Fighting for Myself and the Planet
A recent Women and Climate Workshop moved me to discharge about what it means to fight for myself as a female.
We can’t fight the mistreatment of the planet if we can’t fight for ourselves. Our biggest battle as females is to fight against the internalized oppression that leads us to sacrifice ourselves for the well-being of others. We can’t win the battle for the planet by self-sacrifice. It is essential to go back to our girl child, to her earliest battles, and give voice to all that she needs to express and discharge.
I was raised Catholic, and self-sacrifice was the essence of being a good Catholic female. Martyrdom and self-erasure were the pathways to approval and ultimately heaven. Although this was a damaging perspective, Catholicism also positively supported expressing the inherently human qualities of caring and generosity. I am having important Co-Counseling sessions on the distinction between self-sacrifice, which is patterned, and generosity, which is human.
Also emphasized at the workshop was the need to fight for our minds in relation to learning math, science, economics, and politics—particularly as related to climate change and its disproportionate impacts on women around the world.
I was inspired by reminders of the hidden brilliance of many women. I am pushing myself to learn more about the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the Special Drawing Rights managed by the IMF as a mechanism for moving resources, as climate reparations, to formerly colonized nations.
Fighting for myself and connecting with the women of the world leave me standing on firmer ground in the fight for all people and our planet.
Falmouth, Maine, USA
Reprinted from the RC e-mail discussion list for leaders of women
(Present Time 207, April 2022)