Expressing our Voices

Thursday evening we shared the space in John Lewis cafe with a much larger group of women who were knitting. Places for women to gather with ease is, ironically, not easy to come by. Hearing the other group occasionally in the background resonated with this month's theme: Free your Voice

For several years I've been dipping in and out of researching into what happens to women's voices as they age. I've even written about it.

Then there's the other difficult we experience - not being able to truthfully express our needs. The question, "what do you want?" can actually be quite off-putting and harsh. Want is too direct, whereas need is softer, more approachable.

We explored a variety of writing prompts on somewhat tender themes at times, allowed light to be cast on areas that have perhaps been ignored or hidden for some time.

Whilst the content was kept private, the support and connection within the group ensured a sense of safety for this exploration to take place.

As always, what was written serves many purposes, it may go on to inform a larger body of work or blog; it can be a therapeutic release, and / or it may invite us to explore the themes a little deeper.

One thing's for sure, there's power when women write together.