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Spanish to English: Wisdom of the Wild Woman Detailed field: Psychology
Source text - Spanish POR MARIA CICUENDEZ LUNA
Cuenta una leyenda que los dioses del Olimpo escondieron la felicidad allí donde a los hombres les costara muchísimo encontrarla. Un lugar, que el fondo, fuera tan evidente que pasara desapercibido, el corazón de las personas.
Al hilo de esta adivinanza, en su libro Mujeres que Corren con los Lobos, la escritora Clarissa Pinkola incita a encontrar en el interior, esa voz de la intuición, Yo instintivo, innato, que ella denomina “mujer salvaje”.
“Si las mujeres la han perdido, cuando la vuelvan a encontrar, pugnarán por conservarla para siempre. Una vez que la hayan recuperado, lucharán con todas sus fuerzas para conservarla, pues con ella florece su vida creativa, sus relaciones adquieren significado, profundidad y salud”, según explica la autora de origen mexicano-español en el citado libro.
Es interesante observar que las características de esta esencia femenina en estado puro, no corresponden con los mensajes de “mujer fatal”, que lanzan las campañas de publicidad a través de los medios.
“La mujer salvaje” ha sido condenada a lo largo de la historia porque se le ha considerado demasiado poderosa, y por tanto temible por su gran fuerza interior.
A “la mujer fatal”, que venden las campañas de marketing, se le atribuye su poder a través de atributos externos, sea su cuerpo voluminoso, su ropa interior, tal crema o colonia con efectos afrodisíacos extasiantes, o por X coche con nosecuantos caballos desbocados ante su poderío sexual.
Tal bombardeo diario de mensajes mediáticos sobre cómo deberíamos ser las mujeres, sólo puede producir enfermedad, física o psíquica, confusión y debate entre lo que una mujer intuye que es realmente, y en lo que le dicen que debería convertirse. Siendo esto causa de enfermedades tan comunes como ansiedad, depresión, anorexia y bulimia, entre muchas otras.
Esta realidad afecta a todas las edades, desde las niñas obsesionadas en convertirse en una Barbie de carne y hueso, imitando a las actrices de “Un High School Musical”, que en nada se parece a sus respectivos colegios. A adolescentes luchando por definir su identidad, y a mujeres adultas intentando aceptar sus canas y arrugas como un proceso natural de la vida, como símbolo de la sabiduría, en lugar de una despreciable senectud.
Es evidente, por tanto, que tal y como está establecida la sociedad actualmente, la mujer tiene que hacer un esfuerzo por conectar con su “mujer salvaje”, ya que las exigencias personales, familiares, laborales y sociales, no suelen facilitar esta comunión con una misma. Según el Tao, las personas tiene que encontrar momentos de no hacer nada…………… en absoluto………… para poder realmente escucharse.
Con esta búsqueda persona, he asistido a reuniones de mujeres denominadas “Círculos”. En estos encuentros, se pretende, facilitar un espacio de escucha de la esencia femenina a través de la naturaleza, del baile, del canto, del intercambio de impresiones y otras formas de expresión del alma.
Respetando la confidencialidad de las confesiones de las mujeres que he escuchado, podría revelar, el enorme anhelo de encontrar esa “mujer salvaje” y vivir de acorde a ella, a una misma. En lugar, de sentir tener que adaptarse a las viejas creencias de cómo debería ser la vida de una mujer, y las imposiciones que esto representa.
Muchas de las mujeres que he encontrado en reuniones de esta índole, reconocen no tener roles precedentes que les sirva de modelo, de guía, para vivir en sintonía consigo mismas.
Tribus ancestrales de todas las culturas del planeta celebraban reuniones de mujeres donde estas aprendían de sus respetadas ancestras, algo que, hoy en día, ha dejado de ser tan accesible. Las conversaciones entre mujeres de diferentes edades, parte de la misma familia y sangre, son tristemente, en muchos casos, inexistentes, perdiéndose la transmisión de la cadena de sabiduría por generaciones.
La recuperación de estos encuentros, facilitaría que no se repitieran los mismos errores de los ancestros, algo que si se observa detenidamente en el árbol genealógico de cada cual, suele ser un factor repetitivo en casi todas las familias.
De nuevo, hay que forjarnos nuestro propio camino, en comunión con, la mejor aliada, nuestra “mujer salvaje”, que nos guiará a través del laberinto de la Vida hacia esa felicidad interior que escondieron los dioses en el corazón humano.
Translation - English Written by Maria Cicuendez Luna
Translation by Brian Davis Schwarz
According to legend, the gods of Olympus hid happiness in a place where it would cost man much effort to find it, a place which in the end was so obvious it would go unnoticed – the human heart.
Following the thread of this riddle, in her book Women who Run with the Wolves, writer Clarissa Pinkola incites an internal meeting with that voice of intuition, the instinctive, innate self, which she calls the Wild Woman.
“If women have lost this, when they find it again they will fight to keep it forever. Once they’ve recovered it, they will fight with all their strength to preserve it, for with it her creative life blossoms, her relationships gain significance, depth and health”, according to the book’s Spanish-Mexican author.
It is interesting to observe that the characteristics of this feminine essence, in its pure form, do not correspond with the messages of the femme fatale popularized by the media in advertising campaigns.
The Wild Woman has been condemned throughout history because she has been considered too powerful, and therefore diabolical, for her great interior strength. The femme fatale’s power, as sold by marketing companies, focuses on external attributes, such as her voluptuous body, her underwear, the creams or perfumes that act as captivating aphrodisiacs, or some car, with who knows how many runaway horses, which drives her sexual prowess.
Such daily bombardment of slick media messages about how women should be can only produce physical or mental illness, confusion, and debate over the reality of a woman’s intuition and how what she says should be interpreted. It is the cause of such common illnesses as anxiety, depression, anorexia and bulimia, among many others.
This situation affects all ages, from young girls obsessed with becoming a skin-and-bones Barbie doll, to tweens who imitate the actresses of High School Musical – who look nothing like their own schoolmates – and from young women fighting to define their identities to mature adults trying to accept their grey hairs and wrinkles as part of a natural life process, as a symbol of wisdom and not a contemptible aspect of old age.
Due to the constructs of today’s society, women have to make an effort to connect with the Wild Woman. Personal, family, work and social obligations do not facilitate communion with oneself. According to the Tao, people must look for moments to do nothing, absolutely nothing, in order to really listen to self.
On this personal quest, I have attended meetings with women, called “circles”, during which one attempts to create a space to listen to the feminine essence through nature, dance, song, the exchange of ideas, thoughts and feelings, and other forms of soulful expression.
Respecting the confidentiality of the women’s confessions I have heard, I can reveal their enormous desire of finding this Wild Woman and living in accord with her, with oneself, instead of feeling like they must adapt to the old beliefs of how the life of a woman should be and the impositions that represents.
Many of the women I have encountered in these meetings recognize not having had role models to serve as guides to living in harmony with themselves.
Ancestral tribes of all of the planet’s cultures hold gatherings of women where they may learn about their respected ancestors. This is a tradition which today has been left behind. Conversations among women of differing ages, part of the same family and bloodline, are sadly, in many cases, non-existent. The chain of wisdom from one generation to the next is broken.
Bringing back these meetings would ensure that future generations could avoid repeating the mistakes of their ancestors, something which, if we carefully observe on each family tree, tends to happen in almost all families.
In short, we must each forge our own path in communion with our best ally, our Wild Woman, which guides us through the labyrinth of life toward that inner happiness that the gods have hidden within the human heart.
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