Women's empowerment

The subject of women's empowerment has been discussed to death. Every day I read of women protesting about their rights. In many cases it takes extreme forms,some women walk naked around the streets to prove they are comfortable with their bodies,some women wear skimpy clothes to let people know it's their right to dress in a certain manner. Recently I eat about a woman who refused to wear a tampon because she wanted the topic of menus ration  to be in the public domain. Someone else decided to tell the world it was her choice to sleep with as many men as she wanted to. Well said perhaps. I totally agree that as women how we live our lives is entirely our business and take umbrage to the fact that men think they can tell us what we can or cannot do. Having said that I also believe that men and women think differently ,view women differently and treat women's issues differently .

If protest takes the form of the image that men have dictated to us for every and every in my books that is not empowerment. Do men have to take off their clothes to prove they are empowered. I have seen ,many a beauty pageant contestant talk of being empowered and having talked to them,it becomes very clear that the haven't a clue what they are talking about. Walking around in a bikini to be judged the most beautiful body by an Army of men isn't exactly empowerment is it. To me dressing is a question of personal taste and body type. It's not about being a fashion victim. What do women always define empowerment in terms of dress, body fluids,sex and body type?. Ask yourself who put the rules in place? What happened to our brains,our moral choice,our principals,our ability to compete as intellectuals in a level playing field. The rules ones lives by have to be made by oneself,but it will take into account ones abilities,ones environment and various other factors. To trivialise women's issues to some selfies,or not wearing tampons and running marathons just goes to show how shallow our discussions will be on the subject. I admire women who have raised above their male decided stereotypes,women who have made a difference to people's lives in many ways. True empowerment comes when what you do makes a difference in the world. If it is just another stunt to attract attention then in the interest of many women like me,please do call it by a different name,thank you

Broken spirits

A favourite ditty in school went like this...."a merry heart is like a medicine,a broken spirit dries the bones". Sure that this was a biblical verse that was taught to us but years later having mastered in psychology and having to deal with people all the time,it amazes me how true it is.

I wouldn't describe myself as an eternal optimist I face I probably lean toward pessimism more like. Over the years as life threw a few hardships my way this lesson came in as a handy dictum. 

What is it about people that makes some give up so easily and others to see the bright side of like.

Living with a negative person requires tremendous will power to rise above it. My mother gives up easily,she wallows in misery and it keeps he going but to deal with it can be the biggest challenge one faces. Of ours illness and old age are all causes for worry and feeling listless can ,make most people low in spirit but when it consumes ones life it can get difficult. 

Having said that I have watched women give up the better part of their youth to care for old parents with not a murmur or I'll temper. Most of them emerge out of this suddenly finding their lives empty having not lived through youth yes strangely satisfied of a job well done and hope for a better tomorrow. So does it all come down to the eternal question of genes vs environment.

To give back for what you have received is a loving things to do,but for someone like me on the cusp of optimism and pessimism it's an eternal tight rope walk. Prone to doubts and depression myself it is a battle to keep spirits up more so when one doesn't have the luxury of choosing any one. I read and escape to the world of fiction only to find the characters in my books have similar situations,it gives me strength,then I talk long hours to like minded friends who form the core of my support group.

Writing it all down helps too,but the sure short way to keep still and keep going is to escape into a happy world ,for some it's fiction,some take to drink some to friends but what ones chooses to escape into is also decided by ones personality. Am I the kind who thinks I am in charge of my life or do I believe that someone decided and I follow. Happiness unfortunately can't be outsources,it comes from ones core,it is in our hands and no one else can do it for us and therein lies the dilemma.