empowerment

I'm pimping a post.....this one by Vanessa - I'm entering her competition about empowerment.

She has posed two questions.

What does empowerment mean to you?

Empowerment covers so many things and it is fair to say that it is difficult to define into one single definition.

In the classroom empowerment is learning itself. Not the rote learning that many of us were educated under but rather the ability to answer the current questions placed before you and questions that might arise in the future in any area. I love watching the faces of kids as they realise that they can apply what they learnt to SO many situations. It is fantastic.

In my own life empowerment is the ability to be totally and whole-heartedly in charge of ME. What I earn and how I earn it. The bills I pay. The men I choose to date or not. The friends I have, the family I love.

To be empowered is be whole-heartedly in love and like with me and what I can offer.

What would you do if you knew you could not fail?

You've got a choice of two things..........

ONE

I am going to sound like someone on the Miss World Pageant competition with my answer.

I would, knowing that I would not fail, demand world peace. I realise that demanding world peace is a tautology but sometimes you need to have a strong belief in something.

I would be unscrupulous in my pursuit of it.

I would demand a recognition of all religions and acceptance that all people are allowed to be different. There would be a realisation that the world is made up of all different people and that each person has something to contribute to society.

I would pursue this at both personal level and also at a governmental level. Some people might struggle with it!

Might actually be interesting..........

TWO

If the above is not an acceptable answer and you are looking for something less Miss World Pageant- ish then....

Knowing I would not fail - I would enter the Tour de France....... Now this should be an interesting pursuit for a number of reasons.

1) I am woman - hear me roar. Tour de France - men only. Could be fun watching all those mens bottoms in front of me and then going past them to win....(and seeing their faces as I look down at them from the podium!)

2) I actually can't ride a push bike - let alone a road racer! My father decided that I, along with others in my family, should not ride bikes as he wasn't there to supervise and we lived on busy roads. I have a bike in my laundry but I haven't been on it much. Again, knowing that I can't fail, I will be learning how to ride and it be brilliant.

3) I'm not THAT competitive. I have played in many sporting teams but I just love the idea of playing rather than winning at all costs so entering the Tour de France would be a change in my psyche.

Why, I hear you ask, did I decide on the Tour de France? Well, it has something to do with the "ooh la la" factor and the race finishes in Paris. Along the way I would have a good sight seeing tour of France and I would experience adulation along the way. What a beautiful thought!

I think also Cadel Evans has inspired me that an Aussie could do it! And my response is - why not a woman?