thrive

the word i keep hearing in my spirit is, thrive.

my roots are deep. the soil's moist. the air clear. it's time to thrive.

i'm reading a powerful book, which i don't even yet have words to describe. all i can say is i am surrounded by a great company of women who are teaching me the ways i have wondered about.

one word struck me, menarche. and to get this word for an essentially feministic book is typical of me. i don't begrudge men their solid place in the way things are. but i don't begrudge women the right to thrive either.

here i go, fumbling through another messy topic. yes, this one involves blood.

we've so santized our culture that blood is wisked away and kept behind closed doors. and women have lost the hands on, integral, messy blood work they used to be a part of. maybe for the best, i'm not sure. but my birthing experience was sterile. i didn't hold my child until two hours after i had awaken from sedation. she was parted from me by a surgeon, not a gently coaxing midwife. a loss i have trouble explaining.

men are essential to the plan. this word, menarche, meaning the first instance of menstruation, makes me laugh because it is reminiscent of l'arche (the ark in french). men + arche (ark) = woman's ability to bear children.

that my mind makes these connections, and that they are so fundamental to the way things work is staggering to me at times.

i happen to adore men. i enjoy them. my husband says, i like them because they are easy going, whereas women, not so much.

it takes a certain kind of woman to get along with me. i still am not sure what that type is. no nonsense, certainly. but also unafraid of going to the deep places.

but men, most of them, except the effeminate, talkative types, i really have no problem with.

so, thriving. how does this all come together? not sure. i'm just lobbing it out there for you to see.