Dan Millman, author of Way of the Peaceful Warrior, recently wrote a blog about being short, which was spurred on from a book entitled: SIZE MATTERS: How Height Affects the Health, Happiness and Success of Boys - and the Men They Become. I simply had to comment on his blog, because as a tall woman, size mattered to me too, but not because it brought me greatness at a young age.
Being nearly 6ft. tall in 7th grade sucked since the other kids taunted, teased and mocked me on a daily basis. However, this experience would ultimately be the foundation for the spiritual journey I’d embark upon with a rock band nearly 30 years later. The year from hell was a major catalyst for healing, and turned out to be one of the greatest blessings in my life.
Many people now come up to me and say how wonderful it must be to be so tall and stand out in a crowd, but if they only knew the pain it brought me earlier in my life, they'd understand that the grass isn't always greener on the other side or "up here."
Over the years I’ve tried to find statistics on the percentage of women in the United States who are over 6 ft. tall, but haven’t come across anything specific. According to the National Bureau of Standards, one website quoted that 5% of the female population is over 5’9”. So, what about 6 ft.+ women? We must be less than 1% of the population.
Why do our souls choose certain extreme physical characteristics such as tallness or shortness? I think we all incarnate with the perfect body that will grow to the height we need to be to fulfill our life's mission/path. For me, it was imperative I stand out at a rock concert like a Sequoia in a grove of Bonsai tress so that my fears about being seen would be triggered. Not only that, but I also needed to heal the unconscious belief that despite my tallness, I would be invisible to the band.
I’ve gained compassion for people of all shapes and sizes and have come to see that our body is just the physical "clothing" that covers our true essence, our soul. And all our souls are huge and brilliant, no matter how tall or short we are in this lifetime!
Being nearly 6ft. tall in 7th grade sucked since the other kids taunted, teased and mocked me on a daily basis. However, this experience would ultimately be the foundation for the spiritual journey I’d embark upon with a rock band nearly 30 years later. The year from hell was a major catalyst for healing, and turned out to be one of the greatest blessings in my life.
Many people now come up to me and say how wonderful it must be to be so tall and stand out in a crowd, but if they only knew the pain it brought me earlier in my life, they'd understand that the grass isn't always greener on the other side or "up here."
Over the years I’ve tried to find statistics on the percentage of women in the United States who are over 6 ft. tall, but haven’t come across anything specific. According to the National Bureau of Standards, one website quoted that 5% of the female population is over 5’9”. So, what about 6 ft.+ women? We must be less than 1% of the population.
Why do our souls choose certain extreme physical characteristics such as tallness or shortness? I think we all incarnate with the perfect body that will grow to the height we need to be to fulfill our life's mission/path. For me, it was imperative I stand out at a rock concert like a Sequoia in a grove of Bonsai tress so that my fears about being seen would be triggered. Not only that, but I also needed to heal the unconscious belief that despite my tallness, I would be invisible to the band.
I’ve gained compassion for people of all shapes and sizes and have come to see that our body is just the physical "clothing" that covers our true essence, our soul. And all our souls are huge and brilliant, no matter how tall or short we are in this lifetime!