How women can feel empowered

Do you want to know how to feel powerful, strong and ready to take on the world? It all starts with muscle-building activity.

Lifting weights is one of the best ways to feel stronger. I know that it doesn’t feel feminine – especially when you are doing it – but it’s amazing what weightlifting will do for one’s body and mind. Take a cue from my girlfriend, Cheryl, or Michelle Obama – to see that it also creates very shapely arms. I must confess that I don’t weight lift anymore, because with swimming, which already creates bigger arms, I was beginning to look like the incredible hulk. But I do remember the sense of power and mastery that it gave me. I thought, if only more women knew about this. It can be as pleasing as eating chocolate but far less fattening.

The second recommended muscle-building activity is to grab a racket and start smashing some tennis balls across the court. My girlfriend, Susan, and I have done that twice this summer and loved the experience. In addition to just volleying, we played two sets – splitting the wins. It was totally empowering…not to mention simply fun and a great way to raise one’s serotonin level – a neurotransmitter associated with happiness. I eagerly await our next match.

Finally, another great muscle-building activity is to read – preferably novels and not the candy-coated stuff. Real novels let your mind wander, imagine and enter someone else’s life and space, bringing new perspectives. A couple weeks ago, I read Ken Follett’s “World Without End,” a companion to “The Pillars of the Earth” which I had read a few years earlier. He is a masterful storyteller and always portrays women as heroines. You go, Ken. You’re my hero.

Now women – or girls as we like to be called - (from 18 to 80), go pick up a racket or some weights or even a novel and start becoming more powerful.

Education goes hand in hand with handiwork

Few people would argue that education is a worthy pursuit. On par with an education should be learning some type of skill or handiwork. Bear with me as I back my way into this logic. Just the other day, I was at Kohl’s with my boyfriend shopping for some new shorts (no, not that kind – the outerwear). He wanted plaid. I’m looking at the plaids, thinking something’s off here. Then, it struck me. The plaids at the seam did not match up. No one taught the seamstresses in Malaysia or India this basic sewing step. It’s synonymous to matching the pattern on wallpaper or making sure the nap on corduroy goes the right way. More likely, they just ignored this plaid-matching step as a cost-saving move.

Back in junior high, I was sent to sewing classes with two of my three sisters. Sewing was a great skill to have. I made many of my own clothes and also learned a lot about fabric. My sister, Margaret, took sewing to the nth degree as she does with many things, making blazers, dresses, pantsuits and later quilts. My daughter, Kelly, knows how to sew and quilt. And my sister-in-law, Cindy, has taken quilting to a new art form. Check out her designs here: http://www.cindygrisdela.com.

Yesterday, I was at my boyfriend’s community garden plot, which was looking all verdant and vibrant and I told him, “I’m proud of you for doing this.” It’s a good character trait to have something that you put a lot of effort into and get a lot of pleasure out of.

In these hard economic times, there aren’t a lot of jobs. But for those who have a skill or a special interest that they enjoy, they can still get satisfaction from a job well done. In addition to working for a living, it helps to have something you like to do that is productive or simply brings enjoyment, such as music or painting. Therefore, I recommend that we not only educate our youth but also encourage them to learn some type of handiwork. Don't even get me started on how my dad insisted my brothers help him around the house, fixing things. Guess what? They became handy. And that's another great skill to have.