Watching and witnessing the rigamarole of our government and institutions these days, it became clear to me last night: This country—no, this world—needs mothers to step up and lead us forward.
We see men of privilege running things, and a lot of them have done a frightful job. There are still plenty of good men, who operate with honor and integrity, but we have a social media structure where we’re constantly watched so our information can be bought and sold. We have a government we can’t trust, who doesn’t even take precautionary measures when it comes to health, and who subtly encourages hatred and violence is acceptable for the sake of votes. We have a supreme court of all men, and perhaps soon, a woman who has promised to uphold those men’s values. We have a police force made of mostly men who half of our society is very afraid of. And we have church institutions falling apart, because the root of our hierarchy is an absent father-god.
It’s as though we’ve been witnessing the chaos of a middle school playground too long, watching bullies cut deals, trade goods, orchestrate cliques and hierarchies, and now it’s time for the mothers to show up and pick everyone up from school, feed them mush for dinner, and lock them in their rooms for a while with college-ruled notebooks so they can write about—and finally believe in—the importance of kindness.
So if mothers are to step up, what will these mothers look like? How will they give us hope?
They do not necessarily have to be political or religious, or leaders of businesses and clothed in a “professional” way. The new leadership of women, who bond together and lead us forward, will have a range of talents, and will first and foremost be human beings. They will not have to fit into this category or that one, painted with a wide brush depending on what they do for a living, what religion they are, what political party they vote for, or what their sexual nature is. They will be soft and nurturing when the time calls for it; tough, savvy, and intelligent when the tides change. Experienced, grounded, while thinking out of the box and not holding any shame about who they are and what they want, all the while exploring and celebrating their wild nature, which has been suppressed for centuries.
And what these women want is what any of us want: peace, calm, a respite and shelter from the storm, and sunny days where we all dance—or at least sit and relax and eat cake, or something—in plentiful fields.
However, we can’t only look for these feminine human beings/leaders in institutions, because so many of the institutions have cut out people on the fringes. We might have to spot these humans in unique ways, on the sidelines, slowly joining together and gaining traction through collaboration and their commitment to love and a new order.
This month at Madame Rose Center for the Healing Arts, we are focusing on women who are like this, but who have had to, throughout history, adopt masculine tendencies and write under male pseudonyms in order to be read, heard, and gain success as thought leaders and intelligent equals to their male counterparts.
The world wants women, and mothers, to step up. But when they do it in a way that honors their individuality and looks different than the “way it’s always been done,” we may struggle to recognize it as palpable and possible. Hopefully, the 21st century and the dissolution of so many of our societal structures will open our minds enough to consider new ways.
By the way, I’m Jason, the featured writer this month at Madame Rose Arts. If you’d like to know a little bit more about me, here’s a super-quick video I did on the fly.
As always, thanks for reading.