Yesterday I blogged on the book, Half The Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity For Women Worldwide by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn.
Friday I had the privilege of sitting on a panel of women who were discussing this book. We were in a beautiful conference room: lavish, rich, beautiful. It was designed and outfitted by two lavish, rich, beautiful women who are my friends. We were surrounded by delicious, ample, and healthy food that was provided by a local farm – totally sustainable, totally organic, totally eco- and socially-conscious. And we were surrounded by a roomful of other women, most of whom had also read the book and had come to listen, to engage, to act.
Lavish. Rich. Beautiful.
The three of us on the panel talked about our experience of the book, our thoughts, our aches, our hopes. The other women in the room did the same. Time flew by. As usual, there wasn’t nearly enough. People lingered. Conversation ensued. Stories were shared.
Now, two days later, I’m thinking about that experience and juxtaposing it to the book itself. I’m struck by how profound it is that we were able to be in the midst of such lavish, rich, and beautiful surroundings, food, and women while talking about the lives of women who know little more than lack, poverty, and darkness…at least compared to our “standards.”
How are we to celebrate and enjoy the privilege we afford while aware of the lack of such that is so vastly true for so many of our sisters?
When I was 15 my family traveled to Haiti to spend a month with college friends of my parents who had been missionaries there for years. I remember being shocked by the poverty, the stench, the filth. I also remember my incredulity at the stark contrast between their Western home, their servants, their clean floors, their ample food when surrounded by the exact opposite…those they were actually there to serve. I couldn’t put those two categories together in my mind – especially when I added the rubric of “missionary” into the mix. It just didn’t add up for me.
Was Friday a repeat of that experience? Did I know the same incredulity? No. What made the difference? Well, 30+ years of experience no doubt; but also a deep awareness of why we did gather.
We gathered because we are aware of the stark contrast and we know it’s not OK. We gathered because we can; because we are aware of our privilege and even our power. We gathered because we want to know the shared-power of each other’s voices, each other’s passions. We gathered because we know that where women are united amazing things happen. We gathered because the unheard, unseen women around the world deserve to be heard and seen, because maybe, just maybe that is our work, our calling, our responsibility, and yes, our privilege.
Indeed, we were in the midst of lavish, rich, and beautiful surroundings, food, and women. And…others were there with us – women from around the world who know nothing of a lavish conference room, rich and filling food, beautiful women; but who are all of these things in and of themselves. These women, harmed beyond comprehension, are lavish rich, and beautiful in character, in strength, in perseverance, in hope.
We gathered as sisters, as fellow sojourners, not for a moment assuming we understand their circumstances or pain, but deeply desirous of coming alongside them…honoring them…giving them voice…advocating for them…helping them hold up their half of the sky…and then some.
And at day’s end – though we deeply desire change on their behalf – it is each of us who are changed because of them…and then some.
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