And Then...

And then all that has been divided us will merge
And then compassion will be wedded to power
And then softness will come to a world that is harsh and unkind
And then both men and women will be gentle
And then both women and men will be strong
And then no person will be subject to another's will
And then a will be rich and free and varied
And then the greed of some will give way to the needs of many
And then all will share equally in the Earth's abundance
And then we all will care for the sick and the weak and the old
And then we will all nourish the young
And then we will all cherish life's creatures
And then we will all live in harmony with each other and the Earth
And then everywhere will be called Eden once again.

-Judy Chicago

Self-Portrait

It doesn't interest me if there is one God
Or many gods.
I want to know if you belong -- or feel abandoned;
If you know despair
Or can see it in others.
I want to know
If you are prepared to live in the world
With its harsh need to change you;
If you can look back with firm eyes
Saying "this is where I stand."
I want to know if you know how to melt
Into that fierce heat of living
Falling toward the center of your longing.
I want to know if you are willing
To live day by day
With the consequence of love
And the bitter unwanted passion
Of your sure defeat.
I have been told
In that fierce embrace
Even the gods
Speak of God.

-Self Portrait by David Whyte

Forget

Be kind to yourself, dear – to our innocent follies.
Forget any sounds or touch you knew that did not help you dance.
You will come to see that all evolves us.

- Rumi

WOMEN

"Women represent 70 percent of the 1.3 billion people in our world who live in absolute poverty. Consequently, as Joan Holmes, president of the Hunger Project, points out, any realistic efforts to change patterns of chronic hunger and poverty require changing traditions of discrimination against women."

- Riane Eisler, The Real Wealth of Nations

“In the beginning, the feminine principle was seen as the fundamental cosmic force. All ancient peoples believed that the world was created by a female Diety.“

- Judy Chicago

Beautiful

“To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.”

~Thich Nhat Hanh

I love myself

I love myself; I just need you to care for me…
If I lack love I have nothing at all…
And what I hold right here,
in the smoldering pit of my joyful self,
is the tight bud of roses yet to bloom
in our damp, dark
garden bodies…

from I LOVE MYSELF by Poet On Watch and Victoria W. Samayoa

“She say, Celie, tell the truth, have you ever found God in church? I never did. I just found a bunch of folks hoping for him to show. Any God I ever felt in church I brought in with me. And I think all the other folks did too. They come to church to share God, not find God.”

I believe God is everything, say Shug. Everything that is or ever was or ever will be. And when you can feel that, and be happy to feel that, you’ve found it.”

– Alice Walker, The Color Purple

“Amare-11-Portrett” by Elisabeth Slettnes, Illustrator of “The Girl God”

What I Will

I will not
dance to your war
drum. I will
not lend my soul nor
my bones to your war
drum. I will
not dance to your
beating. I know that beat.
It is lifeless. I know
intimately that skin
you are hitting. It
was alive once
hunted stolen
stretched. I will
not dance to your drummed
up war. I will not pop
spin beak for you. I
will not hate for you or
even hate you. I will
not kill for you. Especially
I will not die
for you. I will not mourn
the dead with murder nor
suicide. I will not side
with you nor dance to bombs
because everyone else is
dancing. Everyone can be
wrong. Life is a right not
collateral or casual. I
will not forget where
I come from. I
will craft my own drum. Gather my beloved
near and our chanting
will be dancing. Our
humming will be drumming. I
will not be played. I
will not lend my name
nor my rhythm to your
beat. I will dance
and resist and dance and
persist and dance. This heartbeat is louder than
death. Your war drum ain’t
louder than this breath.

- by Suheir Hammad

"I will not have my life narrowed down. I will not bow down to somebody else's whim or to someone else's ignorance."

- bell hooks

“behind leafes” by Elisabeth Slettnes, Illustrator of “The Girl God”

Mother Earth

- Artist Unknown

Uncomfortable

"The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers."

- M. Scott Peck

"The best predictor of future behavior is relevant past behavior."

