Due to a tech-challenged span of a few hours, all of today’s posts were delivered this morning. If you have missed one, please follow the links to today’s fare:
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Thank you for forgiving the complete failure of the one in charge to drink a sufficient amount of coffee to function coherently.
Thank you for your continued support of M3, the fabulous bloggers and web masters of The Green Room and the amazing talent of The Coffee Shoppe.
Sincerely,
The Management
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(c) Ann Marie Dwyer 2011 Reblogging of this or any other post on Momma’s Money Matters is expressly forbidden. Copyright and Privacy Policy available in The Office.
In cruising through my daily blogs, I discovered what I consider either very enlightening or very disturbing. This three day foray into the male and the female of the species will focus on what we view as strengths and weaknesses and a comparison of the two. Today, the female.
Strong Women
What is the first image which comes to mind at the words “strong woman”? Choose one:
Image by Kheel Center, Cornell University via Flickr
It is the woman who stands up for what she believes to be right?
Or the one who can lift her own body weight?
Or is it something entirely different? Amazon princess in battle? Mother Superior, willing to die for her faith? What makes a woman strong?
Weak Women
The absolute first image which comes to mind is this one:
Or were you thinking some delicate flower or pixie? One whose feelings stay hurt? Whose tears fall freely?
Will
The sheer magnitude of a woman’s will can make her infinitely strong. Once her mind is set to something, the strong woman will conquer it. Weak-willed women take orders, on the job and at home.
Beliefs
The strong woman has a tenet system which may well be written into bylaws. The weak woman believes what is popular, demanded by the strong people in her life or sent to her in a tweet.
Character
The strong woman has an abundance she has earned through survival and hardship. She is well-rounded, articulate and/or eloquent and may be exquisitely complex. The weak woman is as shallow as her reflection.
Courage
There is nothing the strong woman will back down from, kowtow to or fail to try. Pansy will wait for someone to do it for her, shiver into submission or tremble in fear.
Insight
Before swallowing anything hook, line and sinker, the strong woman will consult her intuition and experience, a professional and/or a confidante. The weak woman will nod like a bobble head to everything she is told.
But what if…
…she is both? All women have the capability of being the demure arm candy. Many strong women choose to take this role as a hobby or as a courtesy to their lovers. Choosing to be meek or being vulnerable does not compromise the woman’s strength.
And all the rest.
Strong women come in all ages, shapes and colors (with matching handbags). They possess many characteristics not listed here, but for the sake of our discussion, we will consider these top five.
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Are you or do you know a strong woman? Which of the five characteristics do(es) you (she) possess?
I have been living with optimism my whole life. The majority of it was spent with plenty drama and trauma. Not giving in to rectal myopia is sometimes difficult, but I have some tricks up my sleeve to help bring my outlook back up.
Smile. Things could be worse.” ~Stanley Graham
My grandfather was a wise man. When he said that, my reply was, “OK. I smiled…and they got worse.” It always made us both smile.
It is FREE.
Smiles are contagious. Even the grouchiest curmudgeons will return a smile. The most inexpensive gift you can give to yourself everyday is a smile in the mirror after you brush your teeth. This will help you face the day with a powerful optimism.
Yeah, but…
All ‘but’s are cracked” ~ Ann Marie Dwyer
When you feel as though rock bottom is in the penthouse of your building, try on someone else’s shoes in order to put your situation in to perspective. This will give you a new viewpoint when you return to your problem. For instance…
Visit a nursing home with an inexpensive bouquet of flowers. Introduce yourself to a patient in the day room and give them a flower. You will find they will share with you an experience that will show you inner strength. When you are out of flowers, you will have made new friends and learned everyone has value, even if it is not apparent at first glance…you included.
Volunteer for a lunch session in a soup kitchen for the homeless. You will learn that those with the least are appreciative of what they have.
Pick flowers (if you are too embarrassed to be caught in your neighbor’s yard- a mum bouquet from the grocery store is fine) and visit a veteran’s cemetery. Walk amongst the headstones and put a flower on the ones which make you think. Celebrate the sacrifice these men and women made for you that you may be there to pay tribute.
Volunteer to help out at recess at a school for the handicapped. You will revel in all that a child can teach you. Their presence at school alone is a testimony to the perseverance to overcome.
Read to children at your local library. Find that book your parents had to read twelve times before you drifted off to sleep. Share that warm feeling with a complete stranger, content to sit on your lap while you read.
Sign up for nursery duty at your church, temple or mosque. Spend one service caring for infants. These truly helpless little people can teach you unconditional acceptance.
When you get back home, you will notice you are not in the basement anymore. You will have taken a moment to share the truly good qualities you have to offer. This strength will show you a solution you otherwise might never have found.
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Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Have you gotten more so over time or changed to the other camp?
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(c) Ann Marie Dwyer 2011 Reblogging of this or any other post on Momma’s Money Matters is expressly forbidden. Copyright and Privacy Policy available in The Office.
Yeah, but…