Friday, July 27, 2012

Menstruation as a source of strength

I wrote about PMS in quite a negative way some posts back. I want to talk about that, because it is cliché and untrue. For all men reading this, at least those who are uncomfortable with talking about womanly things like menstruation.. sorry! You can stop reading now.. Or continue and maybe gain some insight? (Not that I think I have truths..)

It is so easy to just think of menstruation as something uneasy, unwanted and something we would much rather not have to deal with. Some weekends ago I did a workshop I am still pondering about. It was called 'Menstruation as a source of strength'. This might sound tacky.. Heck, I'm not going to apologise for that.
It was even more interesting than I imagined. The woman who did the course (Lucia) told us about how we are connected to our cycle, like the moon (and connected to the cycle of the moon, too). But this is something most people already know. Full moon (and ovulation) is a time of 'being out there', being active. New moon (and menstruation) is a time of cleanse, dealing with things that haven't been dealt with in the last month. Now of course this is in short and therefore not too accurate, but this is the main idea.
So having menstruations and having this cycle is part of who women are. It should be treated as an valuable asset, not something unwanted. It should even be celebrated.
We shouldn't have to get this emotional and stressed either (I think). In the 'cleaning out' part of the cycle, we should be able to turn our attention inwards, to ourselves. In this society, it is difficult to slow down, retreat and take time. Or maybe we value working so highly we don't take the time?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

In mijn geval, zal menstruatie altijd een straf uit de diepste krochten van de hel zijn... ;-)

Dorien Ruben said...

Maybe it means you have many things to clean out?

Unknown said...

I have a distinct feeling that those women who praise their menstruation are not very affected by its discomforts - I mean those lucky few who do not suffer abominable cramps or nausea during that "blessed" period. After all, did God not punish Eve by having her menstruate? ("henceforth thou shalt bleed" or something like that)

Sincerely,

a cranky and suffering sister

Dorien Ruben said...

Hey cranky, suffering sister! ;)
I didn't say it had to be fun ;) I just think it has more meaning than just "ha! suffer every month, just because you are a woman!"
And I don't believe in a punishing God.. I think neither do you..
Love to you (and to 'anonymous')