Being Powerful

In a wonderful workshop that I attended yesterday on Finding time for yourself & all that matters to you-the Ontological way, a very important learning that emerged is- when you are powerful within, things important to you start happening and you also find time for what matters to you.

Being powerful within, is being empowered. It gets things done or even created without any force. It comes from the sense of responsibility and ownership exemplified by you. You might be quite soft spoken and yet powerful. How does this happen? By-

• Letting go of negativity
• Detachment from a negative situation and if needed people ( not from duty)
• Living in the present-BEING 

Those who use force are powerless  within; force is the weapon of the meek. Aggression comes from a place of weakness.

Patience is the virtue of the strong. Love is the strongest weapon.

May this Navratri Goddess Durga give you the strength to empower yourself, be patient with the people & things that matter; infuse love within & exude the same.

Happy Dushehra!

Empowerment-The role of Conditioning

While a lot has been said about gender equality & women empowerment, it's time we do a little soul searching about our role in empowering and or dis-empowering a girl.

I hear a lot of young mothers telling their little weeping sons -"are you girl you are crying? Stop crying, be a man, be strong; if you cry you will become a girl". I get taken aback when so called educated men and women talk in this language. By making such statement, we are conditioning the young mind to believe that-

a) Boys don't cry, or it's absolutely incorrect for boys or men to cry

b) Crying is an act of weakness

c) Boys/men are strong & girls/ women are weak

The young boy will grow up holding these false notions very closely in his mind the consequence of which will be- he will be ill at ease to express his emotions;  and will never accept a female as an equal forget better in any sphere of life. He has been raised with a possibly unknown gender bias.

Recently I got a shock again when someone who apparently appears to be quite modern made a remark that left me thinking. She said that " If ABC (her son) was a girl (daughter) I would never send her for swimming, look how tanned he is". I managed to keep quiet with somewhat difficulty. This kind of a statement is a clear message that it's not good for girls to have a not so fair complexion; after all fair skin sells faster & better in the marriage market. 

Where is the discrimination coming from? When the parents themselves give such differentiating messages to kids, where will there be a level playing field? Even if the government, or an organization provide a level playing field, will these children, now adults respond equally and treat each other as equals? 

There can be n number of laws and programs on gender equality, Sexual Harassment Prevention, Prohibition & Redressal, etc.; unless there is a change in mindset, the culture in an organization or society will not change. Not to undermine the importance of the laws, they play a vital role in enforcing safety and security and provide remedial measures; a mindset shift will create a feeling of security and belongingness.