When was the last time you gave yourself a rest?
A really, really, really good rest?
And let every inch of your land lie fallow?
Letting things lie fallow feels … biblical.
We do not live in a world that honors stillness, a plot of land unseeded. We are all celebrated for how much we do and how hard we work. And the weight and breadth of the what we accomplish — often invisibly and at an intense velocity — is actually quite fucking spectacular.
And there is so much joy there. The joy in feeling into and reaching our capacity. The joy in finding out how strong we are, and how capable. The satisfaction in accomplishment.
But.
A woman.
A deeply expressed and fulfilled and well-lived woman — while so divinely capable — is not simply a producer.
The nature of woman cannot and will not be defined by the small sum of what she provides. Of her effort. Toil.
She is so much more than that.
She needs so much more than that.
Land that is farmed without rest turns infertile.
Women are cyclical beings. Most of us ovulate, menstruate. We respond physically to the phases of the moon, to the tides of the ocean, waxing and waning, ebbing and flowing. We are part of the divine seasonal orchestra.
We are bigger than our day jobs and duties, bigger than our egos that say “keep pushing, just keep pushing”; sisters, we are part of the holy hallelujah chorus of birth, life, and death.
And we live in a patriarchal culture that praises masculine values above all:
Work harder!
Work more!
Increase profit!
Increase productivity!
Hustle.
Which is beautiful. We need the masculine.
But not only the masculine.
And we need to remember — in a culture that will never say so — what isn’t masculine isn’t wrong.
Feminine values guide us to create from intuition, to rest deeply, to receive richly and give from our overflow.
Where the masculine values “knowing the right answer” or defining the most efficient path from A to B . . . the feminine values uncertainty, the vast and potent space between A and B. She is not linear, she is complex, organic, and nuanced. She does not question a seemingly impractical approach. She trusts herself. She trusts life.
She knows the fallow field will blossom again. And in allowing it to be, without producing, she completes the creative cycle, and in doing so, honors it.
It sounds so breezy when we’re talking about a field. A metaphor. But actuallyliving the values of the feminine as a woman in this world is not as easy. Certainly not easy for me. Mama loves to work-work-work. And push myself. And do more. And do it faster and better. Oh my darlings, to creative beings like us the energy of literal creation is so alluring! And the culture will give us every reason to keep at it.
But this Spring, my tiny and wonderfully mighty team and I surveyed our land. As we felt into the vision for the next 6-12 months at the School, we exhaled. We all felt it — we got to that sacred moment when keeping the pace would have been defying our truth. And as a company of women, for women, we want to walk our talk. We want to uphold feminine values. We want to honor not-doing as much as the doing. So, together, we looked at where we could create some extra spaciousness and decided to take the year off from offering our advanced learning program, called Creation Course. This is a biggie for us, and we’re excited.
What could be your Creation, sister? What thing feels like a must-do that isn’t? Where could you create space for something unknown? What could you let go of? What could you say No to? Where will you allow a clearing to lie down in and rest, praising the moon above?
Love,
Regena Thomashauer, aka “Mama Gena”
The School of Womanly Arts
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.
PUSSY: A RECLAMATION
The New York Times Bestseller is now available in paperback!
If you’ve been waiting for the paperback, it is now waiting for you! Support your local book store or order online. Either way, when you buy your copy, I’d love to give you a gift of thanks.
