Invisible Women

Warning....these thoughts may be a bit of a downer!!!

"I think there is a certain age, for women, when you become fearless. It may be a different age for every woman, I don't know. It's not that you stop fearing things: I'm still afraid of heights, for example. Or rather, of falling – heights aren't the problem. But you stop fearing life itself.
It's when you become fearless in the way that you decide to live. Perhaps it's when you come to the realization that the point of life is not to become rich, or secure, or even to be loved – to be any of the things that people usually think is the point.

The point of life is to live as deeply as possible. To experience fully.
And that can be done in so many ways."
- Theodora Goss

I read the above quote this morning while sitting. Resting for a bit. Waiting for the aching to subside in my hip and knee. It does subside after a while.

It got me thinking .....which is a good thing....because I am not a person to sit ...I choose to be active, other than quiet times in meditation.

So I thought. And what I think is that there is a certain age, for women, when you become contracted and fearful. I see it all the time. 'Older' women that are virtually SHRINKING...in every way.

Physically, mentally, emotionally. Fearful. They are closing, rather than staying open to the ever-changing events of life.

Physically, their bodies are changing. Eyes, ears, taste and smell are affected. Brittle bones. Weight gain....and waaay more! Mentally, their worlds have become much smaller so stimulation is less. Emotionally, well....family and friends are ill or have already gone to the great beyond.

So, yes, Shrinking! Withering. Shrivelling so much so that they become virtually invisible. Some folks call this condition "Invisible Woman Syndrome." In essence, these are women who are over 50 who are no longer considered attractive or productive. Society ignores them and colleagues don't listen to them...they are passed by in so many ways.

Perhaps it's when you realize that the body in which you knew so well, and by which you depended on to move through life .... that same body that you pushed to new and scary limits in physically challenging exercises and became so strong!...that this very same body which helped you to earn your living is changing....as everything always is. A creeping realization from the inside to the outside... you come face to face with the understanding that this same body is aging.

Or perhaps it's when you cannot remember what it was that caused you to walk into the next room. Or maybe it was that you couldn't remember the name of that website that offers synonyms!

Perhaps it is when your children are almost as old as you are! And are living their very own lives without needing guidance from you any longer.

Perhaps it's when you come to the realization that your expiry date is not so far off, and there really isn't anything that you haven't done that you still wish to do! That you are just really putting in time.

Enough! You see what can happen when you allow your thoughts to drag you down into the dumpster?!!

At any rate, I am reminded very often of the brilliant writings of Michael A. Singer in his book called 'The Untethered Soul." I had a difficult time in choosing a specific quote from this book for this newsletter....as there are so many, many wonderful insights there. He writes "When you close your heart center, energy can't flow in. When energy can't flow in, there is darkness. Depending on the amount of darkness, you either feel tremendous disturbance or overwhelming lethargy." (Anxiety or depression.)

"There is a very simple method of staying open. You stay open by never closing. It's really that simple....closing is a habit, and just like any other habit, it can be broken."

"The problem is, we don't exercise that control."

Michael Singer goes on to say "How you learn to stay open is up to you. The ultimate trick is to not close. If you don't close, you will have learned to stay open. Do not let anything that happens in life be important enough that you're willing to close your heart over it. When your heart starts to close, just say, 'No, I'm not going to close. I'm going to relax. I'm going to let this situation take place, and be there with it.'.....Deal with it with excitement and enthusiasm. No matter what it is, just let it be the sport of the day."

Incredible isn't it, that your state of being can become so pinched just living your life. Unless you take the time to get in-touch and bring back moments of poetry and freedom into your body and consciousness, you remain contracted. The tissues of your body actually change their shape and shorten causing actual physical constriction.

From a yogic perspective, we can readily see how these words relate to the Chakra System, and to our ultimate aim of freedom and self-realization. If we close the heart, our energy moves downward, and we therefore will be unable to rise above the challenges of life to experience
transformation.

The Invisible Woman – when she opens her heart – will realize that she still has time. Time to see what is REALLY there....that there is love to be given and received. That time is precious. That time is the scarcest resource. That there still is time. To live as deeply as possible.