ASLEEP AT THE DAMN WHEEL!

Flawless. Single Ladies. Ring The Alarm. Sorry. Run The World (Girls). And every other girl power anthem Beyoncé has ever released throughout her career, and we as the girls chant religiously. She’s phenomenal, isn’t she? So is Serena Williams. And Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Or Kim Kardashian West. Michelle Obama. Hillary Clinton. You name them. Powerful, iconic women, cultural changers and breakers of stereotypes. There is also one other thing they have in common; they are mothers and wives. They are superwomen; strong enough to bear children, influence global culture, make a killing while at it and still not stand in the shadow of the men they have families with. They are in control, and still have the ability to nurture.

What makes them any different from you or I, the women they influence? Some of you may want to call it being woke; I call it what it is. They are enlightened. Enough to recognize their own power as well as the power within their spouses, but neither intimidated nor overshadowed by it. Their own power compliments their spouses’ and together, they are power couples. Their spouses also share a commonality; they are feminists. If you strip the money, fame and influence they wield on a global scale, you will realize it all boils down to enlightenment, empowerment and elevation. The knowledge of self and elevation of self to higher standards unapologetically. Even without their husbands, they still stand, still shine and still hold their own. Yet, many of us, the women they influence, are still “looking for a rich man” to elevate us.

Honey, you are asleep at the damn wheel! Elevate yourself! You are a woman and by default that makes you powerful. Harness and use that power to enlighten and elevate yourself; there is no opportunity too small for a woman. Give her food, she’ll turn it into a meal. Give her thread, she’ll weave it into cloth. Give her money, she’ll turn it into a business. Give her a single opportunity, she’ll turn it into a legacy. They say educate a woman and you educate a nation – it’s true. Sisters, we really don’t need men to elevate us; we have the capacity to elevate ourselves. The cat fighting amongst ourselves is unnecessary and the enemy of progress. Then the men that come along when our glow up is in full bloom will be attracted to that light, because the glow from within is what they gravitate towards. That glow that empowers, encourages, supports and nurtures without faltering. Men that are intimidated by such elevated and enlightened women do not deserve them, so don’t feel bad for not being able to find a “good man”; the good ones are not so easy to find. Elevate yourself girl; you are king!