IWD 2023
International Women’s Day (IWD) is a day to recognise how far we’ve come towards gender equality, and also how far we have left to go. For me, this is not simply about women, this is about our treatment to all, for how we treat our girls is not too far off how we treat our boys. As adults we become so accustomed to the opinions and judgement from others and our desire to “belong” in society that we often miss the obstacles, barriers we face from societal scrutiny and their effects on our mental health, its impact on our relationships and ultimately, society as a whole. The incessant opinions from others seep into our psyche to the point that it’s near impossible to separate the voices and opinions of others from our own. A few examples of this negative commentary for women:– If they choose a career path rather than a “traditional”…
Can we be authentic?
I hear so many clients speak about the importance of authenticity, not only wanting to imbue it themselves but also expecting it from others. However, in our society, do we really accept people’s authenticity? If you look up what authenticity means, you see the words: genuine, honest, true to oneself etc. If this is what we take to be authenticity, then why when we ask “how are you?” can we not accept when someone says they’re “not ok” or anything out side of “good, and you?”. Life is so much more than “good” or “ok”. We have a day for R U OK? but we don’t live it day by day. How often do we give the space to our friends, family, colleagues to respond authentically? Do we allow ourselves to even feel and connect with our emotions outside of “good” or “ok”? I myself am an Enneagram 4 which…
Generalising relationships
Romantic Relationships shouldn’t be generalized. We often see relationships as black and white. But there is so much more to relationships than just what we experience in our own relationship. Our connection with one person is very different from one with another, which means that every relationship we encounter is unique.Something I have noticed that we tend to do is generalize relationships. If I, my parents, my friends etc experience the same thing then that means that everyone goes through it, right? … Not necessarily. There are a lot of people in the world and each and every relationship and connection is unique in one way or another. When we generalize in our language towards love and connection we can hurt those around us. Just because we haven’t experienced it, doesn’t make it true. We shouldn’t discount others feelings just for the sake of our own ego.I invite us to…