Oh I love this and so relate! I have spent a lifetime trying to make myself invisible and disappearing into the round shouldered posture you describe. Finally at 50 I'm learning to take up space in the world (slowly). Being here on Substack is a part of that. And yoga has helped me enormously in recognising that how we inhabit our body is how we inhabit the world. A shift of posture can really shift mood, confidence and so much more. Thanks for your words 😊
Well said. As one who's tried to take up both less and more space than I've been comfortable with, it's perhaps, the most comfortable of all feelings when you discover that, as you say, there's room for all of us. Those with elbows in and those with umbrellas and spit at the ready. Thanks for putting it so well.
Thanks for this Lisa. I too said "I'm sorry" ad nauseam for decades of my life. Now, when I catch myself using that phrase unnecessarily (which is 99.9% of the time), I say, out loud, "not sorry." I'm hoping this practice will rewire the part of myself that thinks I am responsible for everyone else's problems. Thank god I'm not. I'm not that big or powerful, and I don't want to be. My problems are enough. And, yes, to having a voice and taking up space. I am enjoying my new found elbow room.
I loved this so much. I too had a grandmother like that, grew up in the same era and still find myself apologising too much. I'm now disabled and can't stand tall, but your post has resonated with me and I will make it my goal to accept I have just as much right to be here as anyone else on this earth. Thank you
Amen! Or rather.. A-women! I too had a wild and haughty grandmother... I adored her! Spending life in the UK, then time as a server... saying "sorry" became a reflex... and after that just generally feeling like an overeducated GenX imposter... I related so hard to this, it's lucky I am not a fossil 😂 Thank you for your thoughts... I want to remember to share them with my daughters.
Oh I love this and so relate! I have spent a lifetime trying to make myself invisible and disappearing into the round shouldered posture you describe. Finally at 50 I'm learning to take up space in the world (slowly). Being here on Substack is a part of that. And yoga has helped me enormously in recognising that how we inhabit our body is how we inhabit the world. A shift of posture can really shift mood, confidence and so much more. Thanks for your words 😊
Well said. As one who's tried to take up both less and more space than I've been comfortable with, it's perhaps, the most comfortable of all feelings when you discover that, as you say, there's room for all of us. Those with elbows in and those with umbrellas and spit at the ready. Thanks for putting it so well.
Thanks for this Lisa. I too said "I'm sorry" ad nauseam for decades of my life. Now, when I catch myself using that phrase unnecessarily (which is 99.9% of the time), I say, out loud, "not sorry." I'm hoping this practice will rewire the part of myself that thinks I am responsible for everyone else's problems. Thank god I'm not. I'm not that big or powerful, and I don't want to be. My problems are enough. And, yes, to having a voice and taking up space. I am enjoying my new found elbow room.
I like the space you've found, Lisa...(I also brooded in trees)...
I loved this so much. I too had a grandmother like that, grew up in the same era and still find myself apologising too much. I'm now disabled and can't stand tall, but your post has resonated with me and I will make it my goal to accept I have just as much right to be here as anyone else on this earth. Thank you
Amen! Or rather.. A-women! I too had a wild and haughty grandmother... I adored her! Spending life in the UK, then time as a server... saying "sorry" became a reflex... and after that just generally feeling like an overeducated GenX imposter... I related so hard to this, it's lucky I am not a fossil 😂 Thank you for your thoughts... I want to remember to share them with my daughters.
Thanks for shedding some light on a current dubiously defined buzz phrase.
I am not an Island
I'm not an island
I'm a woman
I'm a lover, I am a giver
I have sisters
I'm a woman
I'm not an island
I am not a piece of property
That you can or can't afford
I am not your trader's favorite stock
But I'm not to be ignored
I am strong within my boundaries
I am not your fair absurd
I'm the fount of our salvation
And I will have the final word
I'm not an island
I'm a woman
I'm a lover, I am a giver
I have sisters
I'm not an island
I'm a woman
I'm a lover, I am a giver
I have sisters
I'm a woman
I'm not an island
I am the mighty hurricane
That will beat upon your shores
I am a resurrection
I am knocking on your doors
Do you think that I am kidding
Do even think at all
While you play your favorite pastimes
And throw your favorite balls
I'm not an island
I'm a woman
I'm a lover, I am a giver
I have sisters
I'm a woman
I'm not an island
I am thriving in the sunlight
I am living my ballet
I will harken to that music
As I hear my sisters play
With one step for the future
And one for all mankind
We shall weave this dance together
And advance in pace and kind
I'm not an island
I'm a woman
I'm a lover, I am a giver
I have sisters
I'm a woman
I'm not an island
Malcolm J McKinney 2023