lady – She Be Fierce

‘Wisdom begins in wonder’ (Socrates)

It is the summer of 1969 and it is hot, very hot! The scent of rare orchids and sweet honeysuckle permeate the air, colliding deliciously with the comforting aroma of bread baking in the courtyard ovens. And, I must not forget (God forbid) the dried olive leaves used as sacred incense by the church priest – guaranteed to bless you, smoke drama and the devil OUT.

‘Uranya’ a beautiful and wordly woman (if you believe the village murmurs) lives alone. Set on a beach overlooking the brilliant blue Mediterranean, her home is humble on the outside but the village boys are more interested by the man affirming experiences they have heard goes on inside. So, they start to save their drachmas in a rusty old tin to pay for a ‘visit’ with ‘Uranya’ and discover the mysteries of agapi.

The five boys in this story take an oath on this but there is another potential life-changing event about to take place – the Apollo 11 Moon Landing on July 20th. Now, there was a problem – no one in the village owned a TV on which to watch this historic event on. Achilleas, one of the boys and central to this story is now faced with a dilemma and decision to make that could lead to the breaking of the oath of this randy band of young brothers – spend their savings visiting ‘Uranya’ or buy a TV set – Model 19″ America make URANYA!!

I cried a little and belly laughed a lot watching this 2006 movie. Films like ‘Uranya’ make me think of my nephews and the antics boys get up to in the name of experience and exploration when they are young. It’s a coming of age story and one that impacts the families of the village as well as friendships in ways that change out of date beliefs and perceptions of ones neighbours.

For Achilleas and his friends, this was a time in their simple rural lives when nothing was in reach, yet everything was. When seeing stars and reaching for the moon was a dream, a dream made true with the heavenly love of Greek Muse of Astronomy ‘Urania’ and her village namesake.

In Greek mythology, there were nine muses: Clio, Euterpe, Thalia, Melpomeni, Terpsichore, Erato, Polymnia, Urania and Calliope. Urania was the guardian of celestial objects and the heavens. Known to have founded astrology, she wore a cloak embroidered with stars and held a sphere and a bow compass.

Artist: Giuseppe Mazzei ~ Urania
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On your daily Google search, do you find thought-provoking quotes harder to come by? I’ve struggled to find ones that either make me giggle or think, “Nice one”!! So when I do discover what I see as a gem, I become quite giddy with ideas, planning my next blog post to pay homage to a few words that gave me a eureka moment. My most recent find was this, ‘Choose your lady wisely. She represents you.’

I was poised to write about how men see a lady, how men choose this vision in their minds to walk down the aisle, the red carpet or the garden path if she isn’t a lady in his eyes. After a very chatty ladies lunch (because even ladies love to eat) and after a belly full of fish n chips I decided to flip this quote and give it a makeover, if you will. ‘Choose your gentleman wisely. He represents you’.

Honestly, I nearly choked on my chips after hearing of un-gentlemanly methods used and of course, the question of do we attract them popped up like the pesky peas on my plate. Maybe the law of attraction is part of it but as I have written before, this only serves to make us look inside ourselves to take responsibility. I call this the law of letting someone else off, free, so they can do it again to someone else.

It is so important and healthy in any relationship for both to look at themselves, without ego, to change what isn’t working and most importantly to stop making someone feel like they are worthless. This has nothing to do with any law, quote or psalm but has everything to do with common sense and manners.

If he is treating you less like a lady and more like a doormat, do you think it’s ok for his feet to dirty your spirit? If she isn’t treating you like the gentleman you are, or are striving to be, why have the headache, why be close to someone who will embarrass you and make your efforts appear laughable?

What was interesting to me as we got to the profiteroles, was hearing how people who hurt you once have been allowed to creep back in. I have to say that the responsibility does fall on the person who re-opened the door. One of my friends always says, “Send them love and light”, I do, I send them love and enough light so they can see their way out! It can take a lot for me to see the light but when I do, there is no going back and I never have.

If someone has the ability to make you feel small, ashamed and wields their choice weapon of harsh words or actions intending to sabotage the hard work you have put into yourself, how can they be a true representation of you and why would you want them to be?