The Unseen Power of Women
There is a hilarious and infuriating video on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/reel/861189225877459.
In this video a man tells his girlfriend about the laundry basket that turns dirty clothes into clean, folded clothes magically overnight. And there’s the magic coffee table from which trash, pizza boxes, and beer cans disappear every night.
He is surprised when his girlfriend is gone and decides that she fell on the magic coffee table and disappeared.
Because he didn’t at all see what she was doing to contribute to his life. She complained about it, but he couldn’t see it.
Most women are not aware of the value they give to their world.
Why? Because what they do is “invisible” in the physical world. Women have not yet achieved parity in paychecks and in some industries - like construction, the CEO suite, and the military elite.
This societal blindness may be why you can’t see your own contributions to the life around you. Maybe no one else sees the value of what you do or appreciates what you give them.
Even your family may not fully see what you do for them. They may even complain that you are not doing enough because they take your support for granted.
What is this invisible work that women primarily do?
Birthing and raising children, creating and maintaining a nurturing home environment and social interactions, and often working outside the home to support the family. These “soft skills” are the most sophisticated of human capacities - emotional intelligence, effective communication, empathy, and intuition.
Many women are terrible at calibrating their worth and contribution to the lives around them. The need for self-care and self-validation is coming more into women’s awareness. For instance,
A self-employed woman decides to go to her favorite coffee shop for a few moments of peace instead of preparing dinner for her family early in the day.
A woman in the midst of packing up her house for an impending move schedules regular massages to keep her body in shape from all the lifting and moving around.
A young mom takes a half day sabbatical every month to grow spiritually. Chaos ensues when she returns home, but she sticks with her resolve and continues to grow even when her children are little.
A lot of the work women do is invisible because it is supportive and receptive. This feminine way is not highly valued in US culture.
How do you put a price on a well-loved child, a well-educated and encouraged student, or a spouse who is supported at home so s/he can excel at work?
Of course we need both masculine and feminine both internally and out in the world. But the balance has been off - for millenia.
To bring our world back into harmony, it is time to honor the feminine way of being by blending soft skills and caring with analytical skills and drive in the outer world.
How can you honor yourself and your contribution to life today?
How can you avoid feeling like you have fallen on to the magic coffee table and have disappeared?