Sisters

[anna]

My sister just sent this to me, thought I'd pass it on to those with whom it might resonate.

Subject: "Don't forget your Sisters"

A young wife sat on a sofa on a hot humid day, drinking iced tea and
visiting with her Mother. As they talked about life, about marriage,
about the responsibilities of life and the obligations of adulthood,
the mother clinked the ice cubes in her glass thoughtfully and turned a
clear, sober glance upon her daughter.

"Don't forget your Sisters," she advised, swirling the tealeaves to the
bottom of her glass. "They'll be more important as you get older. No
matter how much you love your husband, no matter how much you love the children you may have, you are still going to need Sisters. Remember to go places with them now and then; do things with them.

"Remember that 'Sisters' means ALL the women... your girlfriends, your
daughters, and all your other women relatives too. "You'll need other
women. Women always do."

'What a funny piece of advice!' the young woman thought. 'Haven't I just
gotten married? Haven't I just joined the couple-world? I'm now a
married woman, for goodness sake! A grownup! Surely my husband and the family we may start will be all I need to make my life worthwhile!'

But she listened to her Mother. She kept contact with her Sisters and
made more women friends each year. As the years tumbled by, one after
another, she gradually came to understand that her Mom really knew what she was talking about. As time and nature work their changes and their mysteries upon a woman, Sisters are the mainstays of her life.

After more than 40 years of living in this world, here is what I've
learned.
This says it all!
Time passes.
Life happens.
Distance separates.
Children grow up.
Jobs come and go.
Love waxes and wanes.
Men don't do what they're supposed to do.
Hearts break.
Parents die.
Colleagues forget favors.
Careers end.
BUT......... Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how many
miles are between you. A girl friend is never farther away than needing her can reach. When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you have to walk it by yourself, the women in your life will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on, praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on your
behalf, and waiting with open arms at the valley's end.

Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk beside you. Or come
in and carry you out. Girlfriends, daughters, granddaughters,
daughters-in-law, sisters, sisters-in-law, Mothers, Grandmothers, aunties, nieces, cousins, and extended family all bless our life! The world wouldn't be the same without women, and neither would I.

When we began this adventure called womanhood, we had no idea of the
incredible joys or sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much we
would need each other. Every day, we need each other still. Pass this on
to all the women who help make your life meaningful.

I just did."

[anna]

At the risk of starting a gender confrontation, there does seem to be something unique to the woman to woman relationship that men don't seem to generate toward one another in similar fashion. Probably it can be attributed to the "nesting" priority that seems to generate a nourishing and sustaining energy that women seem to excell at, and when needed, is easily called upon from one another, and which is a natural tendency within a woman. And with which women invariably resonate when they find it in another woman, which in turn, creates that special "sisterly" bond. You could chalk it down to estrogen - a bio-chemical imperative that favors that kind of sustaining and supportive attitude. Women have more of it than men, and therefore, have more of the side-effects of that particular hormone. Certainly, our culture re-inforces this bias; how many times I have heard the statement by women -- "When son's grow up, you lose them, but daughters are there till the end." While of course this statement cannot be made across the board, there does seem to be a predominance of care-givers that are female. However, lest this be misunderstood, I can think of many women who are NOT inclined to nourishment or the feminine "nesting" instinct, so while this may be a general tendency, it is by no means universal.

I suppose the flip side of this might be that women are consequently more easily prevailed upon, more easily "used up" because of this nourishing attitude. But that can be said of any attribute, not just this aspect of women, or men, for that matter, if it is used unwisely and without proper thoughtfulness and consideration. It is kind of like the sufic concept of "baraka" - a term which refers to the well of energy or gifts that an individual has at her disposal to give away out of love and concern for the world and others - that energy is not without limit, and must be used wisely and therefore with due consideration.

So the sisterly bond, whether it is a physical one generated by being born of the same mother, or a societal one that is created and cultivated amongst women, is a strong, unifying, and supportive one, and seems to transcend the years of separation and lives that have gone in different directions. When I consider it personally, I find it wells up from the heart without any need of calling for it, it is just there.

Metaphysically, it is more than likely the "shakti" energy of the universe, which is archetypically expressed through the earthly female psyche. Without that energy, the universe would whirl apart, and while it might be exciting, it would not be sustaining.

[anvil]

I was speaking to my soon to be 86 yr old mother on the phone today and her view is that aside from sperm men are mostly in thet way.I am her oldest son and did not take offence and put it here for your enjoyment. Oh I have a personal saying that might fit " a man only needs a perch, a woman a nest
peace

[windabove]

...there does seem to be something unique to the woman to woman relationship that men don't seem to generate toward one another in similar fashion.

Very true, not in similar fashion.