On realising that I am a Warrior Woman

I bought Christina Feldman's book 'The Quest of the Warrior Woman' at a Gaia House retreat and read it with trepidation, because I felt so strongly that her words could not possibly apply to me and the way I lived my life. I am a great admirer of Christina Feldman, who is an inspirational Buddhist feminist teacher, so I persevered, wondering if I would recognise myself in the pages of her book. On p.6 I was startled by a passage of text which helped me to begin, tentatively, to put on the mantle of the Warrior Woman and to regard so many of my dear women friends as warrior's too. And now several years later I have been able to find the passage almost instantly and quote it here :
'Every woman who begins a journey to understand herself and what is possible for her travels a path that requires a finely-tuned balance. Patience needs the companion of determination, receptivity needs courage, compassion requires focus, and single-mindedness needs humility. The warrior is not without fear; her heart may tremble at the prospect of bringing about radical change in her life and her world, but intuitively she knows that fear is the mother of true courage....... A woman who seeks a new career in her middle years, a woman who seeks to forsake years of alcoholic numbness, a woman who ends an abusive relationship - all of these women leave the cocoon of their 'nunneries'. They well tremble at the prospect of change and the demons they may encounter, yet they are willing to take risks and be alone. They are guided by faith, inner authority and vision : they are warriors'. Christina Feldman
I am that woman who sought and found a new career as a psychotherapist in her middle years! I am able to rank myself along with the countless courageous women who begin the journey on the path of transformation, a warrior who creates no enemies and battles no opponents. Join us on this spiritual journey and dare to call yourself a warrior woman, take the first step and then track all the myriad ways throughout your life you have changed and transformed yourself and the lives of the people you love. Many of you will feel suspicious of the warrior's path initially, remember the authentic warrior is motivated by compassion and courage. She is willing to be seen or not seen, 'committed to freedom, healing and understanding and is rooted in a profound sense of interconnectedness'. Christina Feldman