A shield, a sword and love....
Jennifer Oechsner
There's a wonder woman in all of us.
Since I was a very little girl I always thought wonder woman was pretty damn cool. She had that awesome costume (and looked so pretty wearing it!), she didn't take any shit, she had her very own jet she could take anywhere and no one could see her fly away because it was invisible. And then the biggest one, she could outfight and outsmart so many boys. (i'm sure this last point of admiration had something to do with the fact that my older brother did such a great job terrorizing me).
Like so many women from my generation I was thrilled when the Wonder Woman the movie recently came out. Like so many others, I left the theater inspired and empowered.
Don't worry, no spoiler alert!....
In the movie Wonder Woman left her comfortable home to venture out into the world to fight. She could have stayed in her comfort zone but she couldn't ignore the pull to fight the demons who were destroying the world. She was told not to leave, there were times when she was told she couldn't do it. Yet she persevered. She was told to keep her head down and that there was nothing she could do but she chose to fight. At a pivotal point in the movie she shed her cloak of disguise so she could fight unencumbered. And then she really kicked some ass.
While most of us will not have to fight on an external battlefield, we all walk a battlefield within on a daily basis. We are faced with people who tell us we can't do it, we limit ourselves through our self doubt, we wear cloaks the prevent us from showing our authentic self to the world. We all need to find a shield to deflect the naysayers, a sword to cut through our own limiting beliefs, and to shed the cloak the hides our inner light.
Over the years I have been drawn to practices that provide the arsenal I need to get through life's battles. Yoga helps bring me peace, a pair of boxing gloves and a heavy bag kick the shit out of some self doubt and meditation helps me to let my light shine.
What is your shield? What is your sword? How do you bring love into the battlefield of life? I'd love to hear from you. We are in this together. Let's all be soldiers for peace, peace that starts within. If more of us were fighting for peace within and fighting for those who cant fight for themselves how different could the world be?