Saturday, February 7, 2009

Imagine a Woman

Late yesterday I visited the Ageless Hippy Chick where I found this:

IMAGINE A WOMAN by Patricia Lynn Reilly

Imagine a woman who believes it is right and good she is a woman.
A woman who honors her experience and tells her stories.
Who refuses to carry the sins of others within her body and life.

Imagine a woman who trusts and respects herself.
A woman who listens to her needs and desires.
Who meets them with tenderness and grace.

Imagine a woman who acknowledges the past's influence on the present.
A woman who has walked through her past.
Who has healed into the present.

Imagine a woman who authors her own life.
A woman who exerts, initiates, and moves on her own behalf.
Who refuses to surrender except to her truest self and wisest voice.

Imagine a woman who names her own gods.
A woman who imagines the divine in her image and likeness.
Who designs a personal spirituality to inform her daily life.

Imagine a woman in love with her own body.
A woman who believes her body is enough, just as it is.
Who celebrates its rhythms and cycles as an exquisite resource.

Imagine a woman who honors the body of the Goddess in her changing body.
A woman who celebrates the accumulation of her years and her wisdom.
Who refuses to use her life-energy disguising the changes in her body and life.

Imagine a woman who values the women in her life.
A woman who sits in circles of women.
Who is reminded of the truth about herself when she forgets.

Imagine yourself as this woman.

“Imagine a Woman” © Patricia Lynn Reilly, 1995

IMAGINE A WOMAN II

Imagine a woman who is interested in her own life.
A woman who embraces her life as teacher, healer, and challenge.
Who is grateful for the ordinary moments of beauty and grace.

Imagine a woman who participates in her own life.
A woman who meets each challenge with creativity.
Who takes action on her own behalf with clarity and strength.

Imagine a woman who has crafted a fully-formed solitude.
A woman who is available to herself.
Who chooses friends and lovers with the capacity to respect her solitude.

Imagine a woman who acknowledges the full range of human emotion.
A woman who expresses her feelings clearly and directly.
Who allows them to pass through her as naturally as the breath.

Imagine a woman who tells the truth.
A woman who trusts her experience of the world and expresses it.
Who refuses to defer to the thoughts, perceptions, and responses of others.

Imagine a woman who follows her creative impulses.
A woman who produces original creations.
Who refuses to color inside someone else’s lines.

Imagine a woman who has relinquished the desire for intellectual safety and approval.
A woman who makes a powerful statement with every action she takes.
Who asserts to herself the right to reorder the world.

Imagine a woman who has grown in knowledge and love of herself.
A woman who has vowed faithfulness to her own life.
Who remains loyal to herself. Regardless.

Imagine yourself as this woman.

“Imagine a Woman II” © Patricia Lynn Reilly, 1995

10 comments:

lisahgolden said...

What a great piece. Glad you pointed us to it.

Utah Savage said...

Thanks, glad you liked it.

MRMacrum said...

Nice. And one could easily substitute "human" and it would still ring true.

Utah Savage said...

Yes MrMacrum, it could, but so many older women have been in marriages where they accepted second class status and have not thought of themselves as equals. I know a lot of Mormon women who can't shake the belief that they are not sufficient to stand alone, to take their own power as a person. Women are often taught to believe the won't be complete until they marry and accept their role as wife, not woman.

giggles said...

I said it over there....and so I'll say it here, too.... This IS lovely....and it is me... on a good day....

Utah Savage said...

Giggles, I'm so glad to hear you say that it is you even if it is only on the good days. It's still merely an aspiration for me, but I'm working on it.

La Belette Rouge said...

Really beautiful and a lovely imagining.xo

Utah Savage said...

Hi La Belette Rouge. How is Lilly?

La Belette Rouge said...

Lily is, as I am sure I have told you before, incredibly smart. She has mastered the stay command and now she can lie down on command. Soooooo smart!!!!

Her day at the groomers was a big success. She looks even more gorgeous( not that we are valuing her by her looks. We love her for her inner beauty.

Thanks for asking.:-)
xoxo

Nichol said...

Thank you for posting the "Imagine a Woman" poem! This is special year for the Imagine a Woman Community. The poem is 15 years old and we launched a new website www.imagineAwoman.com and a new set of personal and professional enhancement courses, coaching, and training based on the Imagine a Woman Poem.

We are also excited to announce our IAW Affiliate Program! The IAW Affiliate Program rewards you with passive income for doing what you do best: sharing good stuff and experiences with your girlfriends. Please click our link to learn more.
http://www.imagineawoman.com/home/become-an-iaw-womanspirit-affiliate

Since 1995, the poem has circled the globe, inspiring books, screenplays, artists, videos, life transitions, ministries, coaching practices, virtual communities, social networks, and organizational missions.  IMAGINE A WOMAN is celebrating its 15th year anniversary by GOING VIRAL.

Please join us in the celebration by simply continuing to share the poem and our website www.imagineAwoman.com with your social networks and virtual communities. Your support to feature the poem and spread the word about our new website and offerings is greatly appreciated.

WomanSpirit Blessings, Patricia Lynn Reilly and Nichol