Day 183 - Rolling Hills

I love this song.  The performance of the song at the BET Awards solidified my love for it.  The song is a great one that espouses self-love and appreciating, encouraging women to recognize their worth.  This is truly important, especially in a society that says that women should look a certain way, be a certain size, and use their bodies to get what they want. 
"Maybe you don't recognize what you got between your thighs, so I'm gonna set you right, and I'm starting here tonight.  Shine like the moon and strong like the sea, more expensive than money, more valuable than anything. Juicy mango, summer peach - make a lame man walk and a full man hungry. And if you don't know what I'm saying then baby I'm telling you - there's power in them rolling hills.  Come on.  You're a prize possession, not everybody's worthy.  Only reason I know is cuz I headed down that road, and it'd be a shame for you not to have your own glow."  This first verse and the chorus speak a powerful message.  Women are often taught that they aren’t worth much, that there’s always someone prettier and sexier than they are, that in order to get attention their clothes and attitudes have to be sexually-driven.  But this song contrasts that, highlighting the power and worth of what women possess.  It says that what that we sometimes give away so freely or in order to gain what we think we need is actually a powerful instrument that not everyone should have access to.  It is a beautiful thing that should be selectively shared, and she knows that because she walked the path of giving it away without understanding its worth.  She wants women to have their own glow – their own sense of self and understanding of their power.
“Maybe you don't recognize what you got between your eyes, so I'm gonna set you correct so you can get what you should get.  Intuition's something deep – let you know what you know, let you find before you seek.  Spirit of discernment, pray for it every day – let you know who should go and who you should let stay.”  While much of the media prizes the physical appearance of women, this song also brings appreciation to the mind and soul of women as well.  It’s true that there are people (men and women) who are intimidated by an intelligent woman, but that’s no reason to shrink back or dumb down, and I know this from experience.  Your intelligence, your creativity, your gifts, your strong intuition – all these things are in you for a reason, and you have to embrace and use them.  As Marianne Williamson said, “Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.”  And you have instincts for a reason – trust them.  There are people and things in your life right now that don’t need to be there, and you know it, but you don’t always trust yourself and your instincts enough to act on them.  Let me assure you, it’s most likely not just you being paranoid or sensitive – some of the feelings we have are God Herself directing us in less than vocal ways.  Trust that.
“I wanna see you glow. I wanna see you glow.  Glow, I wanna see you shine, I mean all the time.  Gotta let that light, gotta let it shine so bright…”  Your light shines when you recognize that you have a light, when you recognize that you weren’t created for other people’s use or pleasure, when you see that you are beautiful and sufficient all by yourself, when you see the beauty in your rolling hills, your deep valleys, your intellectual caverns, and your emotional plains….  Embrace yourself, taking hold of the Divine light within you, and letting it shine through a life lived to the fullest in pursuing your purpose and passions.