Imagine a Woman

Imagine a Woman II

Imagine a woman who is interested

in her own life.
A woman who embraces her life as teacher,

healer, and challenge.
Who is grateful for the ordinary moments

of beauty and grace.
Imagine a woman who participates

in her own life.
A woman who meets each challenge

with creativity.
Who takes action on her own behalf

with clarity and strength.

Imagine a woman who has crafted

a fully-formed solitude.
A woman who is available to herself.
Who chooses friends and lovers with the

capacity to respect her solitude.

Imagine a woman who acknowledges

the full range of human emotion.
A woman who expresses her feelings

clearly and directly.
Who allows them to pass through her

as naturally as the breath.

Imagine a woman who tells the truth.
A woman who trusts her experience

of the world and expresses it.
Who refusesto defer to the thoughts,

perceptions, and responses of others.

Imagine a woman who follows her

creative impulses.
A woman who produces original creations.
Who refuses to color inside someone else’s

lines.

Imagine a woman who has relinquished

the desire for intellectual safety and approval.
A woman who makes a powerful statement

with every action she takes.
Who asserts to herself the right to reorder

the world.

Imagine a woman who has grown in

knowledge and love of herself.
A woman who has vowed faithfulness

to her own life.
Who remains loyal to herself... Regardless.

Imagine yourself as this woman.
"Mannequin" © Patricia Lynn Reilly, 2006