Women all across the globe are collectively working toward a healthy body, mind, spirit and community. Women’s groups and socialization increase self-esteem and self-worth and the confidence needed to create a purposeful life. By empowering ourselves, there is a paradigm shift within our community and our entire world. When we talk about women’s empowerment, we tend to overlook the role it plays with our men. It ultimately allows fathers to enjoy more time with their families and enjoy their daughters’ growth in self-sufficiency. Empowered women also enable their sons to make choices based on their individual abilities instead of their gender. This ultimately raises the bar for all the males in their lives, both in their families and work place.

Empowerment of an individual means that we create a society where both men and women can make choices in life based on their own abilities, preferences and circumstances. Think about it. More empowered women equals more empowered men and that translates to many more people who can improve our world.

Like all change, havoc and rebellion can strike until balance is achieved. Ultimately, men and women will accept both their masculine and feminine traits and become comfortable in their skins. Ideally, that would mean that men would be encouraged to spend more time with their family and at the same time women would no longer feel the conflict of choosing between work and family. The ingrained beliefs about a “man’s job” and a “woman’s job” would blur and eventually become extinct.

When I moved to San Diego over 20 years ago, I immediately fell in love with how active the women were. I made instant longtime friends with the mothers of my daughter’s playmates. I will always remember our first group camping trip to Mexico. The husbands watched the kids while the women went snorkeling and surfing. The fathers’ presence created family unity and mothers and wives were treated as equals and not babysitters. Our kids recognized this during play time and thus the seed of masculine/feminine unity was planted for their adulthood. Daughters grew up to become self-sufficient and sons manifested their full potential.

One gender does not need to rule over the other anymore. Men from Mars and women from Venus can unite instead of collide. This shift from survival of the fittest to commiseration is happening in every aspect of our lives.

Cheers to women’s empowerment and kudos to men’s increased family participation. May we all live to our fullest potential, regardless of gender, and pass those same beliefs onto future generations.

Happy Mother’s Day every day!!