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By Renee Trudeau<\/p>\n
I once spoke at a girls\u2019 empowerment conference to a group of 500 ten to thirteen-year-olds. As I was waiting to go on stage, I overheard a small group of young girls talking about their day. One of them was on fire after learning about civil engineering, and she was excitedly sharing her career dreams with her peers. Then, I observed her bright face slowly shift from open excitement and joy, to embarrassment and withdrawal, as the other girls subtly expressed their discomfort at seeing their friend owning her power.<\/p>\n
And, just yesterday, a successful author and dear friend poured out her heart to me, sharing through tears how a long-time mentor was suddenly threatened by her success and was now \u201cshutting her out,\u201d and challenging her very right to be seen and heard.<\/p>\n
This is so not ok. Not on any level. Not ever. And it needs to end once and for all.<\/p>\n
As a young girl, I don\u2019t recall being around women who modeled true sisterhood for me. But, when I was in my late twenties, I took a communications\/leadership course with a wise woman who ended up being a life-long mentor. She modeled some beautiful ways to \u201cbe,\u201d but more importantly, she challenged me to stop playing small and held an oceanic space for me to blossom into the fullest expression of who I am.<\/p>\n
Slowly, over the years, I learned to do this. Not alone, but with many incredible women by my side.<\/p>\n
Today, as a wife, mother, leader, business owner, mentor and community activist, moving in the world with the support of my sisters, is the only way I know how to be.<\/p>\n
One fall I led a week-long self-renewal retreat for women at the Omega Institute in upstate New York and heard\u2014as I always do at our retreats\u2014\u201cI was so amazed at how comfortable I felt in this group, how quickly we dropped into real, heartfelt conversation, how healing it was to have dialogue with such depth and how powerful it was to be with other women and to feel so supported.\u201d I also heard, \u201cI have never experienced anything like this; I didn\u2019t even know being with other women in this way was possible!\u201d<\/p>\n
I took these powerful words to heart. For many, this is a new way of being with other women. It\u2019s a courageous path that requires us to practice extreme self-care and fully show up.<\/p>\n
On the last day of that retreat, a fellow retreat leader who had been on campus all week, commented to me how brave I was to have invited other powerful guest teachers to share the spotlight with me. I looked at her with wonder, not fully understanding what she meant. Then, as her words sank in, I responded, \u201cIt was my joy. When I help my sisters shine, we all shine.\u201d
\nShine on, sisters. Shine on.<\/p>\n