The Japanese soul appears to me essentially feminine. What I am here venturing to say is far from being pejorative. On the contrary. When the world is sick, it is from woman that all is reborn.
From Memories for Tomorrow: The Memoirs of Jean-Louis Barrault
(New York 1974 E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc.)
How often do you enquire as to how you are going - on an emotional level?
How often do you make a check-in with yourself and ask the real questions?
For instance: How am I going? What do I need to do today to lift myself?
These exercises are entirely necessary if one is learning to manage depression. Buy hey and c'mon. These questions are just necessary. This is daily practice.
Give yourself some attention. Ask the real questions, wait for the answer and then act on your own advice.
Contemplative Sculpture.
Take my mother for example...
But then there's this: It's said by some (see Christiane Northrup), that the perimenopausal years (those that come just before the menopause itself) are ones in which a woman's sense of herself, the truth as she knows it and what needs to happen, come into a sharper focus.
At these ages, many women have spent the majority of their adult lives looking after other people. Those "others" may be their own children, their parents, husbands and a host of others too. They are used to being nice, nice and nicey nice to others and generally being fan - frikking - tastic on everyone else's behalf.
Oh, but however. At this age, many women start to say things like, "Do it yourself".
Or "Go away".
Or "Gee you know, I don't like you anymore after all".
Etc.
I have no doubt these facts contribute to the weaker members of the male gender running for the nearest under 30's bar/porn site/bloke's bonding area (that would be the pub).
But there are others. Real men who have a good strong spine, a big heart and a twinkle in their eye. They can stay the distance. The strongest who can gently point out where a woman might have stepped over the mark but they love her and snuggle her at the end of that difficult conversation.
So then it goes like this...That good strong women must necessarily be with good strong men.
Photo of a bunch of suffragette Japanese women having a few things to point out - found here.
There is not one big cosmic meaning for all,
there is only the meaning we each give to our life,
an individual meaning, an individual plot,
like an individual novel, a book for each person. - Anais Nin
It's interesting that in young adulthood we adopt our own - individual - role models. If we are lucky, those luminarie's keep guiding us and reassuring, long after their deaths and long after the initial infatuation. Nin keeps speaking sense to me, 30 years later.
ANDREW DENTON: You are a Kokoberra woman.
TANIA MAJOR: Yes.
ANDREW DENTON: Grew up in Kowanyama. What does being a Kokoberra woman mean?
TANIA MAJOR: A Kokoberra woman means I’m from Kowanyama in a right Aboriginal community, in Cape York.
ANDREW DENTON: Aha.
TANIA MAJOR: I’m from a particular tribal group. It means I’m six foot two, I’m intellectual, I’m bullet proof.
ANDREW DENTON: Mhm.
TANIA MAJOR: And it means, don’t mess with me Andrew Denton.
LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE
TANIA MAJOR: Cos I can see on your head.
ANDREW DENTON: I’m not messing with you Tania.
LAUGHTER
- From Enough Rope 26 May 2008
This 26 year-old Young Australian of the Year 2007 is a complete inspiration. In respect to discussions of indigenous people in this country, I can (with relief) say I have never heard so much commonsense, honesty and intelligence come from anyone's mouth as it does from Tania's.
And shit she's funny. Watch the video, it's grand.
An interesting 'by the way' occurred when Rob McAlpine was giving his presentation last week at the pilot training program for treatment of anxiety disorders in children and young people.
In stressing the need for a "multi-modal" approach to treating this condition, he referred to the large body of work that was conducted by Anna Freud and her colleagues concerning anxiety in kiddies. Anna is known as the founder of child psychoanalysis.
It seems the recent research has given credence to the psychodynamic model, originated by Anna's papa Sigmund. Much of the kudos and consequent ideas comes from her meticulous note keeping. (Interestingly, Sigmund wasn't big on notes). There are numerous documented successes - kids just stopped being anxious after her interventions.
