Hey Shine Sistahs!! You make me shine!! I am always so inspired by you and so I am setting this up so that we can keep "talking" as the phenomenal women that we are!! Not only that but the world of blogs is new to me and there is something I really like about it! I like that the exchange of ideas and inner thoughts that keep me present and thinking about who I am as a woman, without all of the "roles" I am as defined by soceity. That is who I am when I am with you and so I want to be with you more!! Each week I will post something for us to respond to and we will see where the path of shining light takes us next!! I start us out with a poem by Maya....
PHENOMENAL WOMAN
by, Maya Angelou
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms,
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then the swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need for my care.
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
Can't you just hear her voice??
South Beach Martha's Vineyard 2007
4 comments:
Did you hear Maya speak at UNH several years ago. I believe she read this poem.
I'd like to share a prayer:
Best Prayer I Have Heard In A Long Time...
Heavenly Father, Help us remember that the jerk
who cut us off in traffic last night is a single mother
who worked nine hours that day and is rushing
home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the
laundry and spend a few precious moments with
her children.
Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed,
disinterested young man who can't make change
correctly is a worried 19-year-old college student,
balancing his apprehension over final exams with
his fear of not getting his student loans for next
semester.
Remind us, Lord, that the scary looking bum, begging
for money in the same spot every day (who really
ought to get a job!) is a slave to addictions that
we can only imagine in our worst nightmares.
Help us to remember that the old couple walking
annoyingly slow through the store aisles and
blocking our shopping progress are savoring this
moment, knowing that, based on the biopsy report
she got back last week, this will be the last year
that they go shopping together.
Heavenly Father, remind us each day that, of all
the gifts you give us, the greatest gift is love. It
is not enough to share that love with those we hold
dear. Open our hearts not to just those who are close
to us, but to all humanity. Let us be slow to judge
and quick to forgive, show patience, empathy and love.
I am woman hear me snore
After four days backpacking in the White Mountains and going to bed at sunset and waking up at dawn, I thought it was time to change my ways.
I have always been a night person -- and find that sleeping in the morning is heaven. I love to have the sun blanket me through the window and bask in the comforts of bed and sleep.
Despite loving my routine, I thought that I would try to change to benefit others. My husband gets up very early and my friends have begged me to hike and play tennis early early. I always say no. Here was my chance to make a change and see what happened.
Well. I don't know what happened but I was exhausted the past week. I went to bed early, before 10:00 p.m. and was up early, around six. And I could hardly get through the day! I have determined that I must have been getting too much sleep. I am more accustomed to staying up until midnight or later and getting up at 7 and I do just fine.
In fact, I feel alive and vital. So too bad. I am a night person, forever and always, and there is no point in changing for anyone. It is important to know what works for us and to hell with everyone else and their whims!!!
So there!
"Don't make money your goal, You can only become truly accomplished doing something you love. Pursue things you love doing and do them so well that people can't take their eyes off you."
~Maya Angelou
Tomasen, I couldn't help but post this here as well as "in the garden" as it was just too coincidental that I should come across her so much lately. I found this quote in a magazine while doing cardio at the gym. Serindipity?
Tomasen - I love the Maya Angelou postings. And I'm reading your favorite book, "Eat, Pray, Love." I've been thinking a lot lately about what it means to live a good life. There's so much in this book I love, but I pulled out this quote this morning: "In world of disorder and disaster and fraud, sometimes only beauty can be trusted...To devote yourself to the creation and enjoyment of beauty, then can be a serious business -- not always necessarily a means of escaping reality, but sometimes a means of holding on to the real when everything else is flaking away..." I guess the question then becomes, how do you devote yourself to the creation and enjoyment of beauty?
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