Eve Ensler's piece "Rising" and me

Twice I've planned to perform Eve Ensler's piece, "Rising", and twice I've decided not to.  Here's the piece:

RISING
Written in Kerala for the women of India who lead the way


This could have been anywhere
And was
Mexico City
Manila
Mumbai
Manhattan
Nighttime men
waiting
like wolves
Drooling
for prey
behind
that single dimly painted door
paying nothing
a couple of  dollars
or euros
rupees
or pesos
to have her
Enter her
Eat her
Devour her
and throw away her bones.

This could have been anywhere
And was
A Buddhist nun on a bus
Trying to stay dry for the night
A woman leader speaking out against
The repressive government
A young woman traveling with her boyfriend
One lost her voice
The other her following
The last one her life

This could have been anywhere and was
Pink wooden crosses
A stack of stones
Red wilting carnations
Empty chairs in a square
Ribbons flying in a sultry wind
I ask Anna Nighat Kamla Monique Tanisha Emily
Why Why
Porque Eran Mujeres
Parce qu'elles étaient des femmes
Because they were women
Because they were women

This could have been anywhere
And was
Where she got fired for being too beautiful
Fined for drinking after she was raped
A serious offer to marry her rapist
Got told it was legitimate but not forcible

This could have been anywhere
They do such a thing
When the girls go for fire wood
Step into the lonely man’s car
Drink a little too much at the college party
Wake up with her uncle’s fingers inside
Run from the screaming machete and guns
Be taken at sunrise
Get a bullet in the brain for learning the alphabet
Be stoned for falling in love
Be burned for seeing the future

I am done
Cataloguing these horrors
Data Porn
2 million women raped and tortured
1 out of 3 women
a woman raped every minute
every second
one out of 2
one out of 5
the same
one
one
one I am done counting
And recounting

Its time to tell a new story
It needs to be our story
It needs to be outrageous and unexpected
It needs to lose control in the middle
It needs to be sexy and in our hips
And our feet
It needs to be angry and a little scary the way storms can be scary
It needs to not ask permission
Or get permits or set up offices
Or make salaries
It wont be recorded or bought or sold
Or counted
It needs to just happen
It is not a question of inventing
But remembering
Buried under the leaves of trauma and sorrow
Beneath the river of
semen and squalor
vaginas and labias
shredded and extracted
stolen
body mines
mined bodies
It is not about asking now
Or waiting
It is about rising

Raise your arm my sister my brother
Raise your one
Billion
Your one heart
Your one of us

I used to be afraid of love
It hurt too much
What never happened
What got ripped away
The rape
The wound
And love
I thought
was salt
But I was wrong
I was wrong
Step into the fire
Raise your arm
Raise your one
Billion
One
One
One
Rising.
Rising.
Rising.
Eve Ensler for One Billion Rising

The first time I was planning to perform the piece was at One Billion Rising here in Richmond at the end of our rally at the Coliseum.  Eve had put the piece out there as something to use at rallies worldwide.  It felt like the perfect fit.  I asked my friend and fabulous actress Jackie Jones if she would help me work it up so I could do it well.  She generously worked with me for a few hours to bring drama and pathos and energy and power to it.  I felt excited at the thought of performing it because it's such a powerful piece.  I was planning to have drummers pick up the beat at the very end where it says One/One/One/Rising/Rising/Rising.  I asked a friend of mine to lead the drumming.  She came over to my house one day very close to the rally to practice so we could get the timing down.

I began reading the piece.  She began drumming.  It threw me off.  We started again.  I couldn't feel in sync with what she was doing so I asked her to listen to the piece all the way through first then we'd try again.  My friend sat on my fireplace hearth and listened intently as I went through the outrages and horrors Eve describes in Rising.  When I finished, my friend told me she felt completely triggered from hearing such graphic images.  We tried again.  It wasn't working.  She said she felt like hearing that piece at the end of a rally to empower women, especially the way we'd crafted the rally, would be like going to the doctor for healing, then, at the end of the doctor's visit, ripping off the bandage and leaving the patient bloody.  I could see her point because just reading it generally left me stoked and energized, but not always in a positive way.  It was hard to perform.  I decided to NOT read the piece at One Billion Rising but instead to read what I had written.  Here's what I used:

We have heard here today some of the horrors being perpetrated here in Richmond as well as around the world.  There is so much pain and suffering, it is terribly difficult to hold it all.

