By Leela Francis
I’ve been thinking a LOT about community lately. About the circles we create as women. About what those circles mean to us – to our hearts and our health and our VIVIDNESS. And I’ve been thinking about what happens when we fall out of touch with our circles. How STILL we become. How closed up and overwhelming life can feel. Stop today and think about the circles in YOUR life. Who do you clasp hands to? What women are with you – supporting you professionally and personally? Can you see them in your mind’s eye? (It’s okay if the answer is no; we can ALL use more women gathered in circles in our lives.)
Your challenge RIGHT NOW, today, is to join (and even create) at least one circle.
Use this circle to create a space for YOURSELF and the women you care about, especially during the holidays. You can create many different circles, in fact. You can create a circle for the women entrepreneurs in your lives – one that meets for breakfast at a local restaurant to mastermind on everything under the sun – or one that meets via conference call to tackle a specific issue that you all face, like marketing in a tough economy, or how to use social media to build a better brand. If you’re a single woman, you can have single woman’s pot-luck dinner once a month (and even rotate houses to share the hard work of prep and clean up). And one of the best ideas for circles is MOVEMENT. Women gathering to dance and drum can change far more than their waistline, they can change the humor of entire communities and accomplish miracles and magic. The bottom line is that circles are POWERFUL.
As women, loving and supporting others is so natural to us, but we can’t just give and give until we’re overwhelmed and disconnected. So circles become a real chance to connect and inspire each other. It is a natural give and take of energy. It will add your voice to a chorus of others and will help you create and / or rediscover lifelong friends.
Finally, there’s a misconception about circles, and that’s they go round and round. The truth is that circles of women do indeed move one another, but they move one another forward. They create a natural force of protection, inspiration and re-energizing and propel women forward in their lives and their dreams. Give yourself this gift and create a magical safe place to sing, laugh, scream and open yourself to a forum of powerful, VIVID women.
Leela Francis, CEO of Vividly Woman and VividExistence
©Leela Francis offers many circles, courses, events and products that support a vivid way of being in the world. She is a sought-after keynote speaker for women’s seminars and gatherings, an instructor in Nia, Yoga, Vividance, & Trance Dance; she is the Creator of Circles to Spirals and the Flirting with Nature Process. Learn more at http://www.vividlywoman.com.