This article is 99.5% True
There’s a difference between that which I ‘should’ be doing (writing certain emails, focussing on bringing in the bacon, doing the washing up at night instead of leaving it to the morning, brushing my hair) and what I do when I give myself permission to do what my body wants to do in any given moment.
You’d think it would end up in pizza deliveries and Netflix.
On this occasion, you’d be right.
For most of a month that’s exactly what I did.
Occasional thoughts of ‘bad, lazy girl’ swam by but I shrugged and said ‘whatevs’ and hit the big button that moved me on to the next episode, sitting up only so the cheese didn’t slide onto my chest.
If you’d followed me around with a camera, you’d have thought I was taking either an extended duvet day (and pitied my sad little life) or a really shit holiday (and pitied my sad little life). Luckily, nobody did.
But into that apparent waste of time and space arrived two things that started me on a journey.
1. The Handmaid’s Tale
Firstly, three seasons of back-to-back The Handmaid’s Tale. A story of what happens when we dismiss subtle (and not so subtle) changes leading us away from equality, respect and decency as ‘just another one of those things on the news’; sleepwalking towards a world we can’t even begin to imagine. Being a bystander.
I gave up watching the news after 9/11 as the experience of watching the Twin Towers fall over and over while being (as I remember it) trapped in the office at work in central London led to panic attacks and agoraphobia so severe I could no longer take the train to work for months.
In watching Handmaid’s Tale, I realised I have been wearing ‘Well, you know, I never watch the news…’ as a badge of honour.
My argument that ‘There’s nothing but the promulgation of fear and there’s nothing I can do about it anyway so I’d rather just be happy and spend that time making my little corner of the world’ made me feel somehow superior to the news-watchers.
The Handmaid’s Tale woke up in me the desire to start paying attention.
Bear in mind I am beginning from less than a standing start. I still thought Boris Johnson was heading up the Conservative Party. I know, I’m embarrassed, but I’m outing my ignorance today.
Fear of being seen as ignorant, I think, has stopped me asking the questions I need to ask to become informed.
This one insight opened up conversations with my husband which led to a flood of podcasts (The Rest is Politics - UK, The Rest is Politics - US, Electoral Dysfunction, The Trawl, Women with Balls) and from these - books.
And stupid questions to Chat GPT to try and catch up on 24 years of not watching the news.
“Give me a simple summary of what’s going on in Gaza/West Bank and why” and when I didn’t understand the answer: “What is Hamas, what is Gaza, make it more simple”, “How did this arise? Who are the Palestinians and how did they end up in two areas?”, “Why did the UN originally pick Palestine for Israel?” and “What is the route to peace?”
“Which countries in Europe have right-wing governments?”
“Is Putin right wing?” and “What’s going on with him?”
“What happened in Jan 6 riots in the US?”
“What did Liz Truss do that was so awful?”
And from there to downloading a course syllabus for a degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics at The Open University. Which I may or may not begin in October. Educating myself then, a first step.
(What can I say, I’m a Line 1 in my Human Design profile so a researcher and investigator when something lights me up and autistic so watch out when a new special interest is sparked.)
2. Manda Lakhani
The second thing that happened was Manda Lakhani.
Beware, if you ever agree to meet Manda. I had heard of her and her work at The Hunger Project UK and her powers of inspiring others just through her very being (and I am very easily spellbound by others’ inspiration) so wore I my dragonfly necklace as an amulet against her powers.
It was useless.
Manda handed took me for lunch, spoke to me about her work with The Hunger Project for a couple of hours, handed me a book (Today I Saw A Revolution: From Grassroots To Global Change by Cathy Burke) - which, entangled with episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale meant the result of which was a message from me to her: ‘What do you need me to do? I’m in!’ I re-joined Unleashed Women, which I had drifted away from and in that simple act, all of a sudden I was no longer a bystander.
From then, Neflix and pizza deliveries were interspersed with journalling - ideas flowing out of me. I find out what I think through writing. I realised that although I could easily dedicate my entire life to The Hunger Project from this point on (I’ve been a supporter since 2014 but Manda re-ignited my passion for their work); I’m a Manifesting Generator in Human Design and have multiple passions and causes I want to support through my art, my flowers, my entrepreneurship, my philanthropy and more, all within one theme ‘the alleviation of the suffering of children’.
The Hunger Project with it’s focus on women as the grassroots change-makers in their communities is one. War Child is another. Big Change, with it’s focus on opportunities for children and education in this country is another.
“What can I do?” I asked myself. And answers started to come.
I felt myself come alive.
I realised that I don’t want to do this alone. I want my sisters by my side so we can all learn from each other as we refuse to no longer be bystanders. I have felt for years that bringing feminine values to issues we care about is the way forwards.
I love this quote, first shared with me by Lynne Twist:
So it will come to pass that when women participate fully and equally in the affairs of the world, when they enter confidently and capably the great arena of laws and politics, war will cease; for woman will be the obstacle and hindrance to it”.
- Bahá’í Scripture
And so the idea of One Hundred Women arrived. I searched for the domain. OneHundredWomen.net was available.
And then the idea of One Thousand Women arrived. I searched for the domain. OneThousandWomen.net was available.
And then the idea of Ten Thousand Women arrived. I searched for the domain. TenThousandWomen.net was available.
And then the idea of One HundredThousand Women arrived. I searched for the domain. OneHundredThousandWomen.net was available.
And then the idea of One Million Women arrived. I searched for the domain. OneMillionWomen.net was available.
I bought them all.
And the women started to come.
And that, my friends, is what I have to say about the path from sofa to inspired action.
Here’s where to go if you’d like to learn more about what we’re up to there: