Sep 13 2009
400 women and 4000 ideas for changing the world
Sunday afternoon 13 September 2009
It’s been a while since I wrote, but before I tell you where I’ve been (working/writing/traveling sums it up) I want to tell you where I am right now– sitting at a table in the Omega Café overlooking the late summer landscape of Omega Institute, Rhinebeck NY. It’s turnover time–in the seasons, in the class schedule, in who is wandering around here trying to find the Dining Hall and lost among the flower garden instead. I have fourteen Storycatchers showing up this afternoon and we will head into the kind of sweet, deep listening circle of writers and storytellers that I know so well. And before that happens, I want to capture of the essence of what has been going on here for the past two days since my arrival Friday afternoon.
The weekend included a few minutes to say hello to Gloria Steinem who commented on how much she appreciates Storycatcher, and thanked me for my work on story and circle, a good laugh on the foibles of writing with Isabel Allende, and a lunch conversation with Helen Thomas, who is at a stage of life where everything out of her mouth is sage advice. And those are just the iconic figures I walked in knowing. I was soon introduced to incredible younger leaders and women of color who inspired and educated me, from the Afghani woman rights advocate, Sakena Yakoobi, to California powerhouse activist, Lateefah Simon, and New Yorker cartoonist, Liza Donnelly. And amidst all these women, the brightest lights in the room were often the women under 35 who comprised a third of the 400 of us gathered here for the eighth session of the Women & Power Conference, this year’s theme: Cross Generational Dialogue. And for entertainment, there was Sarah Jones, Natalie Merchant, and Katya Grineva. (If you don’t know who these women are—and I didn’t, Whidbey Island isolationist that I am—get out on You Tube and enjoy the discovery!)
In this crowd, I am definitely on the bridge of history, on the way to elderhood, and not yet there. I’m not Helen Thomas (who turned 89 sitting with Obama on the couch, sharing a birthday cake and iced tea) and not quite Gloria Steinem (who at 75 still likes to use the “F” word—both “f*cking” and “Feminist”). If we had lined up by age, at least 85% of the room would be behind me, about 10% alongside me, and 5% older than me. There is a huge amount of activism and need for activism going on in the world that I have not been tracking, and a whole communications network that I didn’t know existed. Look up, for example: www.pulsewire.net, www.feministing.com to see what the young ones are up to—feministing has live blogging entries from the conference itself and video clips shot mid action. For what’s happening in a mid-life scene, check out www.wowowow.com and for politics: www.thedailybeast.com. My horizons are expanded, and I keep jumping off this letter and on-line so I can see these references myself as I pass along my notes.
And it raises a lot of questions about legacy for me, especially as Ann Linnea and I get ready to launch our new book, The Circle Way (March 2010) and her new book, Keepers of the Trees (July 2010). How do we offer the quiet presence that is our soul contribution into this wild ride of the world expanding into a global media phenomenon? No answers: just questions raised.
As one brilliant moment after another unfolded, I was wishing I had been more insistent that my niece Erin accompany me here and join this cadre of young women. Erin is leaving for Brussels, Belgium, in a few days to study for a master’s degree in International Relations in a cohort group where she will definitely be an American minority among the students. Maybe we will be here together next year when she’s on her way home. Next year’s conference dates: October 8-10, 2010. I’m going to start talking with the planners about focusing on story as a map to the future.
So, go out and click around to get a sense of the conference and its resources on-line, and I’ll close with a few quotes.
Gloria Steinem: “When addressing domestic violence, we know the maximum moment of danger is when a woman is escaping the control of the abuser. Just because she has a restraining order in her pocket doesn’t keep her safe—all who want to protect her must be diligent. I think this is where the country is: we’re making it clear that we want healthcare, want a redefined financial system, want peace instead of war, and that we are determined to escape the control of the political abusers… And in response there is an upsurge in hate media, male-led violence and intimidation at town hall meetings and other social settings. We must not be intimidated back into the abuse!”
Edit Schlaffer, founder of Women Without Borders “We thought we’d focus on countries in crisis, and five years later we realize we (Europeans) are in countries in crisis. We are in a culture war raging against the most universally held human values and rights.”
Helen Thomas: “What we should really be against today is the climate of hate. We are on the verge of allowing it to destroy our nation, what we believe we are as a people. In all my years in Washington, I have never seen it like this before—partisanship, yes, but this is sourced from a place beyond debate or civility. And Congress—where are the women in Congress? They became men. And the men all became Republicans, owned by the interests who paid their ways into election. And the first thing we need to change is our passivity toward all this: are we really willing to say this is acceptable to us and let’s just go on about our private busy lives?
Me: Okay we have work to do. Here come the storycatchers for a week of writing. We are spending one day on personal healing, and then heading into story as social activism and social transformer. It’s urgent! I am riding and writing the wave of change. Let me know how you are–as the seasons change.
