WOMAN POWER: Part I

PREFACE

I began this post shortly before “Mother’s Day”. It was inspired by my fleeting aggravation with society, in general, and women, in particular {fleeting, because I overstand the bigger picture but can, at times, be temporarily overcome with emotion}. My intention with my children has always been to groom them into confident, self-aware individuals whose primary allegiance is to Self {“To thine own self, be true”}. I teach them to Be Apprentices of Self, Aspiring to Mastery. To that end, I have made sacrifices and conscious choices APLENTY. Not saying all my choices were the greatest, but I made them with Specific Intentions. In other words, I Chose to Do Something rather than doing nothing at all. In that way, I Am Victorious. {I Teach my suns and Nurture my daughter~ more on that in my forthcoming book}. At the end of the day, I Am Doing My Part by contributing to the betterment of society through my efforts to improve self, family, community and world. What more?

My original objective for this post, was to talk about how mothers, as primary teachers, should nurture their daughters more: Be affectionate toward them; Teach them to internalize their energies; Assist in raising their self-esteem; Supplement their education with gender-specific information; Foster a routine of setting and achieving personal goals; and, Instill a sense of awareness regarding their responsibility to themselves, family, community and world. But, now that I have been influenced by all the recent “Beyonce Buzz”~ which, admittedly, I know very little {but quite enuff} about {not having been able to stomach watching her new video in its entirety and without having seen last night’s CEREMONY on the “Billboard Awards”}~ I need to address some of the issues it presents. Here goes:

If You Are Willing To Do Better By OUR Daughters, Our Children, then, what I am about to say should be of interest to you.

Although, personally, I’m really not interested in celebrity goings-on, Spiritually, I NEED to speak, in lieu of the incessant silence around the mis-education of our young people, particularly our daughters. This mis-education emanates from Women perpetually relinquishing Their Individual And Collective Power. It is deeply rooted in Religion, stems from Government and is propagated through the long-reaching branch called Media. The numerous ways in which all manner of media portray relationships between men and women, including teenagers, is representative of the unequal distribution of power among the sexes. Distribution of power?? What does that mean? In actuality, it doesn’t mean a d*mn thing! Power cannot be distributed. It is an ideal, a value, an illusion symbolized by those things people attach to it. 

Personal Power Must Be Realized If Collective Power Is To Be Actualized.

LAST NIGHT'S BROADCAST OF BILLBOARD AWARDS

PRESIDENTIAL FIRST LADY, Michelle Obama, GAVE HER NATIONALLY TELEVISED ENDORSEMENT of TWO STEREOTYPICAL IMAGES OF BLACK WOMEN~ The HISTORICALLY OVERSEXED, SELF-LOATHING Black Woman AND The New-And-Improved INDEPENDENT, STRONG BLACK WOMAN *{Self-Loathing apparent in the blonde weave and two-shades-too-light facial foundation #JustSayin;  I discuss I.S.B.W. Syndrome in my forthcoming book}. These images, although consistently promulgated across all media, were highlighted and praised for their presence in, Pop-Culture Vixen, Beyonce’s, newly-released video as well as in her overall body of work. Of Beyonce, both performer AND person, Michelle Obama stated, “I am very proud of her, very proud of the woman that she is, the role model she provides to so many women.” Really?!! {Questioning the part about the ‘role model she provides’.. Hmmm…} No disrespect to individuals, I’m just pointin’ some stuff out. Now, granted, the Beyonce{s} of the world have their place in it and a right to the artistic expression of their choosing~ referring to Beyonce’s new song with an unrelated quote from Jay Electronica, “I ain’t glad at {her}, but I ain’t mad at {her}.” I respect her right to BE {no pun intended}. What is unfortunate, though, is that she has such a profound platform from which to address an enormous audience of individuals that comprise, a pretty liberal {meaning considerable/ substantial/ sizeable} percentage of the collective consciousness, otherwise known as the masses. My opinion is that if you’re not going to utilize your heightened visual presence as a resource to enlighten and elevate the collective consciousness, then WTF are you really doin’?? Accepting fame, in my mind, means you, also, accept being a positive role model as part of the package.#GuessImAloneInThinkinThat  Similarly, I feel that even in the absence of fame and fortune, each one of us has an obligation to be the best example we know how. Perhaps that IS the best B can do. According to some of my bredrin, She jus’ a bahtree dolly, anyway!! Perhaps. However, I happen to think she is fairlykindasorta intelligent. ;-)  Regardless, she, ultimately, makes her own choices about who she is and wants to be. {Even though she claims, in her new video, “This is how they made me.”} Talent, notwithstanding, Is SHE The Best Choice to Mentor Young Women in Leadership? To Be Positive Women Who’ll Bring About the kind of Planetary Evolution We All Need? To Build a Nation? To Run The World? I think Not! NOPE! #NotAtAll. SMH.. Enough about her!

