I clicked randomly this morning on a profile in a network I'm part of, found the person's blog, then was spontaneously drawn to this poem by the inimitable Clarissa Pinkola Estes.
It's an enormous gift this morning; it feels like a shortcut out of negative conditioning - a sacred mantra into a proud new interbeing. It reminds me of conversations with a misogynist brother years ago, trying in vain to explain what misogyny does to the feminine/ the horizontal/ the sentient/ the non-hierarchical. In my experience and understanding, there are answers that we're programmed to give, because it keeps the status quo in place.
These 'authorised' answers quell our organic reality, which is like the glue that holds the Universe together; our unique relationship-with-all-things: we brush aside our real thoughts, feelings, knowing - and accumulatively bury our very soul.
I love that this rich poem might lift some restrictions on our Wild, Whole True Self - and set us out on our day with a more open mind and heart!
I don't often love poetry, but this sang out through me today.
When someone says, “We’re saying the same thing.”
Say, “We are not saying the same thing.”
When someone says, “Don’t question, just have faith.”
Say, “I am questioning, vato, and
I have supreme faith in what I think.”
When someone says, “Don’t defy my authority.”
Say, “There is a higher authority that I follow.”
When someone says, “Your ideas are seductive.”
Say, “No, my ideas are not seductive,
they are substantial.”
When someone says, “Your ideas are dangerous.”
Say, “Yes, my ideas are dangerous, and why are you
so afraid hombre o mujer? “
When it is said, “It’s just not done.”
Say, “It will be done.”
When it is said, “It is immature.”
Say, “All life begins small and
must be allowed to grow.”
When it is said, “It’s not thought out.”
Say, “It is well thought out.”
When they say, “You’re over-reacting.”
Say, “You’re under-reacting, vato.”
When they say, “You’re being emotional.”
Say, “Of course I have well placed emotions,
and by the way, what happened to yours?”
When they say, “You’re not making any sense.”
Say, “I don’t make sense, I am the sense.”
When they say, “I can’t understand you when you’re crying.”
Say, “Make no mistake, I can weep and be fierce
at the same time.”
When they say, “I cant understand you when you’re being so angry.”
Say. “You couldn’t hear me when I was being nice,
or sweet or silent, either.”
When someone says, “You’re missing the point.”
Say, “I’m not missing the point, but you seem
to be missing my point —
What are you so afraid of?”
When someone says, “You are breaking the rules.”
Say, “Yes, I am breaking the rules.”
When someone says, “That’s not practical.”
Say, “It’s practically a done deal, thank you very much.”
When it is said, “No one will do it,
believe you, or follow it.”
Say, “I will do it, I will believe in it, and in time,
the world may well follow it.”
When it is said, “No one wants to listen to that.”
Say, “I know you have a hard time listening to that.”
When it is said, “It’s a closed system,
you cant change it.”
Say, “I’m going to knock twice
and if there is no answer,
then I am going to blow the doors off that system
and it will change.”
When it is said, “They’ll ignore you.”
Say, “They won’t ignore me and the hundreds of thousands who stand with me.”
When they say, “It’s already been done.”
Say, “It’s not been done well enough.”
When they say, “It’s not yet time.”
Say, “It’s way past time.”
When they say, “It’s not the right day,
right month, right year.”
Tell them, “The right year was last year,
and the right month was last month,
and the right day was yesterday,
and you’re running behind schedule, vato,
and what in the name of God and all that is holy
are you going to do about it?”
When they say, “Who do you think you are?” —
tell them …
tell them who you are,
and don’t hold back.
When they say, “I put up with it,
you’ll have to put up with it too.”
Say, “No, no, no, no.”
When they say, “I’ve suffered a long time
and you’ll have to suffer too.”
Say, “No, no, no, no.”
When they say, “You’re an incorrigible, defiant,
hard to get along with,
unreasonable woman … “
Say, “Yes, yes, yes, yes …
and I have worse news for you yet —
we are teaching our daughters,
and our mothers,
and our sisters …
we are teaching our sons,
and our fathers,
and our brothers,
to be
just
like
us.”
CLARISSA PINKOLA ESTES
find out more about her work via this website
artwork by Clare Galloway - Radiance - oil paint and pencil on antique hardwood - 15 x 25 (x 3) cm - 2020