I am woman hear me roar!~

Helen Reddy sang the song, I am Woman back in 1971 with the first line of the lyrics stating “I am woman hear me roar”… the following lyrics were:

…In numbers too big to ignore

And I know too much to go back an’ pretend

‘Cause I’ve heard it all before

And I’ve been down there on the floor

No one’s ever gonna keep me down again

For years I have heard the phrase, “I am woman hear my roar”, while not knowing the history behind the saying, only that I felt that it was empowering.  Today I found myself saying this phrase to myself.  Not that I think I am a mighty lion about to run down a gazelle and have a feast, but more in the empowering way.

I have been in a number of different places, metaphorically speaking in my life, but specifically since 2016 (the time of the mental breakdown and Bipolar diagnosis).  I have been in places where I felt down in the dirt, so low that I had no idea how I was going to pick myself up.  Then at other times I was so high in the sky from mania that I deathly feared the decent that I knew was coming eventually.  I have wanted to fight and press on, I have also wanted to cry and give up.

Today, I find myself in a place of a duck, calm on the outside but feverously paddling under the surface of the water.  This is not a terrible thing, it’s just where I am.  I am getting things done and feeling accomplished, but also busting my ass at the same time.  It’s while I am in this place that I am feeling the “roar” within me.  That subtle yet fierce voice that motivates me to keep on keeping on.

I have been co-existing with some gnarly irritability, but have managed to forge forward on the path in which I am walking, running and some days skipping.  There have been moments that I literally have roared, and then felt horrible about how I was unable to contain myself.  But, as each day passes since that day, I feel proud of my ability to balance all the balls that I am juggling with peace and grace.

There’s a time and a place for roaring.  Roaring in laughter, roaring in tears, roaring in anger via batting cages perhaps.  But, I think there is time every day, every moment of every day, to feel empowered.  To have a sense of confidence that lets you feel like a million bucks.  To have this feeling, makes my days so incredibly improved and better.

I hope for you to feel empowered.  To have a sense of purpose and to know that you are important and needed.  The ability to be calm and reserved like a lion, but swift and intelligent as well.