My journey began looking at what it means to be authentic – to show up in life from a place of truth, honouring my feelings, fears, dreams and my spirit. In the process I learned what it means to be a woman.

Our society has told all of us to behave, to be strong, to swallow our emotions, keep our voice to ourselves and “fake it until you make it”. We have grown ashamed of our feelings and ultimately ourselves because we haven’t been allowed to be our true selves!

We are all human, women and men alike. We have feelings – we are sensitive and vulnerable by nature and this does not make us weak!

It is our sensitivities that make us compassionate, our feelings that offer empathy. It is the cracks that inspire us, and our struggles that strengthen us. It is the courage that comes from within that gives us true confidence, not the façade that pretends to offer us security, comfort and acceptance.

But I do not say this in anger nor in blame, nor is this about the plight of women. We have learned these ways, as women and men, and the opportunity now lies before us to create balance, to honour humanity and embody the gifts of the feminine in us all.

What I learned about being a woman is that we feel. We are intuitive through our body, our heart and our gut and when we shut these down, we also shut down our life force, energy and creative inspiration.

I have learned that sometimes our emotions run us wild but when we honour the voice and message within them and channel them through creativity, they offer us, and the world, great gifts.

I have learned that:

We are gentle, nurturing and loving as well as fierce, dedicated and determined.

We believe in truth and justice because it rattles us to our bones.

We are passionate and fiery as well as calm and fluid.

We are unpredictable and expressive as well as dependable and grounded.

We are life and creation as well as destruction and death.

We move things and shift things and inspire change.

We birth children and ideas and embody the cycles and seasons of life through our bodies, emotions and states of being.

We believe in the good of people and care about their story but we get angry when we’re forced to be quiet, to not feel and apologise for the way we are.

I do not believe we have the excuse to be unaware within our unpredictability but when supported we have the ability to invigorate the life in us all.

To be a woman is to dive into the depths of experience, of what it means to be human in this realm.

We follow the light as well as the shadows of the dark.

We are the virgin, the mother and the wise crone.

We are the sweet breeze of Spring and the ferocious wind of Winter.

We are the loving embrace that holds all of life and the tender softness that rests in its hands.

We sometimes push the limits because we are infinite and yet we need the boundary, structure and safety that the sacred masculine provides.

We need to feel honoured by our partner so that we can crack our hearts open and let you in.

We need to feel safe to thrive or else we control out of fear.

We are ready to be seen, to be heard and to create a sisterhood.

We are ready to show men their sacred masculine by embodying our sacred feminine.

We are willing to embody fear so that we can transform it into potential.

We are able to cry so that we can water the seeds of our truth.

We know when to say yes and when to say no, when to be open and when to protect.

We yearn for connection, long for devotion and our greatest desire is union.

We all, women and men alike, are the face of vulnerability, truth and love. May we put down our masks and look to our true face so that we may see the world that stretches before us with open eyes.