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Could a healthy and nurturing sisterhood be the secret missing ingredient to many women’s lives?

Society often pits women against each other. Women are taught to compete with one another and to see one another as rivals. I often wonder what the world would look like if women were taught to love each other instead.

I believe there is something incredibly magical about the bonds between women. There is so much power in sisterhood, and it makes our lives so much richer. Of course by sisterhood, I do not only mean our biological sisters and family relations; I mean all our “girlfriends,” otherwise known as the sisters we choose for ourselves.

Unfortunately, many of us women carry the “sisterhood wound.” This comes from generations of cultural and societal conditioning.

Let’s get radically honest here: how many of us feel distrusting of other women? Get jealous of other women? Feel the need to compete with them? Gossip about them and their life choices and judge them? Find it hard to truly let women in on an emotional level? (I absolutely felt like this growing up and it took a lot of inner work to get to where I am today in regards to my relationships with other women.)

Here’s the thing: we need each other. We are in this together. We are not meant to go about this life alone! When women come together we break barriers on so many different levels.

Here are five reasons why sisterhood is so essential and why we should make that extra effort to find our community of women.

 1. We need to build deep emotional connections, not just surface level ones.

To me, life is about depth. I have always been a “deep” person and shallow conversations just don’t cut it for me. Being able to share emotionally and mentally deep connections with other women is one of the most rewarding feelings in the world. There is something so special about someone hearing and seeing us fully without judgment (and vice versa). It is so important to find women who resonate with our values and experiences.

2. We heal in community.

In a world in which women are becoming more and more independent, it is so important to remember this: we heal in community. When we have problems, our minds have a habit of telling us that we are the only ones who have those types of problems, but we are actually a lot less alone in our problems than we think.

When we let our guards down a bit, and share our experiences and worries with other women, we will probably realise that many other women have been through the same (or a similar) thing. Even the most taboo of topics. And this makes us feel less alone. Attending a women’s circle can be incredibly powerful and healing. I encourage every woman to have this experience at least once in their lives.

If I think back to the hardest times in my life, almost every time it was a woman who held me up and listened to me. It was a woman who helped me build myself back. Sisterhood has saved me countless times. I only hope I can do the same for others in the future.

3. We are not supposed to do life alone.

If we look back to ancient times, women formed communities and tribes. Why should it be any different now? Sure, our lives might be more hectic and busy, but that’s even more of a reason to need other women! We are social creatures. We need connections. Loneliness is not good for our mental health. There is something so wonderful about having a long laugh with our girlfriends, travelling together, and being able to confide in one another.

4. We need to have a sense of belonging.

This one leads on from the previous point. Having a sense of belonging is so important. Not feeling like we belong anywhere can be so painful (and so many people feel this way). When we find a group of women who we can just be our real selves with, our lives become so much richer. Our stress levels decrease. We don’t feel like the “odd ones out” anymore. I hope every woman manages to find her soul community.

5. We need other women to encourage us to learn and to grow.

Other women can encourage us, inspire us, teach us, and share their wisdom with us. I believe every single woman has something to offer to the world. We all have such unique experiences and talents, and it is such a shame when we do not share them with one another. We are supposed to empower each other, to lift each other up.

More importantly, we need to pave the way for all the women in the future. We need to teach them that sisterhood is safe, important, and we need to debunk all the negative conditioning we are taught about other women. A world in which women come together in unity and love is a beautiful world.

I am curious ladies, what are your experiences with sisterhood?

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