisor, will often say “empowerment of women.” This could be an off-hand remark, or in response to planning we’re doing. It’s on the forefront of her consciousness at all times, it seems. Empower women… and communities will thrive.
I don’t, yet, have a concrete list of ways to approach such a vast topic. And this rambling of mine reminds me I was inspired to write, almost a year ago, the poem below. Maybe it all starts with a conversation...
The Heart of a Woman's Daughter
(Inspired by Maya Angelou's "The Heart of a Woman")
Women, your daughters, are watching.
What you say, and more noticeably, what you do;
how you respond to others and how you allow them
to respond to you.
When you allow someone to choose for you,
we learn we have no power.
When you shout and scream, we learn we have no voice.
When you make excuses for our bad behavior, we become hostile.
When you look in the mirror, and detest what you see,
we become ugly,
no matter how much you tell us we’re beautiful.
When you share your opinion, we become confident.
When you try something new,
and embrace the possibility of failure,
we become willing to try, too.
When you make time for yourself, we learn we have value.
When you live in acceptance of yourself, we observe our essence.
I dig. Thanks for sharing.
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