Queen Me shares ...
We feel some loss of meaning like a sickness we can’t shake. We would love to burst out, as though we’ve been crouching in a small box for a long time. We ache to spread our arms and legs and backs, to throw our heads back, to laugh with glee at the feel of sunshine on our faces.
—Marianne Williamson, The Gift of Change
A long-time friend spent the weekend with me. It was so nice to have her here. She lives in a major metroplex with a busy, busy life. I live in small town America. Although my life is suddenly busier, I do not have the demands of a city pulling at me too. Whew! I have just the right amount of energy available for my work, my family and household management activities. So, I simply cannot imagine living life as she does.
We spent Saturday afternoon relaxing on my back porch. Reading. Talking. Sharing. Her visit fed my soul. My little hideaway in rural America fed hers. I really can’t imagine how different my life would have been if I had never met her so many years ago. We communicate weekly and visit each other every three to six months. Our girls have also bonded, adding yet another layer to our strong connection.
After meeting in graduate school, we both ended up taking different paths. Terrie pursued law school and I remained focused on jobs in higher education. After three years, my hubby’s job required we relocate and so it was from that point on we maintained a long-distance friendship. Interestingly, we faced similar challenges as we made our way through adulthood. We both suffered from severe acne and the resulting scars. We both experienced irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), even though we knew it as spastic colon at the time. We both couldn’t hear our hearts, but continued to long and search for a better way to live our lives. Throughout this process and the resulting eighteen years, we have pulled each other along by comforting, encouraging and supporting one another. Together we are both in a much better place—a new place where we are hearing our hearts and acting on Her promptings.
Did you notice how long it took us? This weekend, we talked about our inability to make things happen at an earlier age. Actually, the book I’ve just written is an examination of why women have to wait until they are 40, 50, 60 or 70 to live the lives we are capable of living. We also talked about women we know that never made the choice to pick up their unlived life and instead simply came to terms with the choices they made. We expressed anger for having had to ‘wait’ for so long, but we then turned our attention to our seven-year-old daughters promising that no matter how it turned out for us, they would not face the same obstacles. Oh yes, they will stumble and oh yes, they will fall, but with our new understanding, we can guide them through adolescence and help them stand tall at age 20 or age 25. With our guidance, these girls will not only survive adolescence, they will come out of the hurricane able to hear their heart with the ability to take action and manifest the lives they are capable of living.
So, even though the road has been long and challenging, we have emerged at age 40-something knowing that we have learned. We have learned about what stifled us and other women we know, and we have learned how to make change.
On the Queen Power site, there are so many of us who are now reaching for our highest potential. We range from ages 20 to 80. How we got to this point or why we waited so long doesn’t matter anymore. What matters is that we are here. We are finally listening to our hearts, accepting our power and finally “laughing with glee at the feel of sunshine on our faces.”
I can’t wait to flower and grow some more and to witness it as it happens to so many of you!
