Activism – womanspiritspeaks

What Am I Called to Do?

I imagine a golden river of loving energy flowing out from me to embrace everyone I meet.

February 18, 2023

Tagged Activism, False Christianity, love, spirituality

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When does the spiritual become the political? Almost every time I see a headline my heart is broken. I am a seventy-four-year-old white woman living in an active retirement community. I am privileged and somewhat protected, and for that I am grateful. But when I read of daily mass shootings, book bans, lack of affordable health care, women almost dying because they can’t get an abortion, attacks on gay and trans people, racism, police brutality – my heart breaks, and I wonder what I am called to do to make a difference.

I was reared as a Christian, but I no longer recognize the Christianity of my childhood. I believe that Jesus would be appalled by the so-called Christians who are in the headlines. In my opinion people who wrap themselves in scripture but who have no compassion or empathy for anyone who is not white and straight are not Christian, no matter how loudly they proclaim their faith.

I grew up in a Christian home, and what I am seeing perpetrated by the Christian right is not Christianity. Jesus would be appalled at what people are doing in his name. Jesus’ message was one of love. He sat down and ate with the despised of his day. He accepted women as equals. He opened his heart to all. He invited people to become the most loving individuals that they could be. He did not judge, and he was not cruel.

Jesus, however, did call out injustice. He drove the money changers out of the temple in a fit of righteous anger. He was not always meek and passive, but rather he was a radical who called out the wrongs of his day. As a spiritual person, I no longer believe that it is enough for me to meditate and send out loving thoughts. I must do something. And the first step is to name the wrongs I see. All I have to do is to look at the headlines:

Six officers on leave after tasing black man to death
GOP blocked gun reform a year before MSU shooting
Marjory Taylor Greene and George Santo co-sponsor bill to limit LGBTQ books in classroom.
Six Dead as ‘Shooting Spree’ Rocks Small Mississippi Community
At least 1 dead after gunfire at Texas food court
Illinois man pleads guilty in Planned Parenthood clinic fire
71 mass shootings to date in 2023
Tennessee bans gender transition treatment for minors
Search warrants for menstrual tracking apps legal in Virginia
Near Total abortion ban passes South Carolina House

Guns, violence, misogyny, racism, sexism, homo and trans-phobia – all these arise from fear and lack of love. All these societal ills come from not being able to see God/Source/ Creator/Goddess in ourselves. What I can’t see in myself, I can’t see in others. When I can see the sacred in myself, I can see the sacred in others. I can open myself up to love. I can transform myself into a river of love flowing out to everyone in my path. I can see the world through the eyes of empathy and compassion.

So what am I called to do? I can call out injustice and wrongdoing when I see it. I can work for peace and justice in my own community. I can vote. I can write this blog. I can listen to people who are not like me. I can consume less. I can love. I imagine a golden river of loving energy flowing out from me to embrace everyone I meet. What are you called to do?

When Does the Spiritual Become Political?

What Do We Do Now?

As women on a spiritual path, what are we to do with these feelings as we watch our human rights being taken away?

Goddess Inspired

May 13, 2022
2 Comments on What Do We Do Now?

Tagged Activism, Feelings, love, spirituality, Women's Rights

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What Do We Do Now?

I must admit that the past couple of weeks have been a struggle for me, and I daresay millions of American women. I have alternately been deeply frightened, livid with anger, sad and depressed. I have been left with a feeling of deep helplessness and hopelessness in the face of this war on women.

Although the Supreme Court’s decision is not yet final, it will take a miracle of major proportions for Roe v. Wade to stand. It feels like a gut punch, and I don’t know what to do with all the feelings that are coming up for me. We are going back to the dark ages when women had no agency over their own lives, and it is a terrifying step backwards. As women on a spiritual path, what are we to do with these feelings as we watch our human rights being taken away?

The truth is, I don’t know. The great spiritual teachers say to let our feelings flow through us, to sit with them, and allow them their full range, even when it isn’t comfortable. We are to be love and radiate love, even to those who are our enemies.

Right now, that is an extremely difficult thing to do. I don’t feel like radiating love. I am angry. Because of a mostly old white men, women will die. Intelligent women, strong women. Women who have much to contribute to society. Women and children, men and families will be doomed to lives of poverty and deprivation because they can’t afford another child or because a single sixteen-year-old mom will not have the resources to further her education. With no exceptions for rape or incest, children will be forced to bear children and women will have to deal with the emotional trauma of assault for the rest of their lives. And that is just the beginning. It is a disaster of major proportions for all women and the men who love them.

I used to think that the spiritual and political could be separate, but I no longer believe that it is possible. I cannot be silent in the face of what is happening politically. If I don’t speak out, I am complicit in the deaths of women. Because making abortion illegal will not end abortion, it will only end safe abortions.

Which leads me back to the question of what do we, who are on a spiritual path, do with these difficult feelings? There are several things that I am doing that might be helpful to you.

I am feeling my feelings. I am allowing them to flow through me. I am not ignoring them, stuffing them, or denying them. I am then allowing those feelings to inform my actions.
I am taking action, even if it feels hopeless. Even little things help me to feel like I am doing something. I am writing letters to my legislators. I am marching for women’s rights. I am giving money to organizations dedicated to women’s rights. I am praying, particularly for those who are in power, the very ones that I am angry with.
I am speaking up when I can. I recently had a conversation with a friend where I respectfully pointed out some ramifications that she had not thought about. It may not have changed her mind, but the conversation opened up some new things to think about.
I am trying to be love. When I truly follow the path of love, it leads me to consider the best possible life for the greatest number of people. The path of love values the life of a fully grown woman over the life of a clump of unformed cells. The path of love treats a woman as a whole person, not a womb or a vessel. The path of love supports children and families after a child is born. And, as difficult as it is, I am doing my best to send love to those I see as the perpetrators of this assault on women.
5. I realize that I can only do what I can do. This is not going to be solved quickly, maybe not even in my lifetime. I must be prepared to deal with all the difficult feelings that will continue to arise as I do my best to make a difference in whatever small way that I can.
My stance on this issue may not be your stance. However, it will take all of us – feeling, acting, praying, speaking out, and trying to make some small difference, for love to eventually win out. Blessings as you walk your path.

Barbara Garland
May, 2022

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