Above Everything Else: On Being A Woman

August 19, 2015 Comments (1) Women  1

“I am a woman above everything else.” Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

When seeking inspiration, I’d like to say that I’m the sort that can merely turn inward and reflect or meditate until I feel the revitalization that I’m looking for. However, with age, I’ve come to realize that it’s a necessity to admit that we aren’t images of perfection, living utopian existences that others can only dream of having.

So while trying to harness some motivational energy, rather than reaching for my yoga mat, I reached for my iPhone and searched for it on the web.

While laying on my sofa.

At the end of a long day.

I refuse to feel guilty about this. (But that’s another post.)

Rather, I’d like to focus on the snippet from Ms. Kennedy-Onassis, “I am a woman above everything else” and how it truly did inspire me to think deeply about what she meant, especially when she said, “above everything else.” Because I don’t believe that even in today’s day and age that women are “supposed” to say that.

Her words made me truly reflect on what “being a woman” means and make a personal commitment to take heed of that more often, because I was astounded when I thought of how frequently women are judged and discriminated against on a daily basis.

We know the statistics.

We’ve lived the examples. 

We feel the political ramifications of being a woman every single day.

We can’t go anywhere, even online, without being reminded that we are women, and therefore, in the eyes of many, lesser.

We are torn down for choosing to be mothers who return to work or mothers who stay home with their children.

I’m a mother.

I’m a wife.

I’m a daughter.

I’m a friend.

I’m a professional with a career.

I’m a citizen concerned with the state of the world.

But above all, from the very the moment that I entered the world and it was proclaimed, “It’s a girl”, I am a woman.

And I am determined to make a daily effort to empower other women, even in the smallest of ways, and I encourage you to do the same.

Offer a smile to the woman who seems to be holding back tears.

Slip a note into the bag of the mother pushing a crying child through the grocery at the end of the day that says, “You’re doing a great job; hang in there.”

Support other women who stand up for women.

Rather than engage in demeaning talk about women, find something positive to say or follow the old adage and don’t say anything at all.

Because above all, we are women.

Only by remembering our common threads can we begin to weave a tapestry of hope, inspiration and empowerment that can blanket the entire world.