But we have also heard tales of joy and empowerment and triumph – Claire’s daughter’s tragic murder led Claire to become a tireless advocate for others.  Carol’s mother’s death has not gone unnoticed, and thousands of children are better cared for thanks to Carol and her mother.  Rebiya Kadeer’s life has been full of pain and suffering, even as now two of her children are imprisoned just as she was.  Despite all that, we have witnessed her determination to take the higher path and to devote her life to the autonomy and safety of her beloved Uyghur people, especially the women. 

Each of the women you heard speak today is a beautiful example of power used for good.  Each has accessed her life’s purpose, the reason she is on this planet, the reason her life matters, and each is boldly and courageously pursuing her vision for a better world.

Take the time, I beg you, to listen deep within to your own still small voice that knows why you’re here, what you are meant to be doing, and pledge today to do one thing to grow that voice, one thing each day, to give voice to the beauty you have to offer the world.   Just imagine a world where each of us is living the life we were born to lead – giving the world the gifts that only we have to bestow.

THAT is the vision of SEVEN billion rising and of Heaven on Earth.  Thank you.

I think my friend was so right about Rising in that case and that it was kinder and gentler to not use it.

The next opportunity I had was to perform it, memorized, in the Richmond production of The Vagina Monologues in April.  Julie Willard cast me to do that monologue.  I felt honored to be chosen to do that one because it's the final piece in the show and is so dramatic.  I also felt a little bit scared - would I actually be able to memorize it?  how would it be to perform on stage again after 30+ years?

I started going to rehearsals and practicing it, working on memorizing it.  At rehearsals, I noticed that after I read it, I would feel hot and flushed.  My adrenalin would be pumping.  It would take me a while to calm down.  OK.  Something to notice.

I practiced it one on one with Julie.  She gave me excellent direction to say it with less umph, less drama - let the words do the talking.  Maybe I didn't need to "perform" it - maybe I could just put it out there and let the words do the work.  Be more understated.  It was good coaching.  It felt very different.  I was performing it the way a preacher performs a rousing sermon.  Speaking it as if I were talking to a friend, telling her these outrages, telling her I was done, that something different had to happen, brought it home in a different way.  I think it was more powerful.  I don't think it was any less disturbing.

I started to memorize it.  Chris helped me while we were on vacation at the beach.  I started dreaming about the images in the poem.  Nightmares.  Uncomfortable images.  Uncomfortable stories going through my head.  It wasn't fun. The words would flow through my head during the day since I was trying to commit it to memory.  I started to wonder if this was the right thing for me to be doing?

Right around this time, I got the email from the Uyghurs asking me to speak in Paris at their conference.  It was to be 2 days before The Vagina Monologues.  I could come back in time for the play then leave again shortly thereafter for China to see Dylan, a trip I'd already planned.  Then I realized that was too much.  I felt like it would be physically too grueling.  I realized that if I would go to Paris, I could fly more easily to Beijing from there.  It would mean missing The Vagina Monologues, but everything else fit really well.  I spoke with my friend Denise Bennett, a consummate storyteller, actress, and performer, to see if she might be interested in doing the monologue.  She jumped right on it!  Then I contacted Julie to let her know the situation.  She could not have been more gracious. 

I felt tremendous relief to not be doing that particular piece.  It felt perfect for Denise to be doing it.  And it felt wonderful to think of going to Paris to speak before a group of women about women's empowerment, my topic for the Uyghurs.

It occurred to me that, again, I wasn't performing "Rising". 

Then I remembered when I spoke with Eve at the Omega Institute in September.  I said to her, "When I grow up, I want to be just like you."  Without skipping a beat, she looked me in the eye fiercely and clearly and with defiant love and said, "No, be YOU!"

