The White Man

I wondered as I opened my eyes in the predawn darkness why they want to dismantle the State? The Government? Democracy? Would those who have so much to share, have so much to lose by letting these systems and ideals stand? My mind wandered back to my days at Episcopal Divinity School. There, after fifty years of living, I encountered what I had not yet seen because I had eyes wide shut. I learned that I was not the only one. So the question is “Why?”

Why do White Men fear a system created by White Men? Why do they feel oppressed by the system that intends to give everyone the right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”?Why, when they have their rights all locked up, is it imperative for them to shut out everyone else? Why are they afraid of me, the White Woman, born into the same system of rights they themselves labeled “unalienable rights?” Look no further to find the answer.

If I, a White Woman, sister, wife, and mother of their children am a threat, everyone else has to be an enemy. Ask yourself, would the White Man want to maintain a system that supports White Women along with all their other perceived enemies? Why not?

The answer requires opening our eyes to the fact that the White Man (with the exception of those who are enlightened) cannot let the systems of Democracy stand because to their eyes this is not the world they envisioned when a White Man declared the belief that these truths are self-evident. Self-evident! There's the rub. The White Man knows these truths and therefore fears them more than he fears the White Woman, all women, and the "others."

As the scales of Truth tip away from the White Man, the threat to Democracy increases. Yet, Women stand with those White Men who signed their names to the United States Declaration of Independence.

Collective Conscience

In times like these, when the whole world is focused on one particular event, we hear the voices of wise ones, if we listen. They speak to us of our collective conscience. Their words are reminders to us all to listen to the voice of our conscience before adding our voice to the universal call on either side of the event that captivates our attention. These messengers, prophets of the world, have said it so well, that I will share their words rather than contribute my own to the impossible situation unfolding before everyone’s eyes:

“I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.” Dr. Martin Luther King

”It takes no special talent to see what’s ugly, numbing, depressing, and death-dealing in our world. But staying aware of what’s good, true, and beautiful requires us to open our eyes, minds, and hearts, and keep them open." Parker Palmer

“The future depends on what we do in the present.” Mahatma Gandhi

"“...morally speaking, there is no limit to the concern one must feel for the suffering of human beings, that indifference to evil is worse than evil itself, that in a free society, some are guilty, but all are responsible.” Rabbi Abraham Heschel

"“Let there be justice for all.Let there be peace for all.Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all. President Nelson Mandela

"We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other's children." President Jimmy Carter

There's no difference between one's killing and making decisions that will send others to kill.

It's exactly the same thing, or even worse.” Prime Minister Golda Meir (the one and only woman prime minister of Israel)

We condemn the killing of any civilian whether Palestinian or Israeli." Queen Rania (of Jordan)

"Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me." Sung in 1973 by my graduating class just like these students in 2023.

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"All Shall Be Well" . . .

Hard words to swallow nowadays. They were first spoken 650 years ago during the Black Death plague when day and night a little bell could be heard in the village streets indicating a priest was on the way to deliver last rites to another dying family member, or neighbor, or friend. Times were bleak. Food was scarce. There was nowhere to run. Yet, one small voice saying “All shall be well” was heard while so-called heretics were being burned and dumped in the river not far from where that woman was saying: “All shall be well.” The One Hundred Years’ War between England and France was part of daily life in the small seaport village. Two self-proclaimed popes were vying for power over the church and all the people from the baker to the candlestick maker. “All Shall Be Well. . .” Really?

The still small voice got through, somehow, in spite of it all and we recall these words six centuries later. Who was the woman? Was she a Pollyanna? Was she crazy? Was she oblivious to the suffering? No. Julian of Norwich had had a near death experience at the age of thirty. She was given those last rites by a priest while her mother stood by her deathbed waiting to close her eyes. That's as close as it gets! She lived from the age of fifty in a small room, an anchorage, attached to the church of St. Julian in Norwich, England. Her name Julian is taken from the church itself. She was one of about 300 Anchoresses in the Middle Ages. She is the one and only that we remember today. Why is that? Her message was antithetical to all that was happening around her. She spoke “truth to power” before it was fashionable. She cut through the all powerful male hierarchy with those words: “All Shall Be Well” while preachers of the day instilled fear and imposed punishment. She was the quintessential “insider-outsider.” Julian, aka Mother Julian, Lady Julian, is not one of the saints (I guess we know why) but she is commemorated yearly at the anchorage where she lived and died and spoke those hopeful words that have outlived her. She was the first woman to have a book published (posthumously) in the English language.

Twice now, I have gone to the anchorage in Norwich, UK. I plan to return for her feast day in May 2024. If you are interested in making a pilgrimage with me to Julian’s anchorage, please read on. If not, you may be interested to know more about Julian of Norwich and her message of hope and I recommend her to you with a much needed message for our time. https://julianofnorwich.org/

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Pilgrimage to the Anchorage of Fourteenth Century Mystic Julian of Norwich, UK

a UNESCO City of Literature.

May 7 - 14, 2024

The pilgrimage will coincide with Julian’s feast days. The keynote speaker during the week-long celebration will be former Archbishop of Canterbury, Reverend Rowan Williams and will take place at the nearby, magnificent Norwich Cathedral.

The week will offer Julian readings and discussions with Norwich Friends of Julian and your group leader, author and pilgrim, Marie Laure. We will make a trip to the British Library to see the manuscripts that were the basis of the first book to be published in English by any woman:Revelations of Divine Love.

We will stay next door to the anchorage at the newly refurbished, All Hallows Guest House.https://www.allhallowsnorwich.co.uk/

All the details of the pilgrimage will be discussed during three preliminary meetings:

“ART OF PILGRIMAGE” series on Thursdays, November 9, 16, 30 from 2-4 pm in person or Friday mornings 10 - 12 via Zoom. All pilgrims will begin meeting monthly in January, 2024 in preparation for the May pilgrimage. Get in touch to sign up for the series: marielaureauthor@gmail.com. There is a $30 fee for the series.