Empowering Ourselves and Empowering the Earth

I really enjoyed reading about the Empowerment Framework in this week’s assignment. I think that in order for women to feel empowered we have to have a good sense of who we are and what we want - and these two things are often very difficult to determine. In order to determine who we are and what we want, we must go on a journey - not necessarily a physical journey, but definitely a mental journey. We must explore our world around us, listen to others stories, and determine what in this world makes us unique and important.

I especially loved the part in the Empowerment Framework about getting outside and exploring the natural world. Over the years I have realized how attached we are to our physical environment. The state of the natural world and our own livelihood are dependent upon each other. As we are ‘developing’ as humans we are forgetting how valuable and precious the earth is. When we live inside and away from the natural world it is easy to forget where everything we have comes from. The resources in this world are finite, and we must learn to use them sustainably. By having tangible contact with these resources, we can learn how precious they really are.

I have a personal vision of using my life to make those in my community and the world aware of how precious our world is. Understanding how precious the world is goes beyond the environmental movement - it is a social movement, an economic movement, a women’s movement, and a human movement.

I would like to be a Voices of Our Future Correspondent because I believe that by doing so, I will be able to tell the stories of individuals who are doing their part to make this world a better place to live. I believe that it is important to tell the stories of women who are doing amazing things around the world. That by doing so, other women will feel encouraged and empowered to follow their dreams and make their ideas and hopes into action.

By hearing about others who have been empowered to create change in their lives and communities, others can follow suit. If a women has an idea, but does not know how to implement it, by sharing her idea with the world, others may be able to help her find a way to make her idea a real action.

If anything, I think that the exercises over the past couple of weeks have allowed me to explore my own vision and read about the incredible things that others are doing in their communities. Only be sharing our stories can we truly learn from one another. Thank you for this opportunity.