It occurs to me that, with "Rising", I was trying to speak her words, but they just weren't fitting.  What worked, instead, was for me to write my own words and to speak those.  She was so right - her job is to be her.  My job is to be me.  Thanks, Eve, for wise, wonderful words, very well placed.  There's only one Eve, and there's only one me, and the world needs both of us.  And there is also only one YOU!  What unique gifts are you offering the world these days?  I'd love to hear!

April 20, 2013, my speech at the Uyghur Conference: Self Expression is an Act of Courage

Self Expression is an Act of Courage


― Mahatma Gandhi said “I want freedom for the full expression of my personality,". My speech today is about just that.

There once was a woman named Anna who lived in constant fear – fear of doing something wrong, fear of being seen, fear of being yelled at, fear of getting in trouble. Day after day she became more and more afraid and shrank down inside herself, becoming smaller and smaller until soon she was no more than a speck of dust on the furniture. Her baby daughter cried ceaselessly and she despaired of ever making her happy. Each day Anna tried harder to please her husband, to comfort her children, to satisfy their needs, to clean the house more thoroughly. She saw there was not enough money to meet their obligations for they were poor. Indeed her husband worked hard but was unable to earn enough money to meet their basic needs for food, clothing and shelter. Her children were hungry. She was hungry. What food they had, she gave to her husband, but he complained it wasn't to his liking.

Though she had very young children, she knew she must find work just so they could eat. She took her children out into the street with her to find work and eventually found piecework she could do, ironing shirts for one of the wealthy families in the city. She carried the heavy bundle of shirts along with her weary children back home, arriving exhausted but elated to have found a way to help her family survive. She spent the rest of the dat ironing, feeling a surge of hope for the first time in ages that she would be able to buy food for her children the next day.
When her husband arrived home that evening, she told him the good news. He responded by striking her, throwing the shirts on the floor and stomping on them. he told her harshly that no wife of his would work – he would provide for them – was she trying to make him look like a fool in front of his friends? She was to return the shirts, just as they were, the next day and never try such a foolish stunt again.

She wept herself to sleep, her stomach growling with hunger, her children whimpering in bed beside her. The days became a monotony of fear, hunger, and a deep, deep sadness.
One day while sweeping her floor, Anna heard strains of music from the neighboring apartment. She stopped and leaned on her broom, listening, a faraway look in her eyes, remembering a distant time, a place, a joyful feeling… She caught herself and resumed sweeping, work needing to be done. But the music persisted and Anna found that she was sweeping in time to the beat. Her baby daughter looked up at her and wondered. Her older daughter came into the room, surprised to see a glimmer of a smile on her mother’s face. Anna laid down her broom and took her baby into her arms. She began swaying in time to the music, some primeval force filling her with joy. Her older daughter held her mother's leg at her thigh and swayed to the music with her mother. The three were united by the rhythm of the ages, coursing through their veins, their ancient memories. The woman moved her hips. Her body became a conduit for the holy within her. Her mouth opened. Sounds escaped, the likes of which she had never heard – haunting, terrifying, achingly beautiful, sublime tones, speaking of longing and sorrow, great suffering but greater joy. She sang the songs of her mother, pouring from her lips, bathing her daughters. Standing in the middle of her humble abode, colors and light streamed forth from her as she recalled the wellspring of the eternal pouring forth from her loins, her mouth, her breasts. Her baby suckled from her, gasping and giggling with glee as she filled herself richly from her mother’s milk. The older daughter watched in amazement as the colors flooded the room, bursting forth now from every crack and crevice, full of the joy of self-expression. She opened her mouth and discovered the same flow of beauty pouring forth from her own lips.

The three, bound by blood, swayed and sang and drank in the elixir of life all around them and knew it was very, very good. Never again could the world be dark or lonely or full of sadness or despair because they had discovered the eternal wellspring inside themselves that was deeper and richer and more true than any temporal circumstances could ever be. Blessed be.
**********
Drink it in, my sisters, my brothers. Drink in the elixir from the wellspring of creativity, the source of our being.

In the midst of oppression, despair and loneliness, even then, even in the darkest night, there is a place of joy within us that yearns to spring forth. We are wiser than we know. We are more beautiful than we can begin to imagine. We are blessed beyond measure.

