Today is International Women’s Day, a day that celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women worldwide.

This year, instead of simply celebrating female achievements and hallmarks, let’s also celebrate female energy and its qualities in itself. Or rather: feminine qualities, as feminine is not synonymous with female – and masculine is not synonymous with male.

The westernised world is built on masculine energy. Our politics, media and businesses, amongst other things, all follow masculine structures. This does not only mean that men play a more prominent role in these spheres, it also means that the way we have built our system is based on codes of conduct that are considered masculine: analytical knowledge, individualism, power, competition and linear practices. Feminine energy, on the other hand, revolves around intuitive wisdom, co-operation, inclusiveness and circular practices.

Throughout most of our history, masculine qualities have been regarded as ‘superior’ and ‘stronger’ than feminine traits. As a result, many women have been living their lives like men, constantly running towards something instead of giving themselves permission to let go and tap into their own true nature. Opening up to your own vulnerability however does not mean giving up power, it means being empowered. Making the analogy with nature, we recognize a mountain as being a symbol of power. It’s steady, it’s enormous, it’s daunting and hard to scale. But now consider the flowing river. It’s not sturdy, it’s not so daunting, so it might not seem ‘powerful’ to us. But in 10,000 years, the river carves that mountain. That could be considered feminine power.

Nowaten explained how, traditionally, in his Native American culture only the men could become chiefs. But it was the women who looked after the boys who would later become the leaders of their community. It was the women who raised them, taught them morals and values, watched the development of their connection to nature and their intuitive intelligence. They were the ones that told the elders: “Keep an eye on this one. He shows promise”. They were the rivers carving the mountains.

In our current society these roles are no longer this traditional. Women can be ‘chiefs’ and men can raise the children. The shift that is lacking, however, is for men and women to take on these roles from their own ‘self’, as opposed to, from the energy that is traditionally associated with them.

For communities to be sustainable, the two energies need to be balanced. In the same way, we need to acknowledge both energies within ourselves for us to be balanced as individuals. We are all both masculine and feminine. The one cannot create a lasting society without the other. This may almost sound revolutionary to us, but it is a natural fact for the Wisdom Keepers in DOWN to EARTH.

The campaign theme for International Women’s Day 2020 is ‘Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change’. Re-empowering the feminine energy might become the biggest transformational shift in the history of mankind. Re-connecting the mind with the heart.

Let’s be brave enough to acknowledge both sides within ourselves, and see how it empowers us to change the world we live in. Stop convincing the world from the mind and start operating from the heart. That way we can all be leaders within our own spheres of influence. We can all be worthy Earth Keepers.