The Source of Our Power

I don’t want to just celebrate women.

I want to call forth all that is caretaking and mothering, and all shades of both, that is the core of many women’s identity. I want to see more in international aid, philanthropy, and social enterprise of what is soft, what is loving, and what is patient.

Make no doubt, many men also carry and offer this to our endeavors every day.

482088_488666051147781_267716454_nThe question is, have we yet struck a balance? And have we as women explored and understood and unleashed the depth of our power in what is still a very male-defined industry?

As women we are raised (at least I and the women in my life) to know how to help, to build and nurture relationships, and to grow community. Is this what’s missing much of the time in our do-gooder endeavors? We could debate all day (and do) what is hindering the projects and programs in which we work.

But that wouldn’t bring us back to the source of our power, which is not given by a grant, nor earned by achieving results. Women, we know (and have had to know) the core within us that is capable of enduring and changing and connecting as the true source.

Celebrate that on International Women’s Day? Sure, I can do that. But what does it take for me (and all of us, female and male) to keep it at the center of what we do every other day?

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