Take a moment now to access your Source to feel your own well. Move to the natural rhythm inside you. Allow your power to come forth. It is as deep as a woman giving birth, as broad as the heavens, as beautiful as the sun streaming on an infant’s face in the summer sun. It is the moon, the stars, and the sun combined into one powerful force, streaming forth, blessing you with eternity. You are this source. You are this wellspring of power. Once you have experienced it, you can access it always. Regardless of the circumstances, you can feel that well. You can express it in song, in dance, in poetry, in paint, in stone, in movement, on paper or canvas, in clay. Stand before your medium and allow the Source of your being to fill you with love and wisdom and empowerment. Listen for the next right step – a stroke of paint, a line of poetry, form in clay, song on your lips, movement in your hips, a moment of protest, an assertion of your rights. Let it forth.

Imagine a world where women and men always go to this wellspring before they act, where their acts of courage spring from this source, where actions and love pour forth from the same spot. THAT is a world I would like to live in!

Our Uyghur sisters and brothers have this same wellspring of creativity and life force to draw from, but they do not have the freedom to express it. Can you imagine the pain of feeling moved to dance or sing or paint or say what is true for you, and knowing that if you do, you might go to jail or even be condemned to death? – For something as natural as expressing your inner Truth! The situation in East Turkestan is dire. People are arrested daily for any form of protest which the Chinese government feels threatened by. The government is so frightened of losing power, it will do anything it can to suppress disagreement with its actions. It has torn down entire neighborhoods of historical buildings and has relocated families to new regions in order to break up communities. It has denied children the right to go to Mosques in an attempt to curtail religious practice. It gives Han Chinese preference in receiving jobs, leaving Uyghurs struggling economically as well as spiritually. it has turned dance, once a traditional form of self expression, into a parody of its former self, something to please tourists. The Chinese government has suppressed self expression in almost any form. Uyghur women bear the additional brunt of their policies. For example, they may be forced to have abortions if the government believes they already have enough children. Whose right should it be to make that determination?? It is even harder for women to find work than men, so young women sometimes take work in other provinces, thinking they can help their families, only to find they were tricked and cannot come home, Instead, they must survive as factory workers under the most inhumane of circumstances. The brutality the Uyghurs are forced to experience is inexcusable and must be stopped.

This is a travesty. It is not right for people to be denied freedom of expression, freedom of religion, freedom to be their authentic selves, or any other human right.

We here in this room who, presumably, live in countries where there are more freedoms, must let the world know what is happening in East Turkestan. We must tell others about the repression our sisters and brothers are experiencing. We, who have freedom of expression, owe it to those who don’t to tell their stories. It can be daunting to break the silence and to take a stand against oppression, but what other choice is there? To remain silent and watch as the Uyghur people are decimated and obliterated? NOW is the time. NOW is the time to speak. To write. To paint. To sculpt. To tell others what you know. To put pressure on China by turning world opinion against their actions in East Turkestan. People cannot protest what they do not know. We MUST share what we know with others.

I realize that might be a daunting request. I personally find it a little bit unnerving to take such a stand You see, my son, Dylan, lives in Beijing right now. He is studying Chinese at Beijing University, and I am going to visit him in just a few days. Yes, I am going to China. And I am speaking out against China right now. I was worried I might not get a Chinese visa if the government found out I was going to speak here today. I have worried I might have problems when I get to China. But I cannot allow those concerns to hold me back. That would be giving into the abusive oppression I’m speaking out against today, and I refuse to do that. Oppressors win when we fear the consequences of standing up to them.

So I’m employing my motto:“Feel the fear and do it anyway.” I want my life to mean something. I do not want to arrive at the end of my life and regret what I didn’t do that I could have done that might have made someone else’s life better. I have found my voice. I can and will use it. I encourage you to do the same. Thank you.

###########THE END#############

Susan Singer is an artist who paints female nudes of all sizes and shapes, a writer who shares her inner life openly, and a speaker and activist who encourages others to be their unadulterated, authentic self. She lives in Virginia in the United States with her husband and three cats while her three children are scattered all over the globe. She believes passionately in the right of all people to live fully self-expressed.
April 20, 2013
For Sixth Annual International Uyghur Women’s Conference.

