“Women, Health and Leadership.” This is the theme of an all-day workshop that Gretch and I were part of on Tuesday. It will continue with the second session this week, Tuesday. The experience was very interesting on many different levels. All of the topics that were discussed and all the ideas that were taught seemed, to me, to be prior knowledge. They were ideas that I believed everyone in the entire world was aware of. Obviously, as I learned very quickly, this was a very naive way of thinking.
For most of them, being able to recognize the greater issues behind health problems, and how they can prevent them with simple measures such as changing their diet, increasing the amount of daily exercise, maintaining sanitary environments and avoiding a home life that is abusive, were all new ideas, and somewhat revolutionary. The fact that sex and gender are two completely different ideas and that, as women, they do not have to take on the gender roles society has constructed, was also a new way of thinking for many of the women in attendance. Just because they are women, many have felt as though they deserve to be subjected to violence and inequality. I am sure this is true for many women all over the world, too, but these women believe they are not equal to men, in every aspect of life. This submissiveness to men and the power men have over women, not only in the household, but in society as well, has also affected the overall health of the women.
Many of the women opened up about their own lives, confessed that they have experienced domestic violence, and that they have been wounded not only physically, but psychologically. It was a very intense and compassionate setting. They could relate to one another; they could advise one another; and they became friends for one another. And here I was, arrogant and naive, attending this workshop with the hopes of learning how to treat people in the medicinal sense, and realizing, yet again, that the issue of medicine and health are so much grander than medications and hospitals. “Helping” people has to begin at the root of the problems. The women opened me up, and even though I can not relate to any of their experiences, they helped me to realize how I must humble myself to the idea that, although I have had an education where I have learned all these topics and many more, that does not mean I have understanding for the reality of the situation. They have lived this. This is their life. How am I going to serve them, if I do not grasp this reality and take it to heart?
This is the work that I will be doing while I am Chile. I will be working to train health promoters in poor communities. I will be spreading awareness about certain health issues that affect these communities. I will be following a detailed manual that is filled with basic (my arrogant self, again), but very comprehensive information. I will be reaching out to them; I will be hoping to empower them. Preventative health, that will be my focus. But, am I qualified, or even capable of executing any of this?
This past week, aside from the workshop, I wasn’t incredibly busy. We have been reviewing the training manual and helping with a small project at Con-spirando, but other than that, our schedule is still pretty open, as of yet. This basically means that I have had free-time. I have been filling my “tiempo libre” with running, reading, cooking (which I will have to blog about at some point!), taking a bit of tough competition from Gretch in Bananagrams, and watching movies (which, I must add, the Inglorious Bastards was amazing). However, I have also incorporated meditation into my daily schedule. I have been inspired to start meditating since I read the book Eat, Pray, Love. I have never really done it before (at least not with such a sense of intent) and I am beginning to realize, it is actually quite difficult! A “simple” lesson I learned from the book was to just sit and smile. “Smile in your face, smile in your mind… even smile in your liver.” So this is what I do, or at least try to do.
But, how does one quiet their mind? How does one just simply listen to their heart and allow themselves to be transported to another dimension? I am not sure if it will ever be possible for me, but I am going to continue to try. During a time of meditation, my mind will drift into the past, take a walk through the future, skip past of all of my worries and fears, take a hard turn through my desires, and eventually I will gain control again and steer it back into the present. Most of the time, while I am sitting there, I ask myself the question, “am I capable of doing any of this?” At this point in my life, I want nothing more than to believe that I am more than capable of doing anything. And, I guess I am. I want to be a leader for the people I will serve. I want to open them up, as they have opened me up. Gretch and I will be attending and helping with our first training session next week in La Serena, a town about 5 hours north of Santiago. We will be assisting in training paramedics in all the themes surrounding community living and preventative health in poor, rural communities. I am looking forward to it! But, at the same time, I wonder, am I capable of doing this so soon? I guess I am going to have to start at some point and the sooner I get involved, the sooner I will feel more comfortable in becoming a leader, right? Oh, I hope so.
The most important thing I can do will be to smile, just like in meditation. I will smile all the way to my liver :-) I will spread good energy. I will smile in humility and understanding to all of the people I will serve here. I am not more knowing and I must realize this every day. I must let go of my arrogance and not let my ego have control. Yes, I understand all of the topics that I will be part of. Yes, I am knowledgeable in many different areas of preventative health and healthy lifestyles. But, that does not mean I can relate to, or even comprehend, what some of the women have experienced, the very reality of it all.
But there is also the reality of ordinary miracles, like a kind smile, and how they can really bring life to anyone. I believe this, all the way to my liver.
