....the march (part 2)

Yogis,

When I was eleven I had a t-shirt that read  “Girls can do anything boys can do better.” 

I loved that shirt! I wore it with pride and quietly hoped boys might notice it because in seeing it they might see me. The me that always believed being female was an advantage. A gift. I remember never wishing I was a boy (in fact feeling slightly sorry for them.)

A girl had it all!  I could wear a dress one day and ripped jeans the next. Makeup when it felt right but the next moment hike in the creek and end up with mud on my face. I was smart and capable and could beat most of the boys in the swimming underwater contest since I could always hold my breath for quite some time. And best of all, when and if I chose, I could produce a baby and give birth.  I had the ability to be a mother.  I could do it all.  Yes, an extraordinary gift.

Now of course I have come to realize that my mother was able to install that sense of limitless power in me because of all of the millions of women who had gone before me. Our grandmothers. The wise women.  The ones who had that same inner spark, but at a time when the outer world wasn’t ready to see it….but they went forward anyway. They lit the path for me. So yesterday was my turn to do that for all of the little girls that will come behind me. 

Women are gatherers and yesterday was a gathering beyond imagination. Yes, there was a march at the end but the feeling tone was more of us all coming together. Being together with a purpose. The purpose yesterday was to demonstrate to the world that we don’t walk backward. 

When there is a concern, it is the women that mobilize. A sick friend……the meal making chain is put in action day one. A neighbor in crisis…….collections are done, items bought, things delivered…..all accomplished with a few emails. Yesterday happened because of one women’s post on Facebook. That’s all it took. We gather and we get the job done. 

Women form circles. Sacred circles where we sit, talk, share, cry, laugh. Be it book clubs, meditation groups, knitting circles or early morning running groups.  We find our tribe and  are fiercely loyal. Yesterday our tribe grew beyond imagination. Cities across the country joined us, but also women on every continent on this earth, our mother. I even saw a picture of a group with signs in Antarctica!  We circled the world.  But there are still many women who don’t feel included so we have a lot more reaching out to do. We are good at that, so let’s do it. Each of us. Leave no one behind.

But what struck me the most, and what will remain with me forever was the sense of complete peace downtown. Hundreds of thousands of people together for hours on end, often pushed against each other in human sandwiches where no one could move, yet not one harsh word.  No pushing. No irritation or impatience. I would glance into the face next to me as we waited to be able to even free our arms and they would simply smile. Everyone shared a vision and we were walking toward it hand in hand. That is the feminine power of creation. 

If I were to have that t-shirt  today I would tape over the words ‘boys can do better’. This isn’t a contest. We need the masculine but it must be equally partnered with the feminine if we hope to create the world we want. A softer, kinder world.  An open hand instead of a fist. The world has been male heavy for too long but I feel the pendulum beginning to swing back. The goddess has been awakened. 

My shirt now would simply say “Girls can do anything” because they can. And they will.    

Pink is the new black,
SARAH