A parade.
A community.
A school.
A vow.
A moral principle. One peaceful moment.
—Maxine Hong Kingston
Wise Words: Women Are Creating the Future
“Every achievement, big or small, begins in your mind.”
—Mary Kay Ash
“This has always been a motto of mine: Attempt the impossible in order to improve your work.”
—Bette Davis
“You are the one that possesses the keys to your being. You carry the passport to your own happiness.”
—Diane von Furstenberg
“The future depends entirely on what each of us does every day; a movement is only people moving.”
—Gloria Steinem
February
Learning to Love Yourself in the Same Way You Love All Others
“I am my own muse, the subject I know best.”
—Frida Kahlo
“We have all a better guide in ourselves, if we would attend to it, than any other person can be.”
—Jane Austen
“In moments of solitude, you’ll realize that loving yourself is the source of so much of your power.”
—Laci Green
“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”
—Audre Lorde
“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.”
—Judy Garland
“When we are brave enough to share our true authentic self with the world, we make room for miracles. When we remember that we’re all different and that it’s okay to not look like someone else or talk like someone else or share like someone else—[we realize] it’s actually preferable that you are in your own lane doing your own thing following your own heart. Because that’s where the true magic lies.”
—Jodi Chapman
“You’ve gotta do things that make you happy. As women, we tend to give away a lot. We take care of a lot of people, and we can’t forget to take care of ourselves.”
—Jennifer Lopez
“We relish news of our heroes, forgetting that we are extraordinary to somebody too.”
—Helen Hayes
32
You Are a Child of God
You are an eternal being of light and love. You are a child of God, and abundance is your inheritance. You are at a deep level one with the whole universe, and therefore everything you need already exists within you. Everything!
—Cissi Williams
33
Women Helping Women
my heart aches for sisters more than anything
it aches for women helping women
like flowers ache for spring
—rupi kaur
34
The Eternal Truth from the Hugging Saint
When someone is full of Love and Compassion,
he cannot draw a line between
two countries, two faiths, or two religions.
—Amma
35
Do You Know How Great You Are?
Most women secretly believe that they are “not enough.” The very opposite is true. You are way…WAY more than enough. You have more than enough to do, be, create, and have everything you desire! In order to have EVERYTHING you desire, you must shift your beliefs and begin to see yourself in a new and strong way. It’s about creating a powerful mindset shift…the first step is connecting with your Inner Goddess.
—Lisa Marie Rosati
36
Answers to Heal Our Deepest Wounds
Within ourselves, there are voices that provide us with all the answers that we need to heal our deepest wounds, to transcend our limitations, to overcome our obstacles or challenges, and to see where our soul is longing to go.
—Debbie Ford
37
We Are All Born Good, We Are All Born Different
Ren zhi chu
Xing ben shan
Xing xiang jin
Xi xiang yuan
Gou bu jiao
Xing nai qian
Jiao zhi dao
Gui yi zhuan
____________________________
When a child is born,
At the root, is good.
Everyone’s nature is the same
But everyone experiences different things.
If there is no Way,
We will move away from our nature.
The teaching of the Way
Is valuable because it is particular to each [woman and] man.
—Thirteenth Century Southern Chinese Poem
38
Let Us Exult in the Sheer Delight of Being Alive
What, you ask, is the beginning of it all?
And it is this…
Existence that multiplied itself for sheer delight of being
and plunged into numberless trillions of forms
so that it might find itself innumerably.
—Sri
39
Still Awareness
I believe it is the most important.
It is our most unique gift. It is perhaps the greatest gift we can give.
In our language this quality is called dadirri.
It is inner, deep listening and quiet, still awareness…
When I experience dadirri,
I am made whole again.
I can sit on the river bank or walk through the trees;
even if someone close to me has passed away,
I can find my peace in this silent awareness.
There is no need of words…
It is just being aware…
—Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr-Bauman,
Aboriginal Artist & Teacher
40
Healing Touch
Touch