Women's Day

Wouldn't it be nice if every day was a Woman's Day? I just learned from a friend that today is International Women's Day. I find it telling that in the 21st century we still need a day set aside to remind us to celebrate women - as though we remain an afterthought for the other 364 days of the year. 

So much of what happens in our lives remains hidden, deemed unimportant, unworthy, or inappropriate by the powers that be. The stories we have to tell are not the stories society wants to hear. They are not pretty, or simple. They do not have happy, tidy endings. They do not reinforce the myths that our society perpetuates. And yet, as a community of women, as sisters, mothers, daughters, friends, we crave these stories. What woman doesn't want to tell her story, to have others listen to her, validate her experience, tell her that her words matter, that her life matters? And it is only among women that we can find this sisterhood, this solidarity, these similarities that we seek. Young or old, rich or poor, educated or not, Christian, pagan, Muslim, Jew, there are threads that bind us together, and when we recognize and embrace these threads, when we draw them closer, we find solace. 

If I could find one other woman in my circle who has walked this path before me, who knows what I fear, one other woman who has dared what I will dare, who mourns what I will mourn, I would feel less alone. 

What would happen if one woman told the truth about her life?

The world would split open.

I am here. I am telling the truth about my life. I will not keep silent because it's the expected thing to do. 

And if the world splits open? So much the better.