Rising Above Ageism

The Feminine is expressed in multiple ways. From Buddhism we have the Tara Bodhisattva, who  takes on many forms herself, the two most well-known to the West being Green and White Tara. " The White and Green Taras  with their contrasting symbols of the full-blown and closed lotus, are said to symbolize between them the unending compassion of the deity who labours both day and night to relieve suffering. Under the influence of Tibetan Buddhism  the different forms of Tara multiplied to a traditional 108. Tibetan temple banners frequently show 21 different Taras, coloured white, red, and yellow, grouped around a central Green Tara. "  https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tara-Buddhist-goddess I have heard the Taras discussed in many ways, but here I wish to focus on the idea of two essences of a woman:  the fresh green of youth and the whiteness of the elder.  In my own heart, I have both quite alive in me, but my relationship to each has changed over time.  

Let's just start out with the stereotype, shall we?  Here we have the Wicked Witch from the fairy tale, the alter ego of the Queen who had been the "fairest of them all" before her little princess stepdaughter began to come of age as a maiden.  The Queen sought the death of the maiden in order to remove her as competition for the role of "fairest" female in the kingdom.  Of course, in the end Snow White was rescued by a charming prince to live happily every after, while the Queen was sent to a horrible (yet, according the the story, deserved) death. Raise your hand if you want to be "the fairest of them all" forever!  I certainly do. Since she was a teenager, whenever I have gone out with my daughter the male heads that turned have been for her.  As we both grew older, if we approached a counter together, the salesperson or concierge would sometimes address her first, as the person more capable, unless I asserted myself.  I remember this happen