March is National Women's History Month. It is also the 30th anniversary of the mutli-cultural women's history movement and "Writing Women Back Into History." I didn’t know about either until I began preparing for the Women on the Edge Spiritual Retreat and asking my self about “What is it to be a woman?” I found the National Women's History Project website: www.nwhp.org. Frankly, I was embarrassed by my lack of knowledge of this organization.

I think I was in 9th grade during history class that I asked myself, “What were all the women doing?” while men were making the history that I was reading. But other things became more important than pursing that inquiry until I found this site. It triggered that memory.

This oasis allowed me to drink in a sense of connection to women past and present. I felt nurtured in my womaness by reading their stories. I began to open my paradigm to a more expanded vision of what a woman is and what she can do. It created a larger context for what it is to be a woman. While being wives and mothers these women transcended social and other barriers to contribute to the betterment of their society. They kept their right brain perspective in tact as they used left brain logic to perusing their dream. They were thrivers. Yet, the acknowledgement and celebration of their contributions has and continues to remain off the edge of our awareness.

I feel that in our 21st Century unrelenting stress is driving women away from thriving into surviving. The evidence for this is in the increasing rates of heart disease, autoimmune problems and obesity in women. We also struggle with self-doubt as evidenced by the media blitz of what we need to do to make things better for everyone else. If we didn’t buy it they wouldn’t sell it. What about articles on how men and children can learn to participate and be helpful around the house?

We can learn a lot from women past and find our voice individually and maybe collectively again. Our world continues to wail for us to think larger and be bolder in expressing the value of being a woman. I will be incorporating this knowledge into my Women on the Edge program. I hope you will take time to visit this site and connect to What it is to be a Woman.