Spring is here ushering in a new sense of energy and hope as the days grow longer and light renews us mentality, emotionally and physically.
In 2021, we’re committing to stop talking about empowerment and redirect our focus to amplifying the voices of women who are actively working on positively impacting women globally. In truth, what’s more empowering than that?
In Mothers & Daughters Unfiltered’s first episode of 2022, “ Dare to Soar’, Natalie and I spoke with humanitarian, mother-daughter duo, Maryam & Skylar Montague about feminism, community, the societal pressures of being a woman in Morocco and the characteristics of true empowerment as brought to life through Maryam’s nonprofit, Project Soar.
Maryam, aka superwoman, is a woman of many talents – she is a designer, author, blogger, and founder of Project Soar, a program dedicated to the empowerment of young girl; and, she is a mother of an incredible young woman.
I first had the pleasure of meeting Maryam, September of 2019, when I took a group of ladies on a retreat to Peacock Pavilions, an oasis of beauty, restoration, and culture designed and built by Maryam and her husband when they first moved to Morocco. In our conversation she reminded me of one of the universal truths -- our home is our sanctuary, our environment is essential to our wellbeing. We have a duty to ourselves to create spaces of beauty, peace and healing not only to sustain us, but renew us, giving us the strength to take on whatever challenges, goals or responsibilities we have in our life and work.
What do you want to model? The energy and charisma of Maryam’s daughter attests to the influence which our actions as mothers model for our daughters. Maryam’s daughter, Skylar, is a college student and she shared how she has been greatly inspired by her mother and has embarked on humanitarian projects of her own. She also recognizes and appreciates how lucky she feels in terms of her upbringing, as she was able to attend a school that did not discriminate against her, as many girls in Morocco are never given the opportunity to attend school or must stop attending at a young age. It was so refreshing and inspiring to know that there is a young generation of women, such as Skylar and Natalie, who are rising up, believing in the power to connect, and eager to help solve some of the world’s most pressing problems.
Our ‘Dare to Soar’ conversation was about mothers and daughters lives beyond our borders, but the conversation brought to light many parallels as well as startling realizations about the United States as well. But you’ll need to listen to find out what some of those realizations were… you can check it out here.
In closing of our first episode, Maryam, reminds us that to bring a great idea to fruition, you must find your passion, be resilient, be willing to learn, stay open, and just keep trying. Never let anyone minimize your dreams.
Our goal in Season 2 of Mothers & Daughters Unfiltered is to share stories monthly that inspire each of us to start to identify our own “why.” What’s important to you? There are ways that each of us can open our hearts and offer a helping hand to another woman so she can better realize her value, her rights, her voice and her path. What’s yours?
Check out the episode on Apple, Spotify, Google or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Links to the episode are on our website, here: https://www.mothersanddaughtersunfiltered.com/podcast/daring-to-soar
