Brave Enough To Be Bliss

Someone else’s behavior toward you or their lack of love and care for you is always about their brokenness…yours is what leads you to believe their behavior is about you.

Women Without Power

“Behind every strong independent woman lies a broken little girl who had to learn how to get back up and never depend on anyone.” Unknown

Women have a history of being held down by men, literally and figuratively…and that hurts. And leaves scars. I t’s unfair and wrong and it just soooo sucks. I believe you. I am so very sorry you were hurt. It was absolutely not your fault. There are people who can help you. And, also, that…is…life. It doesn’t mean we can’t try to make it better for ourselves and each other and our daughters. Treating all men as pigs because some men have behaved in such a way isn’t fair either. And treating them as some of them have treated us simply isn’t getting us anywhere. Because… Men hurt, too. Men have pain. Men have emotions even if they don’t show them as easily. And some men have been physically and sexually abused. They have been hit, kicked, punched, burned, had body parts and objects put in their private places too. They have been called sissies and babies and pussies. They have been told to suck it up, be a man and don’t cry if they show that they are the least bit human. “People have said, ‘Don’t cry’ to other people for years and years, and all it has ever meant is, ‘I’m too uncomfortable when you show your feelings. Don’t cry.’ I’d rather have them say, ‘Go ahead and cry. I’m here to be with you.’” Fred Rogers And now we have a world filled with all kinds of hurting human beings, and comparing who hurts worse isn’t going to get us anywhere except deeper into the mess that we have collectively created. The only choice is to help each other find a way out. Men aren’t going to reach women continuing to be macho, and women aren’t going to reach men continuing to be angry. Instead, men have to accept they are humans too and they can share their raw emotion, and women have to be vulnerable and trusting enough of ourselves to tap into our innate female gifts of intuition, sensitivity, and love, because we cannot handle their raw emotion unless we can handle our own. It’s a chicken or egg game and no one wants to go first, but that’s where the magic lies. That’s ho w men and women were created: to complement one another, not to overpower one another. While I have been staying at Table Rock Lake, most days I get out and walk alongside the road for exercise. I love to walk along the lake, but there aren’t any paths near me and it’s too rocky to walk quickly enough for me to feel like it’s enough exercise. So, I have a 2.5 - mile loop that has worked well, other than the fact it’s on the main road. Over time, I began to notice that female drivers were not as courteous or friendly to me. I am always quick to jump off the roadway when I see a vehicle approaching, but men tend to move over quickly so me moving doesn’t even become necessary. I would say 90% of men move to the other side of the road , assuming there’s no oncoming vehicle, and only 20% of women drivers do. It made me wonder why that is. Are women drivers more distracted trying to multi- task and don’t even see me? Are they in their heads thinking about all the tasks to get done and don’t see me? Are they making up something in their heads about me? Is it the fact that I’m exercising and they’re not, so they don’t want to acknowledge me because I “make” them feel badly about themselves? Do they not even care whether I’m a man or a woman, they’re just damn well going to hold their ground for anyone and not give an inch? I don’t have any answers and I don’t need any, it was just an observation that I found interesting enough to share. And perhaps observe yourself next time you’re driving

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