The Archetypal Woman

by Chryseia Brennan, RD, LD/N

Associated Partner with Pamper Your Mind

“Butcher, baker, soldierman, thief;

doctor, lawyer, merchant, chief…”

As little girls, my sisters and I played clapping games to this chant of long ago to see which type of man we would eventually marry.  Fifty years later, these professions (although changing and certainly open to women) remain male-dominated fields.  The old butcher, soldier and chief archetypes just seem to be professions that attract men.

We never played clapping games to see what we would become; in those days women were just beginning to encourage their daughters to test the waters of career and accomplishment.  It was not until the ‘70’s that many careers and educational paths opened to women.  Still, 50 years later, we continue to see the archetypal fields of nurse, teacher, seamstress and cook dominated by women.  Perhaps this will always be so.  The important thing is being free to choose one’s path, not which path is chosen.

Providing nourishment and healing has long been the woman’s role.  Although many of today’s great chefs are men, it was women who nursed babies, tended garden and flock, and prepared food in the ancient and traditional roles. They tended the ill and fed and nursed them back to health.  Yes, the physician or surgeon makes the call on diagnosis and treatment, but still today it is the daily attention of nursing staff that provides the real healing.

 

Nourishment and healing come in many forms – mental, physical, spiritual.  Spring, our season of rebirth, is a great time to celebrate new beginnings and rededicate to nourishing ourselves.  March, National Nutrition Month, starts spring reminding us that sometimes simpler is better; that the time we spend to nourish ourselves properly is always well-spent; and that everything we allow in our thoughts, bodies and psyches defines and forms us. 

We at Pamper Your Mind wish you a happy and healthy spring.  Treat yourselves well, be the best that you can be, and treasure the healing and nourishing moments.