A Woman from Ashes by Hiva Panahi

 

 Whatever you need to put your legs on the earth again, you need again the same exercise that we called courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always something from those years to remind you of the endless corridors of darkness, the entirety of human pain and tears on the ashen leaves, that will make you cry once again. So walk again for peace, like the lonely ant that struggles in relentless earth for a piece of its winter supply, so do again the same exercise that we called courage. We have reached the month of December once again, the wounds are opening, the heart is in a tsunami of the season and pulses are rising again like sails in the absent light; it's time to shed more tears in this Holy season, to not forget here on this relentless Earth to map out a course of action and follow it to the end, so to try the same exercise that you know as courage!

A Woman from Ashes by Hiva Panahi

 There's no doubt that if you can't say no, you're a potential victim of exploitation. Others will treat you as a doormat and no one will ask for your opinion – nor will they take it seriously when you give it yourself. Saying "no" reminds others that you are free, you put the issue of your freedom on your forehead, and that you have limits, as a human being, that auto respect for yourself is a non-negotiable values.I have my own name and history,I am Hiva Panahi. (From the short notes of 2011)