- Dr Phil

“our submissiveness
has been the cement holding together
our mother’s mismanagement & it's
his mess that bloats all our hearts,
popping red balloons too heavy to
float, we have held in our tender
hands the same hopes & worries
of our mothers & their mothers &...
our minds have caged the same bird
too many times over, so i will not go
gentle into this night & when i open
my eyes your ghost will not guide
me to my death because i run with
a pack of wolves”

-Amanda Oaks

“Transvisjon” by Elisabeth Slettnes, Illustrator of “The Girl God”

Do not let your fire go out!

"Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark. In the hopeless swamps of the not quite, the not yet, and the not at all, do not let the hero in your soul perish and leave only frustration for the life you deserved, but never have been able to reach. The world you desire can be won, it exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours." - Ayn Rand

"Who would attempt to fly with the tiny wings of a sparrow when the mighty power of an eagle has been given her?"

- Marianne Williamson

Drama

If you have had enough of a drama then for heaven sake DROP it. No need of analysis, therapy, healing. Give it no more energy, surrender and let it just fade away. Just give it up and go to your heart. Any understanding you need will come to you in good time once you give it up. And give up looking for things to release, opportunities to love yourself will occur constantly and naturally

And if you are finding it hard to go to your centre then just find an opportunity to feel peace and love. In nature, or with an animal, or in a garden, or with children playing, or with someone you know or you are lead to who holds their own loving presence, or to a book that inspires you.

When you know when enough is enough you will always have e nuf.

By: Nicky Hamid

My Short Skirt

My short skirt
is not an invitation
a provocation
an indication
that I want it
or give it
or that I hook

My short skirt
is not begging for it
it does not want you
to rip it off me
or pull it down.

My short skirt
is not a legal reason
for raping me
although it has been before
it will not hold up
in the new court.

My short skirt, believe it or not
has nothing to do with you.

My short skirt
is about discovering
the power of my lower calves
about cool autumn air traveling
up my inner thighs
about allowing everything I see
or pass or feel to live inside.

My short skirt is not proof
that I am stupid
or undecided
or a malleable little girl.

My short skirt is my defiance
I will not let you make me afraid
My short skirt is not showing off
this is who I am
before you made me cover it
or tone it down.
Get used to it.

My short skirt is happiness
I can feel myself on the ground.
I am here. I am hot.

My short skirt is a liberation
flag in the women’s army
I declare these streets, any streets
my vagina’s country.

My short skirt
is turquoise water
with swimming colored fish
a summery festival
in the starry dark
a bird calling
a train arriving in a foreign town
my short skirt is a wild spin
a full breath
a tango dip
my short skirt is
initiation
appreciation
excitation.

But mainly my short skirt
and everything under it
is Mine.
Mine.
Mine.

—Eve Ensler, 2001

AA

"In 1935, when Bill Wilson, cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous, stopped drinking alcohol, he went home to a loyal, dedicated wife, a warm home with enough food, and a circle of people who cared about him. He had a law degree, was an experienced stockbroker, and had all the privileges accorded to an upper-middle-class White man from an old New England family. Most of the men who were instrumental in putting together the AA program and whose experiences were to be recorded in Alc0holics Anonymous, the AA "Big Book," came from similar backgrounds. (3)

Bill Wilson's imagination, determination, and creativity in putting together the twelve-step program that worked for him and many others does not change the fact that he was influenced by white, male, middle-class Christian values of the 1930's. Bill Wilson could not have known about issues that would become central in the ensuing decades - sexism, racism, homophobia, drug abuse, homelessness, and child sexual abuse - that are interwoven in addiction. He could not have known that, fifty years later, (76+ now!) the steps he wrote would be used internationally for men and women struggling with all types of addictions - from narcotics to food, sex, dependent relationships, medication, smoking, gambling, and spending, as well as incest and emotional problems.

It is important to remember that Bill Wilson based the steps and the Big Book on experiences of a hundred white men and one woman. He also based his definition of alcoholic personality - egocentric, arrogant, resentful, controlling or violent - on these people. (5)

-Charlotte Davis Kasl, PhD - Many Roads, One Journey: Moving Beyond the 12 Steps

"Imagination is more important than knowledge."

- Albert Einstein