I recently came across a birthday card my sister gave me on my 52nd birthday. It showed a lady in her 50’s, dressed in a nightgown standing in front of a fan blowing air to cool her down. I had to laugh. She gave it to me during the time when I was going through menopause. I am now 58 and am happy to say I’m at the tail end of it. Reflecting, I realised what a difficult time menopause was for me. Anxiety, hot flushes, joint pain and sleepless nights.
We are born into a family, a lineage, a city, a country – a vast web of the living and of ancestors who have passed. Placed within this cocoon of connection and intimacy, you’d think we ought to feel secure, safe and loved – that we belong.
“Are you making things harder for yourself than necessary? Sometimes all our efforts to move forwards are actually counterproductive, and are in fact making things worse. Maybe you’re creating a ball and chain attached to your ankle, rather than the amazing future you want. If you’re fed up of being stuck, read on.”
From a young age women are bombarded with messaging about the need for clear smooth skin, luscious hair, slim physiques, yet just the right curves, to fit into all the latest fashions. Sadly we’re not exactly bombarded with messaging about how to REALLY look after our health. Sure there’s plenty of advice to push fad diets, fad/unsustainable workouts, pills and potions, quick fixes, skin procedures and a plethora of pricey products to make us LOOK better, but how much of this really helps us FEEL and BE better on a deeper level?
There are advantages to persevering with a question or thought which rises up during the early teens and then appears and reappears throughout one’s life. For me this question was a philosophical one. I felt a need to understand the very nature of dance.