On January 26, the world lost Kobe Bryant, described by some as the best basketball player of our time. While basketball fans mourned the loss, we all learned more about who Kobe was off the court.
In the years since retiring, he opened a basketball gym and started coaching his young daughter and her team. A self-described “Girl Dad,” Kobe put energy, enthusiasm, and expertise into her development as a basketball player, taking her to WNBA and college women’s basketball games and getting her ready to move women’s basketball to a new level of respect.
More than losing a basketball legend, I think the world of women’s sports and equality lost a tremendous and powerful advocate.
Since the 1970s when Title IX was passed, we have raised girls to believe that they can be, do and have anything, yet barriers still exist. Gender discrimination, harassment, unequal pay, and many other circumstances indicate that we, as a society, still have room to grow. To have had Kobe Bryant standing with women athletes in solidarity advocating for fairness and equality would have been amazing.
What does this have to do with honoring the divine feminine? In our masculine-centric society we have devalued mystery, intuition, caretaking, trust, receptivity; all characteristics of the Divine feminine. As a result, many are overworked, our planet is in peril and compassion is overshadowed by competition.
Yet in Kobe Bryant’s eulogies, I recognized his greatness came from a balance of masculine and feminine. Maybe being a “Girl Dad” offered Kobe an opportunity to recognize and embrace the more feminine energy within himself and his life.
This is just a guess on my part since I never met the man, but the eulogies people gave told me that he co-parented his children, was open to creativity and listened to his intuition. He trusted and had tremendous faith. All characteristics of the feminine energy alive and well in his life.
One of the reasons I think he was so successful was his ability to balance the masculine and feminine characteristics, letting his intuition and creativity guide his life, then supporting it with hard work, dedication, problem-solving and accomplishment. Since we know life is our mirror, I believe that all the inspiring words and stories shared were a reflection of the Divine essence that was Kobe Bryant.
This interpretation of Kobe’s life is simply my perspective; an outsider watching news reports and making sense of it all. It could be fact or fiction. If it’s fiction, I’m good with that.