It is impossible to speak of the wounded feminine without talking about relationships for at its core of wounding, the feminine is wounded in regards to relationship. This is true throughout the entirety of creation as we know it and experience it. The wounding manifests in the form of mistrust and competition. At its root is fear—fear that there is not enough to go around.If we look at our relationship with Source we find that at the beginning there was abundance and trust. In the Garden of Eden the clothing of Adam and Eve was light. Their delight was to meet their Creator at the end of the day. When mistrust of God’s goodness and wisdom entered the picture (the eating of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil) the covering of light disappeared and darkness entered their relationship with God.
It is inevitable that mistrust within that relationship resulted in mistrust between men and women and mistrust within relationships of the same gender. Within the very day of their eyes being opened they began to blame each other. Where there had been a spirit of collaboration there was now a spirit of competition. The same continues today. We compete for resources and it shows up most blatantly in our relationships.
This is pronounced when you look at the relationships of women with women. Feminism hasn’t failed to deliver what it promised—it has given us the right to compete in the world of men. It has not given us what we wanted, however, and that is a sense of collaboration and the wholeness that we were seeking. In actuality, we probably got exactly what we asked for; we just failed to ask the right question.
Women are more isolated and competitive than ever before. At a time when we most need to work together to accomplish the healing that we seek for ourselves and for our planet, we are more divided than ever. Women are at their best when they are able to work together for the greater group good. Just think of times when women have collaborated on projects and the immense success that attends their efforts.
The same can be said of men. The greatest successes of humanity have always occurred when we cooperate and work toward the greater good of all.
Perhaps the questions we need to begin to ask are not “How can I compete in the world?” but rather, “How can I best offer my gifts in cooperation with others for the betterment of the world?” This question takes us out of the model of scarcity (there is not enough to go around, i.e., men, women, opportunities, money) into the model of abundance (there are more than enough resources available to accomplish what needs to be done).
When we move into the mindset of abundance we begin to transform our relationships. Our relationship with God becomes bigger. We let go of our patriarchal notions of God and begin to embrace a picture of God that embodies all of the qualities of creation, both masculine and feminine. Our relationship with God grows beyond the notion of personal “salvation” into a restoration of all of humanity into a relationship of companionship with God.
We can begin to collaborate with one another instead of competing for “our” spot. Our beliefs expand to embrace the idea that we each serve in a way that only we can serve and we honor the service of others rather than feel threatened by them. As a parent rejoices in the growth and development of their child, we can become cheerleaders for one another, rejoicing in the unfolding of each soul.
The picture of a hand reaching out to whomever needs it at the moment is one that replaces the picture of the lone competitor standing on top of everyone that they stepped on to get to the top. In reality, there is no “top” only a continual journeying back into a relationship with All That Is. Let’s begin to imagine a different journey together.
Comments