Anyone who journals or writes regularly can attest that when we write, we conjure.
Conjure means to effect, produce, bring, by or as by magic.
Writing is a powerful tool that can be used for self-illumination, self-affirmation, and self-expression.
A person who does not express herself, offers a void for others and the world at large to respond to.
And it’s hard to respond to a void.
Often in our society, girls and women especially have been taught to be seen and not heard or to be “good listeners” and to be good shepherds of others needs and feelings.
How convenient it is for those in power for the women of the world to learn to be passive rather than active agents of expression and change.
This model has grown outdated, and it is no longer functional for the girls and women of the world to simply participate in man’s creation.
We need to co-create a more just, democratic, productive world, where every individual’s voice, both male and female, is expressed, heard and acknowledged.
And this means nobody gets to be a bystander. We don’t get to sit on the sidelines and watch or simply be a witness.
If you are a woman, who has not figured out what she has to say, it’s time to start having a frank conversation, at least with yourself.
Don’t look backwards for support, because you won’t like find the support in your past.
Look to a future where mothers and daughters are empowered, vocal, and involved in the day-to-day co-creation of the world.
Women and girls are not just supporters. We are players in a better, fairer future world.
And we need to act this way starting today. Communicating regularly, honestly, and openly with ourselves is the path to joyful self-expression.
That’s the kind of self-expression we get to have when we stop existing to please others and start existing to please ourselves.
If we feel frustrated about any of this, we can scrutinize our past commitments. Sometimes we are complicit to our own vow of silence without realizing it.
If you have made any unspoken agreements, create a ritual that helps you break those agreements.
No is asking you to shut up, girlfriends. No one is requiring you to keep your mouth shut. And the only person who can rescue the silenced princess is you.
Did you make any agreements in your childhood that you would like to break now? If you tend to keep quiet, the promise you made to do so probably goes way, way back.
See if you can weed it out, and move forward with a commitment to be more honest with yourself and others.
It takes time to practice self-expression when we have been complicit for so long. If you have abandoned yourself, why not begin again today?
The world will thank you for it.
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I absolutely love this post Christina. I do journal and write, but I also was the kind of girl growing up who wanted to be good and well liked and so I often kept quiet. Some of that bled into adulthood and I’m still trying to shake it off.
Thanks for sharing, Dana! I think so many of us were affected. I’m constantly asking myself how I can help my daughter become a more free and independent thinker, so she won’t carry the same burdens.