Even Isis grieved; even the strength to defy death does not harden a woman’s heart.

History is full of strength, of men who charge into battle with swords high and emerge from the other side covered with their opponent’s blood, victorious, righteous, and unchanged. This is not the strength of a woman; a woman is not left untouched or calloused by the experiences she triumphs over. She is stronger, but by that she is soft, sensitive, in tune with those around her. This ‘weakness’ is the source of a woman’s strength, not it’s undoing.

A strong woman is not rigid; she is not an impenetrable wall, a fortified citadel for you to triumph within or compare yourself against. A woman’s strength is that of a tree, flexible when needed, mutable and regularly changed, but fixed enough to stand impervious while the fates of men are fought and decided. A woman’s strength is fluid, organic, and does not preclude her from pain. It is not her armor or her weapon- it is the quality of her heart.

Challenge or roughly handle a woman’s strength and you will be excluded from it. Value a woman’s strength on the scale used to measure men and she will meet your expectation, hardening her armor and sharpening her sword. But do not be fooled; she has not bought into your values or your war. When her heart tells her it’s time, she will sheath the sword and pull the armor from her delicate skin; she will stretch her roots and branches toward the water and light she needs, and leave you to your field.

Even Isis grieved; but Set never had his throne because of it. A woman’s strength, and will, is driven by her eternally perceptive heart.