Independence

While I've always known what I am extremely passionate about for years... I've tended to be distracted every now and then the past couple of years... more so in the past 3 months. By men, by my family telling me what they think is best for me (eventhough they mean well), by school, health concerns/allergies, and life changing events. I know what I am here to do and I know that years down the road, if I am focusing more on a man or letting other things or people get me down.. than focusing on my own self and my own career and the good in the world and... CONTINUING to believe in myself.. I would never be happy 10-15 years from now as an adult. I must continue to focus on what I love and never allow other things to waist so much time and energy. I must seek my dreams and developing my career life. As I've struggled the past few months from life difficulties.. I've found it hard to focus on what I used to love. But I must know that independence, being strong, and staying connected with what makes me smile and what used to excite me and interest me and keep me focused for hours... should never be let go. I must find a way back to letting design, baking, and health/diet alternatives dominate my life. Because they are the things that will continue to always keep me busy and full of passion. I must never forget what I am here to do. And not let anyone else ruin my dreams and passions. Amen.


A Speech by Gloria Steinem
"Leaps of Consciousness"


the following is part of a transcript of a speech delivered by Gloria Steinem at the 3rd  Annual Women & Power Conference in 2004. 

And talking about interdependence is almost dangerous for women. Because it’s so easy to believe that the connectedness that Carol Gilligan talks about so brilliantly — the empathy that we treasure is so easy to confuse it with dependence. It’s so easy to become empathy sick and know what other people are feeling better than we know what we ourselves are feeling. It’s bred so much in us.

So I just want to say again how important it is that we celebrate independence first. We can’t get to interdependence until we have experienced independence.
There’s no easy excuse allowed here, you know, that we can remain in childhood and call it progress.

We know in our hearts when we are speaking our true voices as we emphasize and Eve emphasized last night— we know, we know when we are speaking our true voices and not being dependent. But nonetheless, it truly is the stage for which we are all hoping and the stage for which men, too, are hoping. They get stuck in independence. We get stuck in dependence.

But all of us are striving for interdependence. People often say to me, isn’t it wonderful that you finally found someone you wanted to marry. And I never quite know how to respond because that isn’t it — it wasn’t that every other man was the wrong man. Nor was it that I was waiting. For something external. It’s we’re waiting for something in ourselves. We’re waiting to get to a place where we can become interdependent with another human being without giving up ourselves. We are waiting to give birth to ourselves. So on the way, it’s simple things that help us.
So I thought I would read you a short poem by Fran Wyant in closing.

Eat rice. As Jane Fonda would say, eat low on the food chain; right?
Eat rice.
Have faith in women.
What I don’t know now
I can still learn.
If I am alone now
I will be with them later.
If I can be weak now
I can become strong.
Slowly, slowly, if I learn, I can teach others.
If others learn first I must believe they will come back and teach me.
Thank you.

Also, I came across this quote hanging on the wall at work the other day while I maybe had a few things bothering me.. it seemed to really catch my eye and draw me in. 

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.”  - Charles R. Swindoll