When I ask women “Are you a Goddess?,” most woman will say, “No, I’m not a Goddess.” After exploring their response, they often see that they are comparing themselves to an image of a goddess such as in the famous painting “The Birth of Venus” by Botticelli.
Do you think that to be a goddess you have to look like one?
Absolutely not!
Being a Goddess doesn’t require long wavy hair or stunning physical beauty. Goddesses represent the divine feminine in all aspects of life. Being a Goddess is a way of being that has nothing to do with the current trends.
In myths and history, Goddesses were huntresses, warriors, and earth mothers. While some paintings and statues show women as shapely young beauties, other depictions feature mature women with magical powers and strength.
In the 21st century women, a woman shows up as a Goddess when we own our feminine power. Some of the qualities of feminine power include being present, loving, courageous in the face of fear, understanding others, emotionally intelligence, confident, decisive, and joyful. What do you think are the qualities of feminine power?
When we are confident, know who we are, and speak up for what we believe, we are a modern-day Goddess.
Are there any famous women you admire who are modern day Goddesses?
Some of my choices are: Oprah, Michelle Obama, Ruth Ginsberg, Brene Brown, Mel Robbins, Marie Forleo (entrepreneur and business coach), and singers Bette Midler, Pink, and Joni Mitchell.
Who are the women you know and admire who are strong, heroic, and loving in your life?
Here are modern-day Goddesses who are friends that I’m proud to know:
- Joanne Carter, the Executive Director of Results.org, which works tirelessly to expand the global movement to end hunger and poverty throughout the world, through lobbying government leaders in many countries to fund health, and economic opportunity programs for the poor. My husband Chuck and I have been volunteers for over 25 years. My local group leader is Margaret Smith, and she’s a quiet Goddess warrior.
- Lise Lavigne, known as the Queen of Hearts, coaches single and divorced women to master the skills to heal from heartbreak, love themselves, and attract a healthy partner who is right for them. She’s my sister from another mother.
- Tiffany Bednar, a smart, savvy mother of three young girls, and founder of Sacred Freedom Marketing. Tiffany co-leads “The Bold. Free. True. Collective” with Ashlie Wood, where conscious businesswomen leverage the power of community to have an exponential impact on the planet. I’m honored to work with both of them as a member of the B.F.T. Collective.
- Sharon Doty, creator of the Keeping Them Safe program, who trains adults to recognize potential predators in the environment and stop the grooming process before a child is harmed. I met her when she trained me as a leader in transformational education and she’s been leading for decades.
- Brenda Gaston, who selflessly nurtured her husband, Robert, for 7 years after he was injured in a freak bicycle accident until he passed away. When he couldn’t swallow for many months, she moved the microwave to the garage to prepare her food so he couldn’t smell it cooking or watch her eat it when he couldn’t… and he never knew because she didn’t want him to suffer. (Wife of the Decade in my book!)
I know hundreds more women who are making a difference in their families, their communities, and in the world. And I’m sure that you know many women who are amazing, not because of their superficial beauty, but for who they are for themselves, for the people in their life, and in the world.
And if you are reading this, I bet that you are a Goddess.
As a parent do you try your best to provide a safe and loving home for your children, even if you yell sometimes or are too tired to do everything you want to do?
Do people tell you they admire you or acknowledge that you make a difference in the lives of others?
At work, do you have a commitment to lifting up the people in your life at work and in your community, whether you are in the role of a leader or not?
Do you want to do your best and be your best as an example for others?
If your answer is “Yes” to any of the above questions, then you are a modern-day Goddess! Whatever internal conversations you have that diminish who you are exactly what’s is in the way from you owning your Goddessness!
Let me end with this quote from Edith Vonnegut, artist and author of the book Domestic Goddess, full of funny and ironic paintings of women in everyday life who are definitely not helpless little women (including the picture for this blog):
“Since the beginning of recorded painted history, men have had their way with the images of women. They are extraordinarily lovely, but they are men’s images. The Mother Madonnas are still and serene, usually pictured in a sheltered setting, unfettered by worries. Their children are well-behaved, clean, and often sleeping in their laps. All is peaceful… A woman’s work is not a dreamy, enchanted idyll. It’s more like the Marines.”
Repeat after me … “I am a Goddess. I am amazing. I deserve to love myself.”
If you can’t own your Goddessness even a little, reach out to me. I want to support you! The world needs more confident, smart, caring and committed women who want to lift others as they lift themselves.
LINKS:
- See the Botticelli painting at https://www.visituffizi.org/artworks/the-birth-of-venus-by-sandro-botticelli/
- org – https://results.org. Find out about local groups in the US and other countries.
- Lise Lavigne – https://liselavigne.com
- Sharon Doty – http://keepingthemsafe.net
- Tiffany Bednar – SFMinc.co
- Bold.Free.True. Collective with Tiffany Bednar & Ashlie Wood – https://www.boldfreetrue.com