Woman, in the depths of your being
are the transcendence,
the miracle,
the great alchemy,
the notion of infinity itself.

It is essential that you
honor your body,
with its rhythms, cycles and stages
that leave the imprint
of times lived through

That you, woman
always try to combine
the fluidity of the sea,
the placidity of the lake,
the solidity of the mountain,
the warmth of the sun,
the mistery and fascination of the moon,
the shifting wind,
the shelter of earth,
in a sublime marriage of forces and elements.

That you let grow
roots and wings,
to have firmness and consistency
and, at the same time, the lightness
to flow through life,
connected to the earth and the sky.

Woman, believe
that almost nothing is under control;
Time flows, passes and heals.
In emotions, feelings
in the fluid moods
are embedded perpetual movements,
the phases of the moon,
the to and fro of the tides,
the grandeur of the sea.

It is essential to honor
the mystery of veils,
surrounding the sources of creation
the sometimes revealing curtain
the warm wet path, soft and receptive
the uterine shelter
cradle of so many gestations.

In the opening of each virgin gate,
keep the enchantment of discoveries,
the nuances of love,
the secluded pleasures,
in the meetings and exchanges
of divine substances.

Shall you, woman
be able to love and be loved,
respect and inspire respect,
appreciate and be appreciated,
letting expand,
both within and around you,
the loving flame.

Admit, woman,
the multiple veils that surround you
in fire, pleasure, joy and surrender.
It is the seduction, the magic,
the voyage of senses,
in the infinite space,
in which borders are dissolved
in starry fusion
in the encounters with Love
through each beloved one.

You can trust, woman,
in the power of gestating and combining,
elements, ideas, gestures, and actions,
so that, upon uniting,
you create something new,
like the fusion of two cells,
from which a new being springs,
in the fertile mystery,
in the nuances of love,
that creates, protects, nurtures and shares.

How many things do we learn
in the seclusion that seeks
the illuminated wisdom;
it is the seed that germinates
in the womb of the earth
to sprout well-nourished
by the life-blood,
by the warm milk
of the fertile earth-mother.
Mother of children, ideas,
projects and objects
of creation.

Gestate and give birth to yourself,
infinite times,
in multiple beings within the same being.
You will find, woman,
diving in inner space,
the wisdom which suggests paths
even in times of doubt,
uncertainties and crossroads,
in which you find yourself split
between choices and pains,
between the impulse of desire
and the consciousness of reflection.

Woman, keep your hope
even when despair is knocking
preserve your life force
even in times of pain;
the obstacle is also an opportunity
and it is important to trust
in your power to make your way.

Cataclysm, upheaval, reversals.
Dip into dense, clouded waters,
in the collapse of the world
built until now.
Disillusions, betrayals, deceptions,
generating changes and revisions.
Let die to be reborn,
find meaning
in meaningless sufferings.
You shall, woman
even through pain create something new,
out of the ruptures,
the losses,
the passages and crossings.

When it seems nothing is left,
something can be reborn;
when it seems that strength is gone,
a new strength appears.
In the deep dive into pain,
something is created.
It need not be bitterness, or hatred,
nor eternal grief.
It is good to let go the past,
go through pain and struggle,
demolish and rebuild.
Eternal pain is no one’s fate.

Day and night,
night and day,
the moon and sun,
the dark and light,
the cycles and seasons,
the bustle of life.
In the anguish and restlessness,
the questions:
What am I?
What do I want?
What is waiting for me?
What do I expect?

Deciding, weighing
balancing thoughts and feelings.
Not always are conventions
the guide of decisions.
Not always is going ahead
the best strategy;
sometimes, it is better to change course,
renounce or back up
to take a new stand.
Follow creative paths,
break through,
leave behind the bonds of guilt,
of excessive duties without pleasures,
of tasks without rest.

Know how to wait, linger,
tame the hurry and impulses,
stand privations and probation.
And have faith.
Even upside down
hanging by the edge of the abyss,
there are ways out.

Woman, each quality
may be expanded
in harmony or in distortion.
Power need not be dressed in tyranny;
anger need not be painted in violence.
Do not hurt,
do not let anyone hurt you.
Not even yourself.

It is the drive to fight,
which attacks when need be,
but not simply to destroy;
it is the woman who prevails,
without dominating everything;
who rises, dignified,
without being knocked down,
making herself respected in her dignity.

The arm that fights
is also the one that hugs.
The hand that battles
is also the one to sow and harvest.
You must gather
the sweat, the tear and the smile
to season life
with passion and compassion.

Woman, if you complement yourself
with mates and partners,
you will find the exchanges
out of the realms
of domination and submission,
neutralizing and transcending
the envy, the rivalry, the raw and cruel competition.
Companion and accomplice,
sympathetic without being servile.

And then the balance arises
fluid, delicate and subtle,
yet strong and resilient.
It is maturity, it is wisdom.
It is the strength of gentleness,
the firmness of serenity.
In the experience you accumulate,
the capacity of seeing farther,
even when the eyes already need some help.

Liberation arises
in the depths of reflection,
in the search of that
which is greater than you,
which is beyond and above
but also within,
in the fertile solitude which allows
being in good terms with others and yourself.

It is essential, woman
to keep alive the curiosity
to discover and learn.
Celebrate each stage of life,
the growth of wings,
the greater flight,
the freedom of choosing paths
among existing possibilities,
as choices are never limitless.

Woman, the world is yours, you belong to the world.
Life is yours, you belong to Life.
Celebrate creation,
the eternal quest for evolution,
with women united,
throughout the world.
Let each woman find within herself
the Woman and the Man
and balance their rights,
respecting the differences,
discovering the power of combining
gentleness and strength,
making peace, harmony and beauty
in the great voyage of life.

You must be friends with time
to conquer space.

* This text was originally published in Portuguese: Mulher, tempo de criar, espaço de viver, liberdade de amar, Ediouro, 1995, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.