Big fat radical change is required now.
You can feel it, yes?
I am imagining that many of us feel this urgency, feel this calling and have a desire that is pressing on us, preoccupying us. But, for many of us, the moment we have a desire, the moment that our truest truth emerges, is the very moment we get flooded with doubt. You might feel you don’t have enough experience or knowledge to do the thing you desire. You might be overwhelmed by all that you don’t know. You might not believe anyone will follow you. There are so many reasons why women choose to stay stuck in our doubts rather than choose to say “yes” to the still small voice of our deepest calling.
You, my sister, need to know – and choose to believe – that you are resourceful, capable, and powerful beyond your own understanding of yourself. You are a leader. And you can lead yourself from here to whatever it is you desire. How? By choosing to practice the art of feminine leadership.
Feminine leadership is the medicine so desperately required by this world, at this time.
What do I mean by feminine leadership?
Women provide vision, inspiration, direction-setting, and out-of-the-box thinking – Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, created a clear, thorough, and well-executed social distancing plan sooner than any other country and flattened the curve. Women trust their intuition and are willing to act on it. London Breed, the mayor of San Francisco, shut down the city before the state and federal government chose to act, saving so many lives.
Women bring the values of the feminine, like:
-Collaboration
-Deep connection to her full range of emotional truth
-Surrender and receiving
-Creativity
-Trusting her intuition
-Feeling plugged into her sacred power
-Sensual aliveness
-Being an unstoppable force for the truth
We do not have to look too hard to see that we have a long way to go.
We live in a world that is extremely hostile to the feminine. And we take that hostility very personally.
Women often shy away from leading.
We batten down the hatch on our truth, and choose to silence our own voice.
We look outside of ourselves for guidance.
We feel outranked when a man is in the room.
We suffer in indecision, even about simple stuff.
Choosing feminine leadership is like taking the dagger out of your heart, and using it to fight for good.
The object of choosing leadership, at this time, is to reverse the internalized struggle of self doubt, self hatred, and self deprecation that women deal with on the daily – and externalize it – no matter the consequences.
Don’t keep it in…let it out.
For example, I am sure many of us were stunned when, on Friday, a judge dismissed the claim for equal pay from the U.S. women’s national soccer team, but said that other allegations of discrimination can proceed to trial. Even more shockingly, U.S. Soccer argued in court documents that the U.S. women’s team had less responsibility than the men’s, and that men’s soccer requires more skill. The women’s team has won four FIFA World Cups and four Olympic medals. The men’s team has won neither.
The federation argued that “the overall soccer-playing ability required to compete at the senior men’s national team level is materially influenced by the level of certain physical attributes, such as speed and strength, required for the job,” according to the documents.
They also argued that the male and female players have “materially different jobs,” as the men’s team has to deal with more hostile fans during international games.
Molly Levinson, a spokesperson for the USWNT, posted on Twitter that the team is “shocked and disappointed” with the judge’s ruling, but that they do not plan to give up on securing equal pay.
“We are confident in our case and steadfast in our commitment to ensuring that girls and women will not be valued as lesser just because of their gender,” she tweeted. “We have learned that there are tremendous obstacles to change; we know that it takes bravery and courage and perseverance to stand up to them.”
We are learning from these women on the front lines.
We are learning that the road is hard, the cards are stacked against us.
But with community and sisterhood, women are an unstoppable force for change.
There will be a day when the women’s soccer team has equal pay. These women will not give up. As Megan Rapinoe, who has helped lead the team’s fight, tweeted, “We will never stop fighting for equality.”
Big fat radical change is required now.
Pushback and loss are inevitable.
This is what the road to leadership looks like.
It’s bumpy, it’s not easy, but what better way is there to live than being a force for change in this world that is so hungry for the voice and presence of woman?
With so much love and pleasure,
Regena is a feminist icon, a teacher, a speaker, a mother, a best-selling author, and creatrix and CEO of The School of Womanly Arts.
p.s. Feminine leadership thrives in community. Are there women in your life that could benefit from a community of sisters? Forward this message to her and invite her into our circle. Please join us on instagram here and Facebook here too!