A woman walks into a room, she is dressed well, she looks confident, she seems intelligent, successful. And yet, as she walks into the room, it is as if the other women in the room are already waiting to kill her with their words and thoughts... The other women pounce on her as she enters, ripping apart her clothes with criticism, clawing at her success with jealousy, all while pouring negative energy into their own lives. We are lucky to live in this country; many women have worked so hard to bring us to where we are today, where women are respected and have rights, and where women top the list of Forbes Most Powerful People in the World. Still though, among us women, rights are secretly being taken away. All due to emotions of jealousy and envy.
These emotions are not productive, when you allow any sort of negativity into your life, it weighs you down. With every negative emotion, a weight is placed on you and you are unable to fly. Buddha says, "You are what you think." If you allow these negative emotions to get a hold of you, whether it is from you, to you or just around you, it creates darkness in your life. "Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. As hatred cannot drive out hatred, only love can do that." (Martin Luther King Jr) We must allow ourselves to live in the light. Jealousy usually comes from confused admirers, who cannot figure out the reason why someone is loved. But if we send only love their way, this jealousy will be cured.
As women, we must make that decision not to cast other fellow women into darkness. Not to throw that energy to someone and force them to live without light. We must instead stand with our head up high, and be happy for all that we are blessed with. And in turn be happy for others and all they are blessed with. Rather than look at what other people have and count other people's blessings, send love their way and create a list of goals for yourself. This strength comes from within.
It all starts with you. We must have the strength to be confident, be courageous and use this to move forward with complete conviction. First and foremost we must love ourselves. Although women attack one another, we are also all guilty of attacking ourselves. Of criticizing ourselves. But we can either be our own worst enemy or our greatest motivator. I choose the latter. I choose to not to look at myself in the mirror and see flaws, I choose to look at myself and see all the things that make me unique, make me different than everyone else. I choose to look at myself in the mirror and not to harp on what I have not accomplished, but to look at how much more opportunity I have in front of me. I choose to look in the mirror and never be jealous of what others have, rather I send them love and support. I choose to support, love and protect all the women in my life, even those who have sent negative energy my way because it makes me stronger. I choose not to kill the woman who walks into the room with conviction; I choose to cheer her on. No candle loses its light while lighting another candle, and so we should never stop sharing and helping others.
Today is International Women's Day, and so today I ask that you look at yourself in the mirror and be proud of who you are and proud of everyone around you. Make a choice to love yourself and surround yourself with love. Make a choice to be like Muhammad Ali, and say "I am the greatest. I said this before I even knew I was." Make a choice, and allow yourself to fly.