GOD'S TIMING: THE ONLY BALANCED TIMING

“Everyone has a part to play, a position to assume in order to repair systems that often unjustly excluded groups of people.” (Taken from, “Reposition Yourself” by, TD Jakes)

By investing ourselves into what we can do, we can create opportunities for others to take action. What is my part and what position do I assume to make a difference, is the question at hand.

In addressing this question to myself, I came to some conclusions.

1) I enjoy sharing stories of empowerment through writing.

2) By listening to others, I came hear, where blockages may be preventing one from moving forward.

3) By giving feedback to assist one in taking action upon what I hear or see in their story as possible blockages can be beneficial to me and others.

4) My part comes from my experience, and assuming position on my views of the experience. This creates a window into the view from where I stand.

5) To have a voice and to speak out about how to change the experience for others is by my examining how it could have been different for me.

In order for anything to change, you first have to show up, to make the difference.

A shared experience:

When I applied for the job as a city coach operator, another young lady that was African American showed up too. We became the first female bus drivers for that city. It wasn't that women couldn't do the job or even a question whether or not they were qualified. It was a question of whether or not we showed up. The timing was right, because the man that was the manager was in place and had an open mind. He had relocated from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and he needed bus drivers, we showed up. He was a liberal and satisfied that we could do the job. There have been female drivers every since.

There is another part of the story that holds a piece of the puzzle about timing and gatekeepers. When this liberal man was ousted of the job and transferred, somebody was brought in to place as a gatekeeper and not so liberal. When I got pregnant with my second child, his “ole boy” attitude crept in and his “true colors” began to show. Up until this point, he had tolerated my liberal nature. He began to harass me constantly on his views of where I belonged, through his body language and attitude it translated as, “you belong at home, "barefoot and pregnant”. His constant harassing attitude and innuendos about when I planned to take my "leave" because of my “condition”, was very annoying and stressful to say the least. I had the attitude that I was healthier than most of our male drivers that were subject to heart attack at any time, justified by their obesity and medication. I was even more annoyed that our city, allowed his demeanor, in that capacity as manager, whereby I finally decided to resign after my maternity leave was finished. He won that round, because he had me out and he was now the gatekeeper. He is still the gatekeeper after 27 years. I went on to continue in transportation for 27 years, including going over the road as a truck driver with a perfect driving record, I am blessed to say. However, upon several efforts to return to bus driving at the place I started my career, the gatekeeper refused to let me in even when I showed up.

Timing can mean everything. Sometimes it helps to expose, but in other times, the whole system, “ole boys”, are much deeper than it appears on the surface. Once you are in, sometimes in order to stay in one has to jump through hoops to be allowed to stay. This is quite common in the world of men. It is very enlightening to know this as a woman going into a field dominated by men and it's good to know the rules of the game. It's good to know, what is in your nature and what position you assume when you show up, in order to test the timing of change for the whole.

To show up, takes great courage that some don't even realize they have. Necessity is a great motivation. When a woman needs to feed her family, it's not about the ego of what she can do or qualified to do, it is about accomplishing her goal. To have boundaries, is what she had ingrained in her consciousness; good and bad, right and wrong by society, and her environment, but when it comes to feeding her children, that takes precedence over all of humanities acceptable morals that has been established to identify character. If this were not so, we as a species probably would not have existed, even looking back at Eve’s story. What one holds as a necessity is absolute. Look back at the “ole boy’s” posse, it is a necessity to hold certain things (ideas) in place, ask yourself, for what purpose? Before we point the finger at others, maybe we need to look at our own necessities?

In completing this piece, I realize that my taking a position on right timing, which by the way is God's timing, not my own. This piece would not be complete without my once again, quoting T. D. Jakes from his book “Reposition Yourself” in the chapter, Against the Odds, page 67:

Joseph's maturity, born of suffering, serves as a model for us. To his brothers, he said “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Genesis 50:20, NIV). Similarly, you must have faith to know that someday you will be able to say the same thing to your enemies, your persecutors, those who called you a loser and those who hurt you along the way. What they intended to harm you, deter you, defeat you, God will use to build you up, to heal you, to secure your success.

We are all underdogs, in a sense, for if we accept what life dictates to us, then the statistics can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. But if we dare to rise above and beyond the limitations of our lives, then we grow stronger and wiser, more willing to dream and dream big. (Pg.76)

Now, I have to say a big Amen, to that! I am a testimony to those statements and as long as I breathe I will continue, that being my story and my legacy to my children and their children's children. Find your story and the stories of others from where ever you meet at the bridge to cross over into your promised land, flowing with milk and honey, (abundance) of unlimited prosperity!

THE BRIDGES WHERE WE MEET

In responding to a comment on another blog I was inspired to share my comments on my own blog because it was profound to me what flowed through me and to respect others and their confidentiality I chose to share only my thoughts. This comment was in response to someone feeling as though they were being belittled among another’s culture of not being able as a woman on her Moontime to participate in a sacred ceremony of “Prayer Circle”. ( !#*# represents names blocked.)


April 5, 2008
I just love the way beloved !#*# describes her feelings of expressing her truth for her Sacred Feminine, a little wobbly in the midst of the "sleepy heads", knowing full well that there is a chance of being in the midst of the "Jezzies". Well, !#*# join a long list of fabulous ladies branded the "Jezzies", if you are going to stand out and up for our Sacred Goddesses! I have been doing a lot of research in the Hidden Herstories of our Sacred Herstory. There have been many wonderful women among us, such as Sue Monk Kidd that have shared their stories along with preserved documentation to satisfy the hunger of our longings.