Copyright ©2009 Christina Baldwin. All rights reserved.
http://www.southernstudies.org/2009/09/domestic-violence-a-pre-existing-condition-for-insurers-in-some-states.html
9 states and the District of Columbia allow insurance companies to not treat DV because it is a “pre-existing” condition.
Thought this was a good place to pass this along.
Thank you so much, Christina, for your blog. I am reminded that it was just about one year ago that I was with you and Ann at a Peer Spirit Circle Practicum here in Ontario. At that time, I very much felt - as I sense you do now - privileged to be in the company of such wonderful and powerful women. As I read your words, I sense the energy, and excitement. And I am struck by several ironies: Ironic, isn’t it, that this energy comes to us in autumn? Ironic, isn’t it, that in the ’60s, when, as I look back, I was a very privileged young woman, but was too independent to identify myself as a “feminist” - or anything else! But now, I so proudly DO want to identify myself as “feminist”. I remember my time at the Peer Spirit Circle Practicum in Ancaster a year ago, and the women who were with me there. I was energized. And, as a result, I am on the cusp of my goals. And I imagine you there in New York, in the company of women for whom I have the utmost respect - yourself and Ann not the least! And I feel a vibration of feminine energy. This feminine energy gives me great hope and optimism! And I thank you for sharing it with us and keeping the current flowing!
Dear Christina,
Thanks for this inspiring message and the awful, awesome summary of ‘where we are.’ Work to do, indeed, and at the same time a wild celebration of the stunning cast of women on side, eh?
Last week I was guest at a women’s group which had chosen my book, Becoming: Journeying Toward Authenticity, for their meeting. It was a very rich and beautiful evening, wonderful inquiry and sharing. So much so, that they have decided to continue to work with Becoming through the fall.T hat is really a perfect place for the book to be useful, provocative and inspiring. If you know of any opportunities for such a gathering, please keep me/Becoming in mind.
Blessings to you and Ann, and best luck with your new books, countering the culture of hate with connection and love.
Hugs, Jill
Aloha,
I’m one of those ‘men’ you invited to read your blog, and I’m glad I did. I worry for the President because I feel so much of the anger heard in town hall meetings, heard on the right-wing talk shows, is based not on reason, but on fear of where this man, this President, is leading the country. I don’t feel it is rational fear, or rational thought, but fear based on ‘tapes’ injected into peoples’ heads over the years (and which are a product of their local environment) that are now playing over and over, unexamined, unquestioned, and blindly followed.
I will go to the websites you recommended and share them with others.
Mahalo and aloha,
…sandy
Christina,
What a joy to check your blog and to find an inspiring new entry. It makes me smile to imagine you in conversation with Gloria, Helen, and other women I have long admired. Earlier today, I recommended your work to a fabulous, talented woman I met for coffee here in Chapel Hill. She has at least one book in her, eager to be written. She lives close to you, in Seattle. As I told her about PeerSpirit and your books, I thought of being in circle with you, Ann, and other incredible, warm, wise women writers/healers/leaders on Whidbey, in Abingdon, VA, and in Hawaii. One day, you’ll see me again, as I’m not finished learning with and from you and Ann.
with love and appreciation,
- Julie
Your story, Christina gives me added hope for advancing the quality of thought in the world! In times of great change there is always great resistence - so of course we would see that happening now. Let’s see that as a sign of growth and a sign of hope. Let ’s also not take up fear of those choosing the fear tactics. Rather, let’s keep our focus looking forward - let’s keep hold of our purpose - let’s keep the positive stories coming - like all of the young women in participation WOW - the hope in that alone is formittable. And that they can learn from you another WOW - they are in good hands for learning! Thanks for your participation, Christina! Thanks for telling the story of hope. You have inspired me once again.
There’s so much work to do, isn’t there, Christina? And I’m heartened by reading of this convergence of many kinds of wise women. I’ve been deepening into Joanna Macy’s “Work That Reconnects” this year — she was even here in Toronto this summer. One thing that stands out for me in her work is that our despair, pain, distress, grief, and assorted “unsavoury” emotions about what’s happening politically, financially, ethically, etc. are rooted in our love for our world, love for our species, and love for life. Matthew Fox refers to biophilia: love of life. Those who are storycatchers, circle callers, activists (both subtle and frontline) are motivated by love of life. We’re biophiliacs and it’s good for me to remember that. Even my tarot work is including the “more than us” these days. Our personal stuff is often a piece of the larger story of the world’s stuff. Praise Life that there are gatherings such as that you were at in the lovely surrounding of Omega in Rhinebeck. Blessings to you, Ann, and the many, many others who keep the fire in the centre alive!