The holy scriptures mention that ‘man’ is the best creation of God, the Almighty. For reference, the Quran mentions about how Man and woman were the first beings created by the Almighty after the heavens and the earth and the Bible mentions on how at first man was created, and to help him woman was created out of his own ribs when he was put to deep sleep.
Not much is mentioned about how woman as a creation was unique for herself. The scriptures focus more on how a woman is dependent on man and how man was considered the best and most intelligent creation of the Almighty. I do not blame the scriptures for being gender biased but I could put on my creative hat to think how a woman is actually a blend, a symbol of every other creation that the Almighty has created. Every creation of the Almighty came in phases. I have read the Quran and Bible at different phases of my life and I believe that the creator Almighty created this Universe with every element along with the highs and lows and how he assigned man to rule the heavens and earth and other creations.
Wondering how a woman actually symbolises each of the Almighty’s creations in the best way – Let us explore –
1) As strong as mountains – Mountains stand tall and strong and are undeterred by the winds or destructions of any sort. Women are just like the Mountains. They stand tall for what is right and just and are strong during their most testing times be it when they bear their children or their menstrual pain or even during the most heartbreaking situations they face during their day to day lives. Carrying a new life for nine months and giving birth is the most joyful blessing but the pain that a woman undergoes in this process is unmatched. Similar to the menstrual pain she undergoes every month. Researchers say that the pain a woman feels during her periods is more than the case where a person breaks his/her bone.
Mountains are also a symbol of reaching the top to succeed. For a woman, life is like a mountain. When she looks at it there is a peak that she doesn’t get disheartened eyeing but she takes it up as a challenge to strive to get there. Women in the corporate world or even business oriented women for that matter, they are always aiming to get to the top. There is no stopping, inspite of their family responsibilities, higher education, men dominant industries etc they do not stop. Each of these hurdles do come in their way when they climb up this success mountain, but none of these stop them from reaching the peak due to their determined spirit of achievement of their goals. They are also very strong in their might, though they look feeble by their physicality but they are undeterred to reach the top with their strong mindsets. They never lose hope. They are the reasons for the biggest successes in the corporate industry, even the men who are at the top. Like the saying goes – Behind every successful man, is a woman. Though some women don’t get to the top, but their inspiring spirit becomes the guiding light to their husbands or children to reach that level. Even women who are homemakers, for the dreams they sacrificed they are ready to help their children reach the top and this sacrificing attitude becomes a strength to their children. A salute to such women!!
2) As deep as the ocean – Oceans, vast and serene , deep blue with full of surprises and beauty within. Women are just the same. Oceans are full of life with their waves and also silent at some ends. Women are a symbol of such liveliness and silence. Their energy, enthusiasm and craziness is just like the waves but their silence can never be mistaken for their weakness. Their silence could be for many reasons unknown to all yet it is deep in it’s meaning. Women have so much depth in their thinking, their intellect that even men , the most strongest of them all cannot reach that level. Be it a woman who voices her opinion to create waves of change in the society or the one who walks out of her silence to better options. This depth of women of both silence and enthusiasm also have a beauty to them just like the beautiful underwater creations of the oceans. Women are the best symbol of beauty – be it both at the outside and inside. The treasures they carry within are known to none and the simplicity they portray on the outer is definitely as simple as the deep blue seas.
3) As fearless as the birds – Birds, the feathery flights they take showcase their fearless side, be it of an eagle who is eyeing it’s prey or the other birds who are in dire need of food to feed their little birdies. Birds are fearless and at the same time goal oriented. Women are just like the birds – whatever they eye or dream about becomes their goal and once they focus and work towards achieving their goals there is no stopping. The wings of flight that the birds fly, they believe in their strength and that is how their flight helps them get to anything they focus be it food or prey. This holds equally true for women. They believe in their might and know that they can reach any heights with this strength and this is how women symbolise the fearless side of birds.
Whatever comes their way, the rains, thunder or strongest of winds, they pause but do not stop just like the birds. They have the power to bear it all and still make their nest with all their might. They are selfless when they make their nests, have their little birdies and search food to ensure they feed their kids first and keep them safe from all the harm. The eagles have fierce eyes when it is hunting it’s prey, similarly women also have very goal oriented mindsets and once they set their mind on something they want to achieve, you cannot stop such women. We have so many examples in the world for such fearless goal oriented women , flying high living their dreams, being strong to achieve their goals. Kudos to them!
4) As varied in qualities like the animal breed – Women possess each quality of the animal herd , be it the mightiness of the elephant, the leadership quality of the king of the jungle – the lion (though she is the lioness , she is no less), the fierceness of the tigress, the meekness of the deer, the cunningness of the fox, the warmth of the bears, the loyalty of the dogs, the smartness of the chimpanzees, the best at art style of the monkeys, the strong will power of the wolves, the anger of the dragons, the cuteness of penguins, the swiftness of whales, the ferociousness of sharks, the beauty of the beautiful fishes in the sea. Women are definitely a great blend of all these put together in a beautiful form of ‘Her’.
