When I was a little girl, I loved catching frogs, fishing and hunting turkeys with my Dad.
We had many swamps in our area and I can remember spending hours hunting and catching frogs with the boys in my neighborhood. Some called me a "tomboy". I loved being with boys, because I was able to connect with a masculine side of myself.
I wanted to be a mechanic as a young girl. I dreamt of being a race car driver too and felt that I could bring to light how skillful women could be on the racetrack and working on engines. To this day the skills that I learned back then pursuing my interests have helped me in so many ways a mother and woman. I am so glad that I had parents to nurture this side of myself so many years ago.
Recently, my daughters have shared a desire that our culture may view as "masculine". Tiff wants to hunt frogs almost every single day. She becomes very focused on the thrill of hunting and catching frogs, and snakes and I can feel how much this meets a real need within her!
Hunting is the first thing she has mentioned when she wakes up and the last thing she talks about as she is falling asleep lately. The "Thrill of the Hunt", is something that many girls instinctually feel coursing through their veins.
Yesterday, I brought my daughters "froggin", as I lovingly called it as a child. We hunted frogs for hours around a local pond. We listened as they called each other and discussed the difference between bullfrogs and little pond frogs. I passed on my knowledge about stillness and stealth, and tapped into a side of who I am that was virtually forgotten living in a time in my life where Peace for life leads my inner-being.
My daughters, like many girls, deeply want to connect with their primal roots of hunting. Women have a quiet, respectful way with this sport that few men can understand or appreciate. As a little girl, I always caught more frogs than than the boys whom I hunted with. I had a quiescent way about me that was able to surprise the frogs. The boys in my life were always impressed with my skills, and this is something that I proudly pass down to my girls today as their interest is at its peak.
Honoring a side of ourselves as women to hunt, dominate and catch prey isn't something we should be afraid or embarrassed of. Sharing information with my daughters about a largely male-dominated sport was very empowering. In the same way that I honor my sons desire to cook, sew and garden, I honor my daughters desire to hunt and catch frogs, fish and other creatures.
The desire to hunt is part of Who They Are and it is something that I am learning to celebrate as it is the epitome of Balance in a culture that wants us to lean to either the masculine or the feminine.
Early on in my daughters new interest, I asked myself, "Is hunting peaceful?" I have come to realize that the epitome of Peace for me, is honoring my childrens individuality without judgement. It is my role to respect and facilitate all that they are passionate about and help them reach the depths of Who They Are through respecting their choices.
With that said, I am celebrating the Huntress within, and helping them through honoring their innate desire to hunt. We have a tank full of frogs that they are studying right now that we will soon release to make room for more creatures to hunt, catch and learn about. I am so grateful for this path of love, connection and respect that I have for my childrens interests. I love that walking this path brings me down my own path of childhood again and again.
