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Women should give more to other women – Metro US

Women should give more to other women

Years ago, while working on a cruise ship, I entered my office to find a silver pin in the shape of an angel, and an anonymous note. It simply stated, “You are an angel. Please wear this pin knowing that someone is appreciative of you and the things you do. Pass it on when you are so inspired.”

I wore it very proudly for a few days until a woman I worked with did something remarkable, and I passed it on to her, also anonymously. For four months that angel went from chest to chest, averaging a week each, until I heard it landed right back in its original owner’s lap.

To see the faces of the women who proudly and confidently displayed this badge, was to know how easy it is to make someone feel good about themselves — a few kind words, a gesture, a knowing glance. It was enough to make me realize that as much as we feel we’re giving back to the women in our life, we need to give more.

That’s the beauty and power of women — curvaceous or petite, Caucasian or Caribbean, professional or artistic — only we can understand each other, and sympathize with one another in that special way that separates our gender.

And companies, large and small, are catching on quick to the growing trend — and marketing value — of women celebrating women. Like the now famous Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, which highlights women of all ethnicities, body size and age, hoping to empower all women to be real, and accept and enjoy who they are, as they are.

Anne Baird, artist, designer and owner of Goddess Cards, (www.goddesscards.com) has been in the business of empowering women for six years. What began as a personal card written to her daughter, has grown into an international company, creating greeting cards with inspirational statements for women.

Baird’s daughter was feeling down about her full-bodied Rubenesque stature, especially since she was living in what Baird calls the Land of Thin, i.e., Los Angeles. Her hand-painted card read, “You’re a Goddess, not a Nymph. Go, Goddess!”

From that one idea has since sprung a line of 80 cards all aimed at inspiring women to believe in themselves, to discover and embrace their true worth, and to celebrate life passionately.

Baird’s cards include Legendary Goddesses, such as Aphrodite, Goddess of Love; Demeter, the Fierce Mother; and Athena, Goddess of Women’s Wisdom; Biblical Goddesses, such as Ruth and Eve, the Eternal Feminine; Zodiac Goddesses, such as Libra and Aquarius; with an emphasis on the Modern Goddesses of today.

It’s the modern goddess inside every modern woman that we, as women, need to delve deep for, embrace, and bring to the forefront of our everyday lives. Look around you — what do you see? Modern women living busy, active, fulfilling lives — lives that we should be proud of, and for which we should applaud one another.

letters@metronews.ca