We have arrived at a time in history when we need to exercise our birthright as human beings to:
- occupy space
- access resources
- own our bodies
- give voice to our feelings as sensate beings
- self-serve – take care of ourselves first to better care for others
- honor our cyclical feminine nature as part of the living world
At the rite of passage of menopause, or before, many women realise they have been denied these basic human rights. And it is not surprising that housing instability and access to secure, permanent places to live affects postmenopausal women the most.
You can help address the housing crisis for my generation and those to follow by signing this petition to provide long term security for Queensland residents choosing to live in tiny homes.
For more information and to sign the petition click here.
To read an open letter to Australian Councils go here.
Like to learn skills to build a tiny home through TAFE Women In Leadership, Women in Construction courses? Great! Read my experience of a short course here and a recent Sydney Morning Herald article here. Feel free to contact me and share with others.
And finally dear reader, learn more about why menopausal women are critical for humanity to face the coming challenges. Continue reading below.
To step into my Tiny Home, is to powerfully embody these six birthrights. Each time, I have a Virginia Woolfian moment. This is mine; this is my living space, creative space, resting and nesting space, growing and working space.
We all need a place where we can safely and deeply explore our beingness and how we are becoming. Explore without judgement, or pressure, or expectation of product or outcome. It is in this feminine sacred safe space where ideas are born, nurtured and flourish.
Borrowing the words of Deborah Levy in her book Real Estate, “I own the mood” and the energy of this space. I want more women to feel this self-knowing power, originally inspired by another sister and tiny house owner and mentor. See Leah’s Living Big in a Tiny House segment here.
At menarche a woman meets her power. In her cycling years she practices her power. At menopause she becomes her power.
Native American quote
Evolutionary biology tell us that menopause occurs in only two creatures on Earth, human women and orcas. In orcas, the grandmothers of the pod, are the leaders. Instead of continuing to have babies of their own, their role is sharing stored critical ecological knowledge that may help their pods survive during famine periods.(1)
I can extend this “grandmother hypothesis” (2), to suggest that eldership and particularly feminine leadership is what is required for us to navigate the quadruple unfolding crises that face humanity – housing, climate, economic, ecological.
My generation – many who are grandmothers – the people most at risk of housing instability, are a precious repository of knowledge that can help guide others into a regenerative future using heart led feminine principles of shared power: collaboration, care, compassion, kindness and aware, responsible action.
In order for women like me to become successful leaders in their community, we need to exercise our basic human rights to occupy space and access resources.
For more information and to sign the petition click here.
References
1. Ecological knowledge, leadership, and the evolution of menopause in killer whales, L Brent, Pub Med, National Library of Medicine https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25754636/
2. Evaluating Grandmother Effects, K Hawkes, National Library of Medicine, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2745839/