The Power Inside Me

By: Diana M. Camargo

“Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. 

I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size   

But when I start to tell them, 

They think I’m telling lies. 

I say, 

It’s in the reach of my arms, 

The span of my hips,   

The stride of my step,   

The curl of my lips.   

I’m a woman 

Phenomenally. 

Phenomenal woman,   

That’s me.”

Excerpt taken from Maya Angelou: Phenomenal Woman

            We sometimes look for happiness outside, and sometimes we feel that we have  actually found it. Is this true? The same can happen to us, women, trying to find the power outside; in the jobs we do, in the social activities we attend, or in the compliments we receive from others. For me, this is debatable. Power comes from within, my power as a woman is what I am in my essence, and what is showed from it to the outside. I feel empowerment when what I am, is given to others, in other words when my being is revealed to others. In her poem “A Phenomenal Woman” Maya Angelou describes, the essence of women, the recognition of femininity as the inner power of every single woman.

            “It is in the reach of my arms”. One undeniable source of power that a woman has is the gift of her arms. She knows exactly the feeling behind embracing: delicacy for a new born baby, anchoring for a troubled son or daughter, companionship for a friend, support for a needed student, guidance and love for her beloved ones. No one could have ever imagined the span of her touch, could you?

 “The span of my hips, the stride of my step”. Power? God gave woman the unique gift of giving birth to a new life. A woman’s body is the perfect machine, not only to cocoon the miracle of life, but also to be the path through which this life encounters reality. Hips expand, hips move, hips give women a natural rhythm when walking. They give women the support for a confident and certain walk.

“The stride of my step”. We feel empowered when our steps overcome difficult paths. It is the strength in our stride that helps us always choose to survive and never give up. It is the stride of our step that lets us walk following our elderly, the one that lets us walk besides our soul mate, and the one that lets us lead the steps of our little ones.   It is the  stride of our step that is able to stop when asked, to stay still when required, to go faster when someone needs us.

“ The curl of my lips”. Our inner power is expressed when we offer a smile. A simple smile that is an accomplice of a child´s playfulness, a smile that can heal a broken heart, a smile that can cheer up someone in sorrow, a smile that can welcome and also say goodbye.

Women’s empowerment means to fully show your inner essence; it is nothing you have to buy, it is nothing you need to borrow; power is not acquired from the outside, it is not given by stereotypes, it is not given from what others say you must look like, it is given because you decide, it is given because you wish, it is given because it is in you!