Who might that woman be? Any one of the women around you. Every one of the women. Are you aware of the spiritual life of the women in your life?
When we express with and from our soul, we are connected to our depths. We often hide what resides there ~ as though it were a part of us that needed protection instead of being the part that armors by disarming.
Men are not expected to require validation. In my experience, many probably could use it. Men want validation from other men and from the women in their lives as much as women want it. It's just that they request or demand it in different ways.
A woman who does not require validation is a woman of strength. In the spiritual sense, she is someone who does not fear what comes her way. She recognizes herself in every attacker as completely as she knows that she has nothing in common with that person. She finds laughter in the midst of difficulties and focuses on the needs and accomplishments of others as much as or more than her own. She does not need another person to tell her any of these things.... she knows in her depths who she is and what she is capable of.
We often name those women saints. Whether through a formal process or not, we recognize the individual women as holy and their lives as profound. Yet, if we look deeply enough at ourselves and our women companions, we catch glimpses of those holy moments in ourselves and those companions. We find grace in not needing validation, in knowing that who we are and what we do belongs. Those moments save us.
How do you find validation? Do you expect it from others? want it from them? How do you find it in yourself? Do you consciously validate others? If so, what does that look like? If not, why not? Do you fear the women who do not require your validation to proceed with their lives?
