Everyone on the earth is feeling it, it’s all over the news and social media, every one you hear and everyone you see is talking about it or affected by it. Pandemic. It’s a scary word and a scary world out there. Something we never expected we would see in our lifetime. How quickly it developed from a tiny problem in a small part of the world, to something huge and scary and which threatens the lives of millions of people. We’ve retreated into our houses, holing ourselves up and barely leaving. Many of us are watching copious amounts of Netflix, eating the entire contents of our refrigerators and going on a quick jog around the block to ease our guilt. In far less blessed countries, where entire families are sharing one room and in houses where domestic abuse is rampant, its an entirely different beast.
I read yesterday that searches for child pornography in India has gone up 150% and searches for child pornography containing bondage, torture, crying, and screaming has gone up 200%. Meanwhile many children are stuck inside houses which contain a figure which beats or molests them and their family members. In other areas of the world we are facing murders of women by their husbands and partners, even brothers and fathers. Like the recent murder here in Australia by a man who set his wife and children aflame in the car, or like the father who murdered his wife and children for a new mistress in Colorado, USA.
I, like most people, feel repulsed by these stories and these men who commit these violent acts, and I have always reacted with anger. These sorts of stories go into my heart, along with all the disgust, sadness, fear, helplessness and pain. Try as I might to come to terms with these stories being a part of our world and unavoidable because someone like me, who is a mother, wife and woman, has little influence over enacting change to ensure that these sorts of crimes don’t happen again, they continue to happen time and time and time again. It is no longer a matter of will it happen again, but where and when and to who?
Considering the patriarchal form of our society, it is very normal that over time we women have stepped away from the nurturing and loving stillness that enveloped our foremothers in days so far behind us we cant even imagine them. Days when being a woman was revered as just as important as mens. No less, no more. Times when men and women were the yin and yang, unable to function healthfully with just one over the other. In these days, however, we are in a society that is overwhelmingly yin and women have risen to the occasion, desperate to be heard, be safe and be seen by developing and existing in a more masculine energy just to survive. But this has only enabled the world to become more of a patriarchy as women were given no choice but to step into their masculine energy and mens egos felt threatened and pushed further into their own masculine energy in order to meet ht epatriarchal expectations that they remain out on top. What has resulted is a world of heavily masculine energy to toxic levels which lead to horrific crimes like murder, rape, abuse and crimes against children.
I found myself exhausted by this recently and in an effort to separate myself from the toxic society around me, I removed myself from social media. Something I feel is vital if you’re ever going to attempt to unprogram yourself from your toxic upbringing and then reprogram yourself using the principals of the divine feminine. Social media is a toxic entity. It promotes the very things which are most harmful to our society – competition, faceless attacks, passive-aggressivness, and jealousy. As much as we try to make it a place of joy, admiration and learning, it rarely ever is. We must also remember how important intentions are behind anything we do or involve ourselves in as well. Was the creation of the social media platform made by someone you would personally admire, want to emulate, something with good intentions, of good moral character and who created it for the sole purpose of bringing out the good in others and the world? What are the other apps and websites this group has either created or supported? One of these creators created an app for rating women on their appearance. Think about that for a moment.
I knew that deleting myself from all social media was an important first step for me. I needed to cut out the constant messages that bombarding me everyday. At the time though, I didn’t realise that I was doing this because I wanted to unprogram, it was simply that I didn’t want to see and hear negativity all the time. Now that I’ve had some time away from social media and I’ve involved myself with journalling, listening to podcasts, reading and focusing my energy inward, I realise that what I want and all I’ve ever wanted quite from when I was a little girl, is to reprogram myself for the world as it truly is and not what humans have made it.
Close your eyes and imagine a world free from humans and human creation. What do you see? Probably the mountains, sea, wide green space, a sun-set. This is the world in it’s true form. Now take a group of 5 people and dump them in some remote forest area. What do you think governs their lives? They have never been taught about men and women and the expectations that have been placed onto us. No, someone is better at finding food, so he finds the food. Someone is better at gathering sticks, so she gathers the sticks. Someone is good at constructing a home, so he and she do that. Someone is better at singing and keeping everyone in good spirits, so she does that. Can you imagine the first time a baby is born? How amazing and scary that would have been, to see a human child brought into the world by a woman who didn’t realise why her belly was so big but knew that what she was doing was normal, natural and empowering. The onlookers wouldn’t have felt separated by that because of their maleness, they would have watched on in awe and admiration to this woman who was bringing a new life into the world. There were 5 of them and now there was 6. One more human who was bringing with them skills and abilities and strengths and weaknesses. Perhaps a girl, which meant that their brood would one day grow again. Girl children would have been treasured and revered. The bringers of life.
SUBURBAN HOUSE WITCH 