Message 6

Today Marks Day 5:
A Day of Purposeful Action

by Carol Hansen Grey
Emailed March 7, 2003

Dear Gather the Women Participants:

Today, March 7, we each are being asked to take a purposeful action to create positive change in our personal lives, in our relationships, in our local community or in the world. Every action, no matter how small, adds to the energetic wave of action being generated by women participating around the world!

We have now prepared ourselves for tomorrow's March 8 gathering -- the coming together of women across the globe all with a common purpose -- to weave a peaceful, sustainable, balanced world that works for all. This past week we've done our personal work, we've held the vision, we've taken the action and now we gather, joining with our sisters throughout the world to celebrate the power of being connected to a global community of women.

If you are not participating in a specific gathering tomorrow, consider joining the email list or one of the teleconferences that have been set up. (Information is provided at the end of this email.) Wherever you are on March 8, whether with a group or by yourself, join your sisters in this powerful circle of feminine energy by reading the following:

COMMON THREADS TO CONNECT US ALL

Gather the Women Vision Statement

Gather the Women is evoking at a profound level
an experience of our own woman's worth to the world.

As women we bring life forward.
We are in touch with the cycles of life
and we function in a context that is deeply relational.
This realization is allowing women to risk leaving
the safety of our comfortable conformities.

We have the capacity to generate
creative solutions that benefit
all life on the planet.
Gather the Women is creating
a rich exchange of cultural values
to dissolve the ties that bind us to the illusion
that one segment of our human family can win
while another loses.

Together we women are contributing
to a new collective wisdom
and we are lending our strength
to that which we wish to embrace.
From this emerging balance is being born
a new dimension of our humanity.

Acknowledge the Global Context in Which We Are Gathering

Please use the following as a visualization or simply as a reading to connect you, and those who are gathering with you, to the other gatherers around the world. (The reader may ask those participating to close their eyes during the reading.)

"Join me now as we connect with the women around the world who have come together on this unprecedented day in history -- a day set aside to Gather the Women worldwide. Let us begin by taking a few deep breaths, settling comfortably into the space we now occupy. Let us feel the energy of the women who have joined us on this sacred day. Feel your connection to them knowing that they too have heard the call and have responded.

"Feel the energy of the women who have gone before us, our mothers and their mothers and their grandmothers; feel the joy and recognition of these ancestors as we join together today to declare our intentions. Feel the energy of all the other women around the world who are gathered for International Women's Day, and those who in years past have gathered to celebrate this day. Imagine them all standing with us today, as we stand together in a new way.

"Now, I invite you to visualize our beloved Mother Earth in all her glory-- this beautiful round planet, with her deep blues and greens, her majesty and beauty. Breathe deeply as you relax into the safety of this space and visualize enfolding our beautiful mother in your safety of your arms. Take in the wholeness of the planet without boundaries or borders. Breathe deeply, letting your breath infuse the planet with life sustaining love.

When you are ready, begin to connect with women around the world as we first focus on North America where many groups of women are coming together bringing their creativity and energy to this global gathering. In Canada, women are gathering in multiple locations in Alberta, Ontario and British Columbia. In the United States women are gathering in over 250 events in 40 states crisscrossing the country from Naples, Florida to Seattle, Washington; from Brunswick, Maine to Ventura, California. As we breathe in, let us feel our connection to all these women.

Now, let us gently shift our attention Central and South America where we join our energy with our sisters who are gathering in Mexico and in Brazil. We energetically join them in their celebrations.

Now once again shifting our focus, let's travel to Nelson, New Zealand where women are gathering for a peace picnic and then on to Australia where women are engaging in ritual, ceremony and prayer in 12 different cities. Feel the power of connecting with these women.

Let's next join our energy with the women in Europe who are gathering in Ireland, England, Wales, The Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Italy, Greece, Spain and Portugal. Feel the energy of our connectiveness expanding.

Now moving our attention to the Middle East, we join the women who are gathering in interfaith groups from Israel and Palestine to uncover and explore their shared hopes for peace. Let us breathe in peace with them.

In Afghanistan we join with the women attending a leadership and democracy training to learn the skills needed to rebuild their country. Let us honor their courage and determination as we hold them in our consciousness.

In the United Arab Emirates we celebrate with the women who are coming together in music and song to weave a Middle Eastern Gather the Women tapestry out of their favorite cloths. Symbolically, the weaving our new world has begun as we energetically join in their creative endeavor.

Now turning our attention to Africa we join with the voices of women in Banjul, Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We feel the strength of these women as they come together in ritual and song and we connect with them now knowing that we share a common intention -- to create a peaceful, harmonious world where all life is held sacred.

Connecting with all these women now, let us breathe deeply and visualize each gathering as a bright point of light and feel the energy of that light spreading like a healing wave, blanketing the world in peace and love. Breathe in the beauty and power of this vision.

Bringing ourselves back to our own sacred space, we honor women from all walks of life knowing that as the seed bearers and the life givers, we all feel a deep sense of compassion for the fragility of life on our beloved planet; knowing that in our diversity there is strength; knowing that no matter our status, we are all connected by a golden thread that is woven through each feminine heart.

We gather today to join in the sharing of our songs, stories, music and creative energy.

We gather today to feel the sense of community that is created when women come together.

We gather today in the strength of our diversity to stand in oneness with our sisters throughout the world.

We gather today in the recognition that when one woman suffers, all women suffer.

We gather today knowing that this day marks a new beginning-- a moment in time when a profound shift has occurred on the planet.

We gather today knowing that from this day forward, we, the women of the world, will feel the strength of our connectedness and from that strength we will step forth in power and love with the determination to take the actions needed to create the change we wish to see in the world.

We gather today knowing that on this day the weaving of a new world has begun -- a world of balance, partnership, justice and peace.

A Call to Action

As we leave our gatherings on this remarkable day let each of us make a commitment to take some type of on-going action that will move us closer to achieving our mutual goal of a balanced and peaceful planet.

There are millions of actions we can take. Here are a few suggestions to start you thinking:

Take steps to become a more balanced in your life and encourage and support the men in you life to take similar steps to bring themselves into balance.

Arrange to have a meaningful dialogue with the men in your life-- husbands, partners, sons, fathers, friends, co-workers-- about their sensitivities and consciousness towards women. Suggest ways they could be more inclusive by engaging in a partnership model of cooperation.

Make a commitment to speak out when women are being belittled or demeaned by humor or sarcasm and ask the men in your lives to do the same.

Make the commitment to stay connected with those in your gathering by creating a phone or email list and making plans to meet on a regular basis.

Join or start a women's wisdom circle and explore solutions to challenges in your local community, state, country or the world.

Create a study group with other women to explore books, documentary films or current social issues.

Whatever action(s) you decide to take, by all means, stay connected to Gather the Women. Use the online directory to find and connect with other women around the world and plan to participate in the new Gather the Women Discussion and Action Forum that is scheduled to be available on the website around March 15. (You will receive a notice by email when it is activated.)

Thank you for joining us in this unprecedented global women's retreat. Your participation, along with thousands of other women around the world, have made it a reality. And, we've only just begun. Together we will continue to work with one another as we weave a new world of balance, partnership, justice and peace. Stay tuned!!


Only Love Prevails,
Carol Hansen Grey
Executive Director
Women of Vision and Action

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