Monday, October 27, 2014

Finding Strength in Our Struggles

 The story of the butterfly

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly.
One day a small opening appeared.
He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours
as it struggled to squeeze its body through the tiny hole.
Then it stopped, as if it couldn't go further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly.
He took a pair of scissors and
snipped off the remaining bits of cocoon.
The butterfly emerged easily but
it had a swollen body and shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch it,
expecting that any minute the wings would enlarge
and expand enough to support the body,
Neither happened!
In fact the butterfly spent the rest of its life
crawling around.
It was never able to fly.

What the man in his kindness
and haste did not understand:
The restricting cocoon and the struggle
required by the butterfly to get through the opening
was a way of forcing the fluid from the body
into the wings so that it would be ready
for flight once that was achieved.

Sometimes struggles are exactly
what we need in our lives.
Going through life with no obstacles would cripple us.
We would not be as strong as we could have been
and we would never be able to fly, unless tempered
through our trials and troubles.



You can find more information about my Women's Empowerment Organization at:
Website Women's Empowerment: http://www.empowerment.ws/home.html
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/EmpowermentWS?ref=hl
Website Kadan Martial Arts: http://kadanmartialarts.com
Poetry Musings Blog: http://speakyourart.blogspot.com

Thank you for honoring the feminine and thank you for visiting. Wishing you peace.
POI

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Empowering Images and Quotes for Women and Girls


The mind and emotions are integral aspects of our Women's Empowerment work. How we see ourselves creates the foundation for our unique perspective of life and dictates how we relate to our environment. We all have a "negative chatterbox" living inside our heads. Learning to quiet the inner-critic with understanding and positivity are essential in creating a foundation made of courage and self-reliance. Please enjoy this collection of empowering quotes and images in honor of our upcoming Women's Empowerment Basic 1 Workshop. We hope you will find them inspirational and useful. If inspired by this post, please share with your friends. Thank you.

"Don’t focus on what’s wrong. Things may not be perfect, but be grateful for the opportunity to experience each day. Live each day like it could be your last."~ Joel Osteen


We can let the circumstances of our lives harden us
so that we become increasingly resentful and afraid,
or we can let them soften us, and make us kinder.
We always have the choice. ~ Dalai Lama



“Some people see scars, and it is wounding they remember. 
To me they are proof of the fact that there is healing.” ~ Linda Hogan




It all starts with desire. In spite of what you might have been taught in Sunday School, desire is never wrong. It’s a signpost pointing towards what lights you up, feeds your soul, sparks your enthusiasm, and makes you feel alive. ~ Dr. Lissa Rankin



When you can’t change the direction of the wind — adjust your sails.
~ H. JACKSON BROWN JR.


When we are honest with ourselves, energy flows in our bodies in a more harmonious way. We are responding to everything and everyone around us. When we acknowledge how things are affecting us, we become empowered. When we become empowered, our minds will be at peace and our bodies can heal. ~ Robin Lee


It may seem impossible now, but one day, we really can look back at the storms we have weathered and give a silent thank you. For many of us, it is the storms of our lives that have given us compassion, kindness, and gentleness that we otherwise may not have known—and that we can now give away to others, because they are inside of us. ~ Serena Dyer



Don’t let your fears about not being able to figure things out keep you from following your heart.

~ Bethany Butzer



A little perspective, like a little humor, goes a long way. — Allen Klein




Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, 
to impress people they don’t like. ~Will Rogers




We must consistently check with ourselves: 
“am I committed to feeling good, or am I committed to growing?” 
Growth does not always feel good, and feeling good does not always provide growth.

~ GURU SINGH



Courage is the most important of all the virtues, 
because without courage you can't practice any other virtue consistently. 
You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage.

~ Maya Angelou



"Everything we are, everything we’ve experienced, learned and suffered can be used in service of the healing and transformation of ourselves and our world. What matters is not so much who we are, but what we do with who we are. And the ultimate question we must ask ourselves is who and what does our life serve." ~ Karen Clark



Good is towing the line, being behaved, being quiet, being passive, fitting in, being liked, and great is being messy, having a belly, speaking your mind, standing up for what you believe in, fighting for another paradigm, not letting people talk you out of what you know to be true. ~ Eve Ensler




“The woman who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been before.” ~ Albert Einstein



Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; 
the most massive characters are seared with scars. ~ Khalil Gibran




The hero is the one who kindles a great light in the world, who sets up blazing torches in the dark streets of life for men to see by. The saint is the man who walks through the dark paths of the world, himself a light.  ~ FELIX ADLER




A really strong woman accepts the war she went through and is ennobled by her scars.
~ Carly Simon



I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become. ~ CARL GUSTAV JUNG



It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.
~ J. K. Rowling



Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement... get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible; never treat life casually. To be spiritual is to be amazed.  ~ Abraham Joshua Heschel



Everything will line up perfectly when knowing and living the truth becomes more important than looking good. ~ ALAN COHEN



It takes courage to keep walking when the path is obscured by confusion. Trust. Believe. And just keep walking. The way will be revealed! ~ Sue Krebs


There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires. 
~ Nelson Mandela


To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you. ~ LEWIS B. SMEDES


If you want to succeed in your life, remember this phrase: That past does not equal the future. Because you failed yesterday; or all day today; or a moment ago; or for the last six months; the last sixteen years; or the last fifty years of life, doesn’t mean anything… All that matters is: What are you going to do, right now? ~ ANTHONY ROBBINS



Trust that, no matter what, within you lies the ability to get through anything. Trust yourself.
~ Christine Gutierrez


For more information about Women's Empowerment Basic 1 Workshop check out the blog post at: http://empowermentws.blogspot.com/2015/02/womens-empowerment-basic-1-workshop.html
or join the event at: 

You can find more information about my Women's Empowerment Organization at:
Website Women's Empowerment: http://www.empowerment.ws/home.html
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/EmpowermentWS?ref=hl
Website Kadan Martial Arts: http://kadanmartialarts.com
Poetry Musings Blog: http://speakyourart.blogspot.com

Thank you for honoring the feminine and thank you for visiting. Wishing you peace.
POI