Two recent blog launches have captured my attention. Both fight femanemia with
their authentic feminine genius. I find them both incredibly refreshing for this
reason. But first...
What is Femanemia?
Good question. It is a word I coined months ago to describe the lack of true
feminine genius in our world today. It is like a body lacking in red blood
cells or having red blood cells that aren't functioning properly to bring
other cells the oxygen needed to thrive. This pretty much describes our world
from the fall of mankind in the Genesis narrative until the present.
Femanemia has been caused by many forces which were predicted the day humans
were deceived by the enemy into thinking God was holding out on them and
couldn't be trusted. The day they rebelled against God. Woman, the clear and
absolute crown of all creation in the narrative, became subjected to
frustration, oppression and indignity. Her true feminine genius, (the red
blood cells of humanity) has been compromised, ignored and despised ever
since.
Mary consoling Eve and with the God-man she conceived, gestated, birthed
and nurtured crushing the forces of evil for ever and ever. Amen
One was launched by my friend Seb's Sister Leeloo. She has begun curating
quotes from many writers who exhibit authentic feminine genius. If you are
happily a woman and want to contribute your xx genius to this site, she
welcomes it. She is hoping each quote can be commented on by such as you.
Visit her site by clicking here.
I've never seen anything like this new launch. I have only had limited email
interactons with Miriam to congratulate her for birthing a site that embodies
the feminine genius to near perfection. She seems to channel Mary the mother
of God's heroic love and compassion.
Miriam is a thirty something Connecticut mom
who experienced much trauma, but like so many strong women has rebounded and wants to help others
navigate their own trauma and the brain fog it can produce.
Her genius shines the brightest when she refuses to demonize people who get a
little bit vulgar and pushy with their morality (i.e. the
Vulgar Buzz Images she stumbled upon). Instead of naming them the 'morality police' she instead embraces them and
tries to understand them. She is a prime example of someone who understands
the
shockingly tough mother love I spoke about in a previous post.
In these months before the election there have been so many divisive issues
polarizing groups of people and sorting them by political party or religious
denominations. One term that seems to be thrown around a lot is "Morality
Police"; where one group will accuse another group of trying to enforce their
sense of the moral law onto the others. The favor is almost always returned.
This seems like an unhelpful approach to me. Almost without exception, both
groups involved are asserting their understanding of what is good for humanity
and the world we live in. They do this invariably out of love or their desire
for everyone to flourish in an equitable fashion. Neither group seems to be
asserting their view because they wish to harm humanity or our world.
As unlikely as it seems on the surface, I believe that all sides actually
think they're trying to do the loving thing. The reason they are so passionate
and assertive about their own particular moral view is because they think the
people in the other groups are not being loving.
"What will go wrong, will go wrong What will go right, will go right Push
come to shove It's all about love The sight of your smile fills my
heart with light"
I'm with Bruce. I want to search for the good, the true and the beautiful in
others and when I find the tiniest fragment of it I want to bless it, draw it
out and fan it into flame. Especially for those who call me their enemy.
So as I seek to understand those very people, I believe the following three
metaphors can light my way.
Mother Love
Dr. Peter Kreeft asserts "There is absolutely no contradiction, or even any
tension, between a loving mother's hospitality in welcoming all the kids in
the neighborhood into her... house and that same mother out of that same love,
warning all the kids in the loudest and scariest and most authoritative tone
not to skate on the thin ice on the lake behind her house. Love is both
shockingly tender and shockingly tough."
He then applies this to
Jesus when he exhorts us to amputate parts of our bodies
rather than let that diseased part destroy our lives. Like the Mom in the
above illustration, Jesus puts on his shockingly tough loving voice to warn us
that if we continue along that path, we won't get to our desired destination.
He loves us with a crazy love and wants us to flourish and not lose our way.
So is Jesus or this Mom just being the Morality Police? Certainly not.
Perhaps neither are the folks who call me their enemy. Maybe they're just
showing their shockingly tough love.
The Owners Manual
Every car comes with an Owner's Manual. We don't read it to our own detriment.
We risk our lives and the lives of others by not following it, or at the least
we run the risk of not reaching our desired destination.
In life, of course, there is no agreed upon owner's manual. Those who call me
an enemy get upset when I don't follow the guidelines in what they see as the
owner's manual for all humanity. Out of loving concern they reach out to me to
try to correct me so I can get where I'm going without hurting myself and
others.
Perhaps they aren't pushing their morals on me or being the morality police.
Perhaps they are just trying to do the right and loving thing for me.
Learning to Drive
Imagine you are solely responsible for teaching your child to drive a car. You
love your child and want them to flourish. So you are careful to explain the
rules of the road.
"Son, in America we stay on right side of the road. If you drive on the left
side you'll be heading into oncoming traffic and the likelihood of you or your
passengers or others dying will increase exponentially. I want you to get
where you're going safely so drive on the right side of the road. Oh yeah, and
these stop signs, be sure to stop at them and take turns with other drivers to
get through the intersection... and beware of motorcycles and bikes, give them
a wide berth for they are very vulnerable."
This metaphor applies nicely when it comes to our views on morality,
especially when we see someone barreling up the off ramp and going the wrong
way down the four lane highway of life.
"YOU'RE GOING THE WRONG WAY!!! YOU'RE GOING TO GET KILLED OR KILL SOMEONE!
TURN AROUND!!!"
All these are things we'd say if we saw someone actually going the wrong way
on the expressway... remember the scene from Planes, Tranes and Automobiles!?
Well, perhaps the people that call me an enemy are simply trying to get me to
realize I'm going the wrong way on the expressway. Maybe from their
perspective they're just trying to save my life and the life of others around
me. Maybe they just want to see me get to my destination safely. Maybe they're
just trying to do the loving thing.
Destination as a Common Denominator
Notice that all three metaphors assume we are trying to get somewhere good.
Notice that people are not so sure we're going to get somewhere good by going
the way we are going. Perhaps they're just trying to love us the best they
know how.
Then again, perhaps not. There are people who love to hate. But honestly, I
don't know too many people like that. Pretty much everyone I've known or
encountered wants to love and be loved. That's just the way most humans are in
my experience.
So maybe keeping the metaphors in mind will help us dialogue better with the
folks that see us as their enemy... or at least with friends who disagree with
us. Maybe we can realize that most people want what is good, true and
beautiful for everyone and that it is actually love that motivates them to
advocate for their views of what that looks like in the day to day.
Remember, all produce on the farm is freely given
and never for sale. All donations to the farm
are tax deductible as we are a registered 501(c)(3).