Sharing Sacred Stories, Sharing Wisdom is not always easy; situations of great difficulty often hold immense truth. I applaud Rihanna for sharing her story. Being in the public eye is never easy and having your life become public is not comfortable; being a role model means having to share your story, your wisdom with others. It is the same of all of us, because we are all role models to those around us, with us our lives are lived in only the glare of our immediate circle, not the whole world. Rihanna has experienced something that many women experience, an unfortunately large number of women: Abuse by a loved one. Her reaction and her story are viewed as a source of inspiration, as a call to action. That is a great deal for a young woman to shoulder.
Rihanna and her story has been dissected, and evaluated, discussions of what she should have done and must do now have been offered. All this is fine and dandy for us to speculate, but it is her truth that she must pray over and find the lessons that lay within, not an easy job. The article by Rhonda Kuykendall-Jabari asks some interesting and profound questions to consider. Ms. Kuykendal-Jabari makes a very interesting correlation between abuse and our relationship with God. She contends that….”By placing God on the outside, we leave ourselves open to self loathing and low self-esteem that may manifest as abuse of self and by others.” She also makes this very interesting point: “How did this behavior permeate our culture? American women are some of the most independent on the planet, yet we continue to confuse love with male dominance and debilitating control. Where does it come from? Some say it is rooted in religious and spiritual beliefs that women are somehow viewed differently and not as favorably in the eyes of God.”
How do you feel about that? Do you believe that we have put God on the outside? Do we believe that God views us differently? It would make a very interesting discussion.
Week’s Theme: Saints
What are your thoughts on this? If you feel so called I would love to know your thoughts…leave a comment, email me or twitter it. My email is spirituallivesofwomen@gmail.com