I am enjoying my Juicy Crone stage of my life because I now have so much more time to spend on my Sacred unfolding into Being! I started this journey at 27, when a Holy Man, my great grandfather, Chief Frank Fools Crow, said to me, "You must travel this path of unfolding...” Every since that time I have wondered what he was refering to but now I understand that he was trying to help me understand that there is a natural process in unfolding for a reason, sometimes beyond comprehension.

!#*#, you are blessed to be sharing your unfolding journey with a man that is willing to do his own work, that you can experience it together. A couple of weeks ago one of my little spiritual grandchildren started her Moontime for the first time. I was listening to my daughter as she told me about the experience and how she was comforting her spiritual niece. She was sharing the special ness and sacredness of this moment in time for her. I was saddened by the thought that we (women) no longer have memories of the female initiations into womanhood as we did in the past. I am currently reading, "At The Root of This Longing", by Carol Lee Flinders and I can truly appreciate her sharing the ceremonies of Inuk and kinaalda from many traditions by many names, from the Navajos, ancient Celts along with others honoring women was very refreshing . Quoting some of her thoughts takes me back in my soul to precious memories forgotten but resonating with truth of the Goddesses within; "... a girl on the brink of womanhood is in a sense a goddess. More precisely, she is our window upon the Goddess." pg.279” While she is undergoing her initiation as a woman, a girl is understood to be inhabited by the Mother and therefore charged with sacred power and able to impart something of this power to others." How grand that this great opportunity in a young girls life that she is recognized by the older women and the community as a Sacred time for the entire society and an empowering moment of transition. Wow, how far we have come from that and how much we have lost!

I plan to create a Sacred Moment for my first granddaughter to make this a Special, Sacred moment as well, she is approaching 12 now, so we are near. She will be the first in this generation of young women for our tribe to feel the power of this moment and that is my task, to bring our memories of Sacred Ceremony for women of the past and bridge them into a New awakening for our future budding of women's awareness of their Sacred Goddesses. I feel the importance now in my Crone years to bridge the gap between our Sacred Feminine and our desire for Feminist Movement. If anyone has ideas of ceremonies for this Sacred moment please share because I feel the need to integrate our experiences with the young girls to empower them now. Thank-you again !#*# for your Vision. Sacredflower


April 5, 2008
Wow !#*#, what a wonderful idea for someone that loves to write and especially since my granddaughter has given instructions to everyone in the family including her mother that she gets to have all my writings when I cross over.

I would like to address the "menses" experience of you and your friend !#*# at the pow wow prayer circle ceremony. That was more of an honor time for you than to keep you out. Among Medicine people it is understood that during our moon time, it is the most powerful time, when our spiritual intuitive abilities are at their highest peak and to participate not only interferes with their process for the group but you also pick up on every energy within the circle which is not what you necessarily want to experience, especially if there is need for a healing. Traditionally the women would have circles for themselves at this time to combine their powers together for the healing of the whole community. We are revered traditionally as healers among native peoples; however a lot is being lost in their culture as well. I know you have probably lived long enough to have become aware of these things since that experience, so I shared this for all that may be interested to do further investigation into other cultures and their ceremonies.

This letter was a jewel for your daughter and I want to thank you so much for sharing. What a wonderful way to share with a young girl about the women in her family in a light that they never would have thought to look for. Sincerely, Sacredflower

April 10, 2008
Hi All,
I am finding that the more I tune into my intuitiveness the more aware I become of those around us. That has been my experience with Medicine People as well, there is that group thinking that is well in tact. To consider the majority wellness rather than the individual process is usually the concern in a gathering. I think what “! #*#” and “! #*#” experienced was that process at the Prayer Circle. It is usually the minority few that are tuned into the need for protection of their "bubble", therefore being able to be of service for the whole, however this is a long process to tear off the layers and to move in empowerment within a community, so, rather than picking out in a crowd who can participate while they are on their Moontime from those that are not ready, the decision is made for the whole. There are tribes that know their communities and do have women participating; it is a process of unfolding. Accepting people right where they are on the path of unfolding can be challenging, I know from experience because I know I myself have been a challenge for a lot of people.

I have had concern about the process of European Culture coming to this continent and thinking that the indigenous peoples had nothing of value in the way of spirituality to learn from and yet they were further advanced now we discover in respect for Mother Earth and her feminine nature. They also honored the Sacred Goddesses that we have allowed the Patriarchal System to destroy out of their fear of feminine power. I would also add that they already were respectful for diversity and honoring it ,which we, 2000 years later after Christianity, have yet to learn how to live in our own skins and practice what we preach, "love thy neighbor as thyself".

I would like to quote this from “The Values of Belonging", by Carol Lee Flinders to make my point.
...their powers of observation are the stuff of legend. But they see distinctions as bridges, not barriers. What's significant for them about the difference between two phenomena is where they meet, and that they do meet (and typically overlap), however much they might differ. Many Native American tribes, for instance, regard a "manly woman" or a "womanly man" as spiritually gifted (and in fact as a gift to their tribe). Like Tiresias, a figure in Greek mythology who was both man and woman, such people know the things that women know, and they know the things that men know as well. Called “two spirits" by California Indians, they're believed to be able to see the world whole and in depth, because they see out of both eyes. (pg. 35)

There is a spiritual truth within my soul that revealed this to me as a child and I began to see the world out of both eyes at that time until now and I am grateful for that. I've come to understand that is why there are very few places I have a "sense (intuitive) of belonging", because I become aware quickly when people are only looking out of "one eye".

It is not easy to accept where we are on the path sometimes, much less where someone else may be but I learned from my oldest daughter, the "Values of Belonging", in her comment the other day when she said, "I hurt myself more by separating from others because of differences, than just choosing to be still and accepting others for where they are. Thereby in the space of "being" it will be revealed why they are who they are and where they are. With patience I can learn to be just who I am and be Whole." Love to All, Sacredflower