 

Video of me giving this speech at the Six Annual International Uyghur Women's Conference, Paris, France, April 20, 2013

April 18, 2013 Paris, day 1, arriving

It's very different traveling alone than with someone else. I keep finding myself wanting to make observations to a companion, but then there's no one to share them with. The plane ride was particularly odd - I had 2 seats to myself so could spread out to sleep - I kept trying to find a comfortable position. I think I probably slept 3-4 hours. I am about to go back to sleep now that I'm at the hostel. It was strange not having anyone to share the journey with. Wen I got off the plane, I took my time -no reason to hurry. Laura isn't coming in until tonight late. I spoke with the woman at the information counter and was delighted to find that my French still works! I could understand her well and could make myself understood -after I don't know how many years of not speaking it -maybe 20? My last french class was in 1981 - that much I know! Feels great.

It ended up being quite an arduous journey from the airport to the hostel which is in Monmartre. First I had to get to the train by going to a different terminal in the airport, then stand in line to get a ticket - I opted for a 2 day ticket so I won't be cheap about using the metro. Then I took the train, the RER, to the Gare Nord. My luggage was so big that I took up two seats which wasn't a problem at first, but it was rush hour, so soon I was taking up a seat someone needed.

At the train station I got off and found the next line, metro 2. That involved a fair number of stairs, 3 sets, I believe. At one point I was supposed to put my ticket through the machine to get out of a barrier. There were hordes of people behind and in front of me - rush hour press. Most of them had cards they scanned. I needed to put my ticket through the machine. It wouldn't go. I tried another machine. It wouldn't go. People were impatient around me. I tried putting the ticket into another slot. The man behind me tried to stop me but it was too late. The ticket slid away. 33 euros -over $50. I stood there stymied as people backed up behind me. A very kind woman came over to me and asked if I needed help. I tried to explain what had happened. She went over and pressed a call button and asked for help. She told me that someone would be there shortly to help me. I stood to the side and waited watching as other people's tickets got stuck as well. Some of them jumped the barriers. Others went through a gate that opened up.
A few minutes later a tall man in uniform with a nice demeanor came up and asked what happened. He went over to the machine I pointed out and opened it up so I could get my ticket out. I was relieved. I did not want to have to purchase it again.

More stairs later I got to the next platform - but it was going the wrong way - back down stairs and up stairs to the right platform, all the while hauling my 35-40 lb suitcase full of things I knew at that moment I would never ever need and couldn't possibly be worth hauling that far. Memories of hauling two huge suitcases all over Freiburg when I was 20 encroached upon my equilibrium and I wondered why I hadn't learned my lesson then.

I got on that metro which was incredibly full and felt bad for taking up enough room for two people but only having one ticket. Thankfully I only needed to travel two stops before getting to the next transfer spot.

Five sets of stairs later I got to that platform. Another two stops on the number twelve line and I arrived at my stop. I saw two Spanish speaking guys get on with me and off with me. I wondered if we were going to the same place. One of them had a suitcase the size of mine which had a broken wheel. He had to pull it instead of roll it. It made a horrible noise because it sounded so damaged -like when a car is dragging its muffler and you just know there are going to be sparks and an explosion.

I got to the first the of stairs. A very kind woman asked if I wanted help. I'd seen a sign for an elevator so I told her I'd take that but thanks. She told me it didn't work, I'd have to take the stairs. She offered to help me carry my bag. I very gratefully agreed. She went faster than I would have. I'll be in great shape at the end of three days here if I do this everyday.

Each time we got to a flight of stairs, she helped me. The last flight was particularly brutal -about fifty of them, spiraling up as hundreds of commuters swarmed up and down them around us. The two Spanish guys were following us unable to go any faster than I could because I was blocking the way. Almost at the top ( though I didn't know that), I had to stop to catch my breath. It was exhausting hauling so much weight up so many stairs! When we emerged from the station-finally! -the very kind woman showed me where to go to get to my street -up MORE stairs! She helped me with those also then disappeared forever- the kindest Samaritan I could imagine. People say the Parisians are rude and unkind but every one I have met has been incredibly kind.
The Spanish-speaking guys and I walked together to find the hostel, going in the wrong direction until I stopped at a pharmacy to ask someone who thankfully knew just where we needed to go. Though it was uphill there were no more stairs until we got inside the hotel!

