What is a Woman – or Man?

Matt Walsh conducted a series of interviews for a documentary called What is a Woman? It has had me thinking about what my answer would be to this statement. I don’t think there is one answer other than naturally, it has to do with your biological make-up. No matter what mask you put on to try and be someone else, you are still the person you were when you were born. Dr. Maxwell Maltz (the late plastic surgeon) discusses this in more detail in his book “Psychocybernetics.”

Continue reading

Being a Woman

Sugar and spice and everything nice…

Mother Goose nursery Rhyme

Hardly! Though it is a beautiful thing, to hear nursery rhymes, and other fairy tales as a child. I remember how lovely these worlds seemed and how I wanted to be in them. It is up to the parent to help transition the child, into the realities of life once they hit puberty. Unfortunately, in a traumatic household, the child figures it out for themselves.

Recently, I turned 60 years old. I took a trip with a good friend of mine, another therapist, for four days. She is 73. Her job was to help me transition into my sixth decade. I perceived this birthday as one that would cause a lot of depression and anguish for me. It did not. The reason for this was that I was not alone. I had built up a strong female support system in the past year. They are all in my age group or older and they all resonated with what I felt like. On my big day, they sang songs, sent cards, they all made a point of congratulating me in their own special way. There is nothing like having strong, trustworthy, faithful female friends during a time of need. It is part of what being a woman is all about.

Continue reading