Friday Morning Pondering – Some soapboxing

Posted on | January 18, 2008 | No Comments

I am at the heart, a feminist. I believe that women have the passion, empathy, creativity and the heart to restore compassion to the world. Here in the States, we have so much. And yet, there are so many here without – men, women and children. In other parts of the world it’s even more difficult. No, this is not new information. It’s just something that I think we all need to be reminded of.

Even as I sit here post-treatment, filled with fatigue and vertigo, I am thinking of how other women are living. Or rather, not living, but existing. I am thinking about how children are without food, medical care, education. And how so many live without safety. I’m thinking that, by luck of geography, I’ve had the opportunity to get the medical care I need, to find a partner who loves me in my husband, and to have the freedom not to have children and to be who I want to be. Why am I thinking this at 7:30 in the morning? Well, besides watching the Presidential Primary process and hoping that we, as a country, can choose a leader who looks to heal the nation and the world, rather than start wars, I’m also intensely interested in ways that we can all help. Being aware, I believe, is the first step.

This morning, upon reading Leah’s blog, I was compelled to see this video that she recommends. It reminds me of my time in Washington, DC. The summer of 1988 – the summer between my junior and senior years at Brandeis University – I had a scholarship to intern with the National Women’s Health Network. And that, I have to say, was an unbelievable experience. I was in Washington when we were just beginning to speak with Medicare about covering screening mammograms (we got the legislation passed, by the way!). We supported women’s rights to make their own choices in relation to their bodies. It’s work I still do, but differently than I did in my youth.

Women are the heart of the world. We all need to be aware and to be supportive of our fellow humans. Women and children do not always have the voice or the and that we can and will add more compassion to the world. We need to count on each other and to support each other. No matter what your individual/personal situation, if you have the ability to help one person, you are helping to heal the world.

I’ll step off my pondering soapbox now…

Comments