In this week's episode I address Womanhood and The #SoftLife movement currently happening in the online space. If you’re a woman, or man, in the online space you might’ve heard this term #softlife, which is also referred to as a life of ease, grace and flow. I denounce it and I’ll tell you why… INTRODUCTION: for those of you who do not know who I am, my name is Natasha Solomon, I am a bible believing woman of faith, a wife, and mother of two, and I am on a mission to #elevate #womanhood for greater impact. To provoke thought and encourage dialogue, but more importantly to inspire positive change. I’m also a coaching consultant on womanhood, life, and leadership where I help women to successfully reach their goals by creating a highly actionable plan that captures their unique perspective, and aligns with their true identity and who they are authentically, as they AIM for a life of impact and leadership. And I always say, leadership and impact happens wherever you are in whatever role you play in your life both inside and outside the home. You can learn more about me on my website natashasolomon.com and social media @iamnatashasolomon on instagram and natasha solomon on facebook. Now let’s get into it… I recently read an article in essence magazine titled “Living the #Softlife” where the author described this concept as intentionally seeking comfort, peace, and rest, prioritizing our wellness and mental health as women. And while I do agree with intentional living, and prioritizing wellness - because how can you take care of others if you do not take care of yourself right? So I’m all for prioritizing well-being, it is a form of self-love and preservation. I have to disagree however, with this idea of seeking comfort and peace outside of the grace of God, because that’s how this narrative has gone wrong right? Where women are intentionally cutting people out of their lives, including their husbands, in the name of “protecting their peace” and having a life of ease and comfort that does not leave room for extending grace and love to others. The bible says that love endures all things, The testing of your faith produces endurance, and do not grow weary of doing good because in due time we will reap the harvest if we do not give up, even if it costs you all you have, including your peace. Why because weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning. Your peace comes from knowing that God is in control of everything and every circumstance, and your peace and joy should be found in him. Psalms 37:4 says delight yourself in the lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. He never said to cut people off in the name of seeking comfort and protecting your peace, because sometimes we are called to do and endure things that will disrupt your peace and that’s the truth! A quick back story, when I was in the hospital giving birth to my son. I tried to endure the labor pains and not get an epidural pain injection because I thought ok, my water broke, it won’t be long now. Plus I’m very skeptical of western medicine and all these side effects they come with. Anyhow, because I had preeclampsia (high blood pressure) suffered during my pregnancy, the pain was causing my body to contract and was in fact raising my blood pressure even higher. So I had to get the epidural shot so that my body could relax enough to dilate so that I can give birth to my son. What’s interesting about this story is not what I’ve just shared, it’s what my midwife said to me before I made the decision to get the shot. Her exact words to me were “it’s ok, you don’t have to prove anything to anyone, you need to get the epidural”. I look back on that statement and in some ways I find it offensive, because it’s a perception that as women, a black woman especially, we somehow wear this title of strong black woman as a badge of honor meanwhile jeopardizing our own well-being, and nothing could be further from the truth. But womanhood by its very definition is a journey of resilience, endurance, challenges, and triumphs, that do not always come with ease and grace and flow. And what is the definition of womanhood you ask, and I’m glad you did. Womanhood is the state of being a woman (and if you listened to last week’s episode you know that a woman is an adult female made in the image of God with the ability to produce offsprings), So, womanhood is the state of being a woman and is marked by the ability to be used by God as a vessel to shape all of humanity through the power of love and by way of influence. Now that is a huge undertaking and one that does not come without sacrifice and in some instances surrender. So this idea of living a soft life and denouncing resilience is a cop out because it goes against the very definition of what it means to be a woman. Mary gave birth to Jesus in a barn y’all if that’s not resilience ...