IF THERE IS TO BE POSITIVE CHANGE IN THE WORLD, THERE MUST, FIRST, BE POSITIVE CHANGE IN THE MINDS OF WOMEN. For this to occur, young women must be taught to master themselves {Spiritually and Mentally THEN Sexually}.

Who really cares about Black women’s futures? How we fare in relationships? Who is concerned about enriching the minds of our youth? If not Black women/Black mothers, then, whom? Who is steering our daughters AWAY from pouring significant amounts of energy into boys/men? Who is driving them TOWARD filling themselves up ‘til their cup{s} runneth over? Self-Love is measured through self-actualization and consistent character evolution. It becomes visible through one’s actions. We express what we possess. Chaos on the outside is an expression of chaos on the inside. The collective will not thrive if we, individuals, do not commit to doing better.

WOMEN, Not Girls, RUN THE WORLD. We Do. This is True. That being said, ironically, all the craziness that exists in the world today is due, in large part, to our choices. The animalistic behavior, confusion, insensitivity, madness, violence and downright lack of Love in the world are all manifestations of things WOMEN have and have NOT done. Our current reality began in the minds of women. In case you didn’t already know, Woman Is The Source. Yes, I said it!! YOU are at the center of everything that matters. You bring forth Life. From You all things flow. When You think upon a thing, it is done. When You speak about a thing, it is law. When You offer a thing, it is accepted. When Woman Acts, Man Responds. He WILL Do Anything For You {He can’t help himself.. ‘Tis Nature, Baby!}

*More on all of that another time!!!

WHAT TO TAKE AWAY FROM ALL OF THIS

It is the duty of {otherwise sane and substance-free} parents to lead by example; to instill a mindset of continually wanting to better oneself; to provide access to materials, people and places that affirm what is being taught at home; to promote practicing those principles that will ensure improvement of skills and achievement of goals; to guide toward accessing opportunities consistent with broadening experience and accumulating wisdom; to regularly assess what is being taught and what has been learned; AND to Vehemently Reject All Else! There is no middle ground when imparting values is in question. 

{So, now you know~ If Charlie Sheen’s crazy, then I am, too. And, So Are You! Ok, so you’re judging him because he is/was a substance abuser. But, I'm Not! Nor, Will I Be Dismissed for SPEAKING MY TRUTH. I Will Continue to Do So, Without fear/ Without apology, Whenever Spirit Moves Me. Otherwise, I will be silent. Please Remember that I Respect Our Differences, Even though America Does Not. If that makes Me radical, crazy, uppity or out-of-line…You’re Next!- Orwell, Huxley, McCluhan..I Am Not Alone.}

***Mamas/ Aunties/ Sistas/ Friends~ GO GIVE THE GIRLS IN YOUR LIFE BIG HUGS, We All Need ‘Em!!!!!!!!!

As usual, I have so much more to say, but this is hardly the place for a manuscript! Thanks for taking the time to read. Much, Much More.. Soon Come!!!

*Side Note~ Song lyrics of B’s new video remind me of so many psychotic b’s I know!! And, we {self not included} wonder why they think we crazy!

~Health Is Wealth~

Tribute to a Virgo I Absolutely Adore.. 

And, We Could All Use More of This..