What Dolly Parton can teach us about Acceptance, Fame & Feminine Wisdom
During the hustle and bustle of the holiday season we thought it would be nice to offer you a cozy read into the life and lessons from one of our favorite Shakti Mamas, Dolly Parton. If you're anything like our team, then you're probably up-to-date with the popular new podcast: Dolly Parton’s America {LISTEN HERE}, and if not then we just did you a favor (start from the beginning with episode 1).
It’s a remarkable and inspiring look into Dolly Parton’s life, career, and her impact on the South and beyond. However, what’s even more interesting to note about the series is how incredibly full of SHAKTI this woman is and how she sings to tell about it.
As mentioned in The New York times, Dolly Parton is the “saucey grandmother” of our time. She is accepting of all, she is confident, incredibly kind, and I can feel her nurturing ways just by listening to her music.
Dolly Parton is a force to be reckoned with. She grew up in the backwoods of Tennessee with her family of twelve. They were so poor that it is said her father paid for her birth with a bag of cornmeal! But, this didn’t seem to stop Dolly from going after her dreams.
Dolly Parton is a woman that embraces the fire of the feminine.
Struggling to find her way in the male dominated entertainment world, she eventually would go on to achieve more number one hits than any other female artist, of all time. And, she did this all while making friends with “the church ladies and the gays”.
Dolly has always been about acceptance and in reference to her popularity in these two (usually opposing) communities: the religious christian community and the gay community, she has stated,
“God tells us not to judge one another, no matter anyone’s sexual preference or if they’re black, brown, or purple. And if someone doesn’t believe what I believe, tough shit.”
It is so refreshing how candid Dolly Parton is. She doesn’t try to be anyone else but herself. She is proud of her roots yet she doesn’t try to hide or cover up any of the negative aspects of the troubled South. And, somehow she is able to speak her truth while still being steeped in a loving and compassionate state of being.
So, what can Dolly Parton teach the modern woman in Ayurveda school?
*To be a force
*Accept everyone despite their differences
*Be fully Yourself
*Live More in a state of Joy and Thanksgiving
*Never give up
Dolly says it best in the lyrics of the song Light of a Clear Blue Morning,
“I can see the light of a clear blue morning
I can see the light of a brand new day
Everything is going to be alright
Everything is going to be okay”
Image credit: 1st image Andy Warhal, 2nd image Illustration by Matthieu Bourel; photograph by Michael Ochs Archives, via Getty Images