This week's political news carried stories about how Senator Clinton "found her voice" just prior to the New Hampshire primary election. Watching it happen on television was an amazing experience for me, and, no doubt, many other women. It is something to celebrate when a woman finds her voice. Today's post is a synthesis of several ideas that I have had on hold for a while. It is centered around the idea of what women can say that will make a difference.
Women who do not have their own voices are sometimes lost through no fault of their own. Women who do not feel free to be creative sometimes lose that outlet. And women's primary roles in families sometimes keeps them from having the more public voice of a wider social circle.
Women save things, but sometimes cannot save themselves -- In earlier times it was often women who helped to establish the schools, libraries, parks and gardens of a town or city. And women have often been at the forefront of cities' historic preservation efforts. The following link is about how cities preserve their treasures: Preservation is the Art of the City. It is a celebration of the home town of a friend who died. I happened across this link when searching for info about a friend from my college days, M.F. I will not use her name our of respect. My friend had bipolar disorder. She eventually became homeless and then a murder victim. She did not get the treatment that might have saved her life. I post today to honor her memory, because M. could not find her voice to ask for help in the haze of mental illness. But I know it was not the fault of her home town.
Women create things, but sometimes do not know how creative they can be -- Creativity is often stifled by rules imposed by so-called experts, by their own perfectionism or just by the demands of getting through very difficult life circumstances. I took the following from About.com: Psychology "Boosting Creativity." It was written by Kendra Van Wagner; the piece is undated, probably written in 2007. It begins,
According to cognitive psychologist Robert J. Sternberg, creativity can be broadly defined as "...the process of producing something that is both original and worthwhile" (2003). Creativity is all about finding new ways of solving problems and approaching situations. This isn't a skill restricted to artists, musicians or writers; it is a useful skill for people from all walks of life. If you've ever wanted to boost your creativity, these tips can help.
What is so valuable in the creativity article follows. I encourage you to click on the link. It is a well done list of 20 tips that are very useful. For example:
7. Make Time for Creativity -
You won't be able to develop your creative talents if you don't make time for them. Schedule some time each week to concentrate on some type of creative project.
Women are members of families - Sometimes they are heads of families, or members of blended families. My favorite literary blogger is Maud Newton. I first saw her years ago when I was just discovering the world of blogging. Her dark hair, dark rimmed glasses and quirky manner were engaging. She also had Texas roots but is now living in New York, I believe. One of the things I have enjoyed over my years of reading her blog has been the way she honored her family. She regularly featured members of her family via a set of posts under the category of "Weekend Ancestry." Here is her recent photo. I recommend Maud Newton for her unique voice.
Women who do not have their own voices must be encouraged as they grow up. Women who do not feel free to be creative sometimes find an outlet later in life. And women's primary roles in families can get into better balance, if women pay attention and ask for what they need from their families and from their wider social circle.
Today, I celebrate women who've found their own voices.
Links: Technorati tags: politics texas women creativity psychology
My topical post today at South by Southwest and The Reaction is about news and politics.
Cross-posted at Southwest Blogger
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2 comments:
In the teachings that I listen to, we are told that the women of a community are the backbone of that community. It is only through disrespect and judgmental behavior do we see anything other than another human soul. The community would cease to exist without either man or woman. It takes both.
Our news media, long before they were bought and paid for by government, laid the groundwork. Women were commodities, images bought and sold advertising and still do. Why would it ever be news that hillary had a new outfit.
t is up to us to see through this crap and find the person, man or woman, and never forget that the women are the life givers.
Peace to All.
The female members of your community are lucky to have such a good neighbor, Spadoman.
Thanks for your thoughtful comment!
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