Women...Can't Live Without...

Women...ok, ok, so you are thinking, 'what is this guy doing writing about women for his Alphabe-Thursday post'? Given that this meme is occupied by women, save myself, there are certainly many qualified voices out there that could speak more ably on the subject. I cannot speak to what it is to be a woman, at least as an experience in present life. What I can do is provide a snapshot of sorts from the outside looking in.

For most of my life I have found myself in the company of, if not outright surrounded by, women. As a youngster I would often commune with my mom and her bridge club ladies, or my sister and her school mates (I always had a crush on one or more of them). Throughout most of my adult life the majority of my friends have been women. I have led two prayer groups in recent years. Guess what? All women...and me. I have participated in two mind/body therapy groups and once again found myself the sole male in a group of women. There seems to be a pattern here. Some might suggest that it was, is, nothing more than coincidence. That might work for some, but as for me, I do not believe in coincidence. What I do believe however is that I have lived many lives before this one, and I have been told that some of these lives were lived as a woman. I will not go into details, but suffice it to say that not all were lived under the best of circumstances. If reincarnation is real (I believe it to be), then it is possible that there is some connection, some 'bleeding through' of circumstance, feeling, attitudes, wisdom from past life to present. This may explain, in part, much of what has transpired in my life and much about who I am.

No discussion about women would be complete without acknowledging some favorites...those women (and there are many), that I have found inspirational. As I was mentally preparing to write this post, two women in particular came to mind. Both of these women were pioneers...one in the art world, and the other in the world of women's rights. Neither were overly familiar to me until I watched biographical movies about each.

Georgia O'Keeffe...I have for the longest time appreciated her artistic style, yet knew nothing of her personal story. I like her art and love that she lived and worked for years in a part of New Mexico that is so familiar to me. There is a recent movie, Georgia O'Keeffe, now available on DVD, casting Joan Allen in the lead role. It received three Golden Globe nominations, and is well worth watching if you have not seen it.

Alice Paul...An early 20th century Women's Rights activist...a remarkable woman and hugely responsible for the 19th Amendment securing women's voting rights. She laid it down, risking it all, for something in which she believed. A 2005 movie release, Iron Jawed Angels, with Hilary Swank in the lead role, was a Golden Globe winner and well worth your time.

I know you must be thinking, 'when is he going to finish this post'? I apologize...there is just so much to say. I will end for now with this thought...I believe that if this world is to be led into an age of peace, that if we are to realize 'Eden' on this beautiful orb in this very large universe, then it will surely be done on women's wings. That is a heavy burden and responsibility..."Mom, what's for dinner?"

"I found that I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way- things I had no words for" - Georgia O'Keeffe

" I often lay on that bench looking up into the tree, past the trunk and up into the branches. It was particularly fine at night with the stars above the tree" - Georgia O'Keeffe

"The world crisis came about without women having anything to do with it. If the women of the world had not been excluded from world affairs, things today might have been different" - Alice Paul

" I always feel the movement is a sort of mosaic. Each of us puts in one little stone, and then you get a great mosaic at the end" - Alice Paul

Peace and blessings...remember to visit the many remarkable posts of Alphabe-Thursday at Jennymatlock.blogspot.com

Prize Giveaway announcement!! My one year blog anniversary will be here in July. Prizes will include, but not limited to, a made to your specs hummingbird feeder, a lovely, English tea cup, and ??? All you have to do to enter is 1) write a short poem , or Haiku, and 2) revisit my posts over the last year and let me know your favorite...photo, quote, poem, topic, etc.