5) As enchanting as flowers – Flowers are a beautiful creation of the Almighty in terms of their fragrance, their beautiful colors, shapes and sizes. Women are equally pretty, beautiful and enchanting like the flowers. Their fragrance of change, encouragement, power, love and peace can spread so far that it can create a revolution in the society they live in. Each woman represents a flower be it the roses with thorns or the Lily of varied colors or the sunflower glowing happy in the sun or the lotus blooming in the not so good ponds. Women are like these flowers – irrespective of the environment they are in, they always aim to spread love, joy, happiness with their powerful attitude, fragrance to lighten and brighten the environment that most times their contributions go unnoticed. Be it our mothers or wives cheering us up when we are down or the way women stand up for their rights in society , fighting solo battles to bring about good change. All of these are their beautiful enchanting smells of good change that we all should embrace. They can be fragile as the flowers but don’t take advantage of their fragility, even their thorns can be powerful to hurt you back.
6) As colorful as the Butterflies – Butterflies, those who undergo 4 different stages in life to come out beautiful in their appearance and with their colorful wings to fly on every flower and add beauty to the nature created by God. Women are butterflies in the true sense. At first they are pupils and caterpillars (the first two stages of butterflies) where they are unique and special in their own way , trying to live up to the standards of life and living according to their choices. They face hardships and when they fall low, they have a setback and become the cocoon (the third stage of butterfly) , where they are away from the crowd, lying low in their buds but it’s not a sign of their withdrawal and failures. It is a sign of the calm before the storm. It is a sign of her gaining strength, working on her own self, getting ready to make a comeback, in her most strongest yet beautiful phase of butterfly with her own wings to fly high in those amazing colors and choose to enjoy, live and be happy with her wings of freedom.
7) As sweet and sharp as the bees – Bees, those creations of the Almighty that were created to give you the sweetness of the honey they accumulate and also make you feel the pain when they sting you bare. They are sharp in their job of sucking nectar of the pollens of the flowers and storing in their stomach, until it gets full and they then begin to make the honey in their bee hives. When they see trouble coming their way, they definitely sting them to keep them at bay. These ferocious bites are their different side to them. Everyone has their good and bad sides as well. Women too – they can be like the bees being the sweetest in sharing their honey of goodness, humanity, loyalty and respect with everybody but when they are betrayed, hurt or troubled, they do not sit back bearing these humiliations but they definitely get back answering and keeping their pain behind. Honey is also an antiseptic that heals, for women it is their loyalty, their love, their care that heals any wound that anybody faces in their lives. This is women’s good and bad side that anybody has seen or experienced.
8) As limitless as the skies – The skies are vast, pretty in their colors be it at sunrise or sunset and also serene with the clouds adding to their calmness. They are way beyond our reach. No matter how much one aims to go up but we always say sky is the limit. Women are limitless just the skies. No amount of hardships, pain, troubles, setbacks can push them to the ground. They are born to fly, with their powerful wings to reach the skies with their strong determination, courage and great efforts that they put in. Women can be calm like the skies in the sunny days and can be hard during the rainy days when the sky is crying it’s heart out. Women’s emotional side is never their weakness but it’s the love that overflows in their tears. Yet they wipe them, come out strong and the sky does become sunny again.
9) As caring as the plants – How can we forget the plants and trees? In true sense, their presence is never appreciated but their absence is definitely missed. The plants and trees are the most beautiful in their appearance from a banyan tree to a cactus plant. There is abundant shade they provide, bearing fruits to flowers and bring true sense of happiness and add colors to the beauty of nature. Trees also face their hardships. When in spring and summer they can be swaying beautifully in green, in winter and autumn they can go dry and shed their leaves going dull. But that’s not the end. They still stand tall , patiently waiting for the springs and summer to return where they will have their pretty greenery sprouting back in the best ways. All these hold true to women too. But their secluded branches cannot be mistaken for their silence. When burnt, the fires raging can bring a whole city down. Our silence should never be mistaken for the end.
We can be loving and self sacrificing in so many ways , providing shades of love, care and respect at all times but when we are hurt and humiliated we can become secluded and thorny, alone in our lives but with patience we come out of our depressions to give light and love back again with our whole heartedness.
This women’s day – let’s celebrate the beauty of creations that we are all the best symbols of, as a sweet reminder to every woman out there – be the shade of love like the trees spreading it’s branches, or the beauty of wings of the butterfly we flap, or the strong will power we carry within like the mountains or the depth of patience we have within just like the oceans.
I believe a woman’s power can never be estimated, it should only be valued. She has the best shades of love, respect, care, courage, will power, strength and patience that form the seven colors of rainbow in this colorless world of hatred and self centricity. Respect a woman for her naiveness, intelligence, calmness and patience. She can be as calm as the dead and can rage like the fire.
A salute and ode to all the women of our society on this women’s day.
It is in you that the wonderful creations of the Almighty are bestowed. It is up to you girl to discover them, Tap them and feel the pride to have them :). You go girl!!!
