advancement of women

it's not solely emancipation, nor is it solely empowerment. at the heart of everything is the need to instill the fear of God (and i'm not talking about hell-fire), i'm talking about the need to understand justice, Divine Justice...consequences. it says in the Writings that when the equality of women and men is fully realized, the entire foundations of war and conflict will be eliminated.

daily i am completely humbled by most women here. whether it is my sisters or cousin (or memories of my mother and sisters abroad), my good friends, or co-workers. most times, when this realization hits me, it is quite overwhelming...and this softness sort of envelopes my body - but instead of covering me, i feel sort of stripped of what i thought i knew. i don't know what it is. i thought i had learned so much living in such a family that was dominated by women; it is also perhaps that i was just too self-conscious to really see the realities of things, or i took my surroundings for granted and never gave this issue serious thought. perhaps i thought i was just intuitively engraved with this knowledge and certain abilities, given my upbringing.

i...was...mistaken.

most people, men and women, haven't given this concept enough thought I think. we say "oh, of course, we believe in equality! it's listed right up here with all our other goals - right up there with establishing a universal auxiliary language". men must humble themselves. power must be redefined. conventional ideals of place and station must be reevaluated. i think i've written about this before in an earlier blog. but as i said, i just keep shaking my head asking myself why i've thought these things, or why haven't i realized this before.

and so in the interest of continuing the discovery of self, as we peel away the layers we have so selfishly covered ourselves with over the years, here is a poem to reflect on.

Unveiling the Mask

I made a mask of wild forms,
With hair of green and lips of orange.
And holding it high up to the light,
I smiled inside with joyous delight.
For it was mine to show the world,
Its banner was now completely unfurled.
Being light of heart and lighter of step,
I had such a joy, so passionate
To show my mask to all I knew.
My pride inside, ever it grew,
As one by one dropped to the ground,
In shock they fell from what they found.
For in truth the mask I said I built,
Had been hiding inside, under my guilt.

one more thought...i love the music of Sade.

last thought...i love windmills. the old kind.

(Farida Santosa - "Windmills - Sunset")