Becoming

I've been on a bit of a journey recently, toward becoming the Woman I feel I've lost. Over the past 10 years or so, I've often felt as if I've let go of myself, lost touch with who I am, and especially who I am as a woman.

It's like I've become just another dot in the species, another human plodding the life/death journey, with nothing remarkable or beautiful about me or the road I travel.

But it's all busy changing. I've been delving into texts and ideas and explorations of Woman, of Goddess. Taking back my power as a unique member of the human race, and setting my feet on a path to deep-seated contentment.

Much of this involves discovering where my future needs to be, how to manage my work and home, how to find my true potential.

I recently picked up two back issues of the Australian magazine Notebook (love the print issue layout!). I hadn't seen the magazine before, but found a wealth of info between its covers.

This morning (while occupying the Great White Throne next to which a pile of magazines resides for my perusal), I read part of an article on working and mothering. One woman had used a 4-block plan to plot direction, which I found completely inspiring. The basics (as far as I can remember) are:

Divide a page into four blocks. In block 1 write "things I enjoy doing and am good at". In block 2 write down "things I enjoy doing but am not good at". In block 3 write "things I don't enjoy doing but am good at". And in block 4 write "things I don't enjoy doing and am not good at".
Draw a line through block 4 - you don't want to do those things. Then draw a line through block 3 - life is too short to do things you don't enjoy. Draw a line through block 1 - these are things you've already accomplished. The items you've written in block 2 are the way forward - challenging, enjoyable, and afford an opportunity for growth.

Which makes a lot of sense to me!

In addition to finding direction, I'm working on the Goddess thing. In other words, reclaiming my power as a woman. Again, I'm turning to reading matter, and found a completely inspirational book (now on order!) that goes into the historical concept of Goddess/Seductress. A concept that has been muddied and obscured through time, religion and society, to the point where it's no longer empowering.

It's a complicated matter, this Becoming thing. But one that is both eye-opening and inspiring. It's a journey that I've come to relish each day, as new opportunities and ideas present themselves, and I start to slowly discover the me hidden under layers and layers of not-me.