I feel very lucky. Special. I have a secret. She’s a friend of mine. A clever, clever woman with the courage to go deep and talk about it. Her words touch in unexpected ways, wake things up, bring sisterhood and soul and soothing. I already know this, but others are just discovering …
So … The power to feel. The invitation to feel. Knowing that someone else gets it, sees it, has maybe gone there before you. Modern life is geared up in so many ways to encourage us to gloss over, to minimise, to prioritise thinking over feeling … and yet unless these two are integrated, any big ideas we have are just so much blah blah and fairy-dust. Our feelings bring us the energy and drive to act. So anyone who can help us go there, to find the sacred in the profane, to help us join dots, connect deeply and release creative momentum … well, they had better bring it on, I say. And Kaylia does.
Meeting Joy
One day I went walking. I was very tired. You approached me. You weren’t like they said. Your clothes weren’t shiny. You had an old brown coat. Olive beret. And glasses. Your skin had freckles. Your eyes were both. Calm and windy. We were quiet. We walked together. You said it was lovely .To be walking with me. I was usually running. Too fast for you. You pointed to the leaves. You asked me to look. You asked me to listen. To feel the movement. In my bones. I did for hours. You watched and smiled. You said. We could do this again. If I did. The thing. I most needed to do. You walked away. And all I wanted to do. Was to see you again. By Kaylia Dunstan
Kaylia Dunstan, Writer
What moved you to create this collection, “Songs for the Women?”
Very simply I wanted to go deeper, to step away from the rush and bustle and to look at things that were really impacting us as women such as forgotten or lost dreams, the longing to live life in freedom, the pain of becoming worn out, the desire to have fun and the need to express ourselves creatively. I wanted to provide an accessible platform for exploring these things that had its own beauty as well.
What do you think women struggle with in life these days?
I think there’s a definite disconnect between our deeper desires and our day-to-day existence. We become a pattern that is difficult to break and we also are very good at ignoring what lies beneath. I’m guilty of this so I know what it is to be in this state. Often these desires will surface in discussions with friends or our partners but it will be too overwhelming to take action to change and explore.
How will Songs for the Women help?
Songs for the Women and the other pieces of writing and artwork on my website may activate the deeper stuff so that the tears or joy or whatever else comes up can flow. Often there’s an immense relief when our deeper stuff is allowed to express. The acknowledgement and care of the inner will always result in changes to the outer. That’s the beauty of being with self.
Why did you write this book for women in particular?
Women need love and care. The book is a small gift towards that end. I have always been passionate about writing for women and love it when women get together and share. There’s a tremendous power in female expression.
Find “Songs for the Women”