The concierge was again, very kind. She said I could check in already because my room was already ready, and I could go get some breakfast since it was before 9:30. So kind.
I had a lovely croissant and roll with butter along with some milk. I sat with a woman and spoke with her though she seemed lost in her own thoughts. She's from Sao Paolo, Brazil, a journalist. I ended up telling her all about Rebiya Kadeer and the Uyghurs. She hadn't heard of them. It was good to have a conversation with someone. I'm glad to be an ambassador letting person know about the plight of the Uyghurs. The more people know, the more likely they are to try to do something about the genocide taking place. I hope.

So now I'm in my room after a nice hot shower,thinking I'll sleep a bit, needing more communication with others. There's a lot of noise - construction on the - yes, you guessed it - steps! Outside plus a TV is on in a room nearby. Still, I'm going to try to sleep a couple of hours then I'll go out sightseeing. Maybe to the louvre.
Good night!

***********

My talk from One Billion Rising

On February 14th, 2013, One Billion Rising RVA took place at the Richmond Coliseum.  Janett Forte, Kelsey Bedolli, Julie Willard, Alba Jaramillo, and I were the five lead organizers for the event.  Our intention was to raise awareness about violence against women and to help end it.  We created a Resource Fair, offered Entertainment, provided music and dance, and organized 5 speakers (Mayor Jones, Claire Hylton Sheppard, Carol Jones, Rebiya Kadeer, Kristi VanAudenhove with Christina Feerick as MC) to address various aspects of violence against women - domestic violence, stalking, spousal murder, sex trafficking, young marriage, oppression, sexual abuse, etc.  Approximately 1000 attended the rally; many more tuned in via LiveStream; and even more knew about it and were with us in spirit.

 

 Several people have asked me for a copy of my remarks from the day (I was the first speaker and offered the concluding remarks as well).  Here they are...

Welcome to One Billion Rising RVA!  Welcome!

My name is Susan Singer and I’m one of the five lead organizers for this event.  I am so happy to see you all here today.  I hope you’ll tweet and FB your friends all day to let them know what’s happening and to give them a virtual rally even if they can’t be here with you right now, but please invite them to come if they can!  Let’s make the Richmond Coliseum the place to be right now!

And why is it the place to be?

Because you’re here.

Yes, you.

Take a moment to feel that – you being here.

No matter what you have experienced in your past, no matter what you may experience in your future, right now, right here, you are here.  Present to yourself. 

Let all the hustle and bustle of the morning slip away.  Feel the adrenalin coursing through your veins from the dancing.  Feel your muscles vibrating with joy from the movement.  Notice the beat of the music in your head.  Feel the vibration in the air, the excitement, the buzz, the anticipation.

Now put your attention into your belly, your beautiful belly, the seat of your power.  What kind of energy do you sense there now?  Can you feel it growing?  THIS is the source of your power.

Perhaps in the past you were told to hold it in.   Perhaps someone tried to beat it out of you, or had dominion over you, and you thought you had to squelch it or suffer terrible consequences.  Well I am here to tell you today that you do not have to hold it in anymore.  Today is a new day, a new way of being, the rising of a new consciousness, the shift into a new paradigm.  We are here today to break through the pain we’ve experienced and to come into our own power.

For all you men and for those who fall between rigid gender assignments, we’re speaking to you too.  Most assuredly.  We love our V-Men and our V-tweeners, especially the ones with the courage to be here today to embrace their own beautiful power and to set an example for others to follow.  Kids, we’re talking to you too!  You’re the ones who are growing up into this big wide wonderful world, and we want to make it as safe and beautiful for you as we possibly can!

So, please, women, men, kids, and everyone in between, embrace your own power!  You know I’m not talking about power over or about dominion over – I’m not talking about  political or physical power that leads to confrontation and polarization.  Those are simply manifestations of fear.  To those living with the fear that manifests as bullying, I invite you to feel this different source of power.  I offer you healing for your pain.

There is a deep rich knowing deep in our bodies that can heal the world.  It arises through dance, one of the most magical manifestations of joy possible! 

It arises when we hold our newborn babies in our arms and feel their pure souls cradled there.

It manifests when we see another in pain and rush to help.  It happens when our hearts open and override our conditioning.

Today I ask you to open your heart, access your power, dance your joy, and, as you do so, know that ALL OVER THE WORLD, crossing the globe just as the sun is crossing the globe, women and children and men and all genders in between in over 200 countries around the world, are gathered, just like we are, feeling their power and their joy.  There are over 20 risings in Virginia alone.  Can you feel the power?

In the General Assembly just a few blocks away, Delegate Jennifer McClellan is calling on our delegates to join us in spirit to put an end to violence against women.  At the end of their session, around the end of our rally, Senator Donald McEachin will close the Senate session by rising and asking all the Senators to take a pledge to make violence against women THE central issue of our times.

This is a moment like no other in the history of the world.  More women and those who love us are rising today than have ever come together – ever!

So I ask you to take a moment to feel your sisters and brothers and others in Mumbai, in Tokyo, in London, in the steppes of Russia, in Mexico, in Capetown, even in Antartica.

All over the world, people are feeling this power in their bellies.  They are invoking a vision of a new world where compassion and kindness and compromise are the hallmarks of justice.  Can you see it?

We are calling forth a society where violence is unacceptable, simply unacceptable.

We are calling forth our clarity that there is no place in the world for cruelty or injustice or even unkindness.  There is only room for kindness and love and compassion.

We are calling forth a world where we feel solidarity with our sisters. When bad things happen, we call on our sisters and our V-men and everyone else and together we make it right.  We don’t allow a young girl in Pakistan to die because she wanted to go to school and spoke out about it.  Instead we raise a rallying cry and make a public stink and make sure she recovers and can go on to learn as much as she possibly can.  That outcry is changing the world.  Our solidarity, our choice, to stand behind that young woman changed something in the world.

I have a challenge for you – from now on, if you see a woman in pain or a man suffering an injustice or a child needing help, if you can’t help directly, do this – look that person in their eyes and raise your one finger in the air and let them know – we are all one.  They are NOT alone.  They have ONE BILLION PEOPLE BESIDE THEM, BEHIND THEM, all over the globe, supporting them as they stand up to oppression and say no.  Our sign from this day onward, to all who are suffering, is our one finger, raised in solidarity and support, reminding each of us, we are not alone. 

If each of us has the courage to tell our stories, our heartbreaking sorrowful sad shameful stories, we can break the chain and open our hearts and find the support we need.  We can work together to make things right. We can work together to heal where there has been harm.  We can work together to change laws that are unjust, to govern in just and compassionate ways.  We can work together to end war and to heal the planet and to create a good and just world for all.

Together we rise.   ONE BILLION RISING.

Thank you.

 

Concluding remarks  

We have heard here today some of the horrors being perpetrated here in Richmond as well as around the world.  There is so much pain and suffering, it is terribly difficult to hold it all.

But we have also heard tales of joy and empowerment and triumph – Claire’s daughter’s tragic murder led Claire to become a tireless advocate for others.  Carol’s mother’s death has not gone unnoticed, and thousands of children are better cared for thanks to Carol and her mother.  Rebiya Kadeer’s life has been full of pain and suffering, even as now two of her children are imprisoned just as she was.  Despite all that, we have witnessed her determination to take the higher path and to devote her life to the autonomy and safety of her beloved Uyghur people, especially the women. 

Each of the women you heard speak today is a beautiful example of power used for good.  Each has accessed her life’s purpose, the reason she is on this planet, the reason her life matters, and each is boldly and courageously pursuing her vision for a better world.

Take the time, I beg you, to listen deep within to your own still small voice that knows why you’re here, what you are meant to be doing, and pledge today to do one thing to grow that voice, one thing each day, to give voice to the beauty you have to offer the world.   Just imagine a world where each of us is living the life we were born to lead – giving the world the gifts that only we have to bestow.

THAT is the vision of SEVEN billion rising and of heaven on earth.  Thank you.