How many times, and when does it end? I met a young Ukrainian woman last week who fled Kyiv in March, 2022, at the start of this war, living here in the U.S. now--she fled at the urging of her then-fiance/now husband who was already in America. I will be threading in bits and pieces of her story over time.
I feel like I must keep stitching together fragments until the tapestry shows a fuller picture. Creating Tikkun.
Wow, I hadn't caught that Mom's poster looks a lot like the Flower Power posters of the 60s, but now that you mention it. . .!
Beautiful and moving. Thank you, Robin. Your grandmother Sophie's story is tough and all too common. The war zones of our world are heartbreaking. I love how you're making connections across past and present generations of women, for future generations. Daring to remember also means daring to give voice to a new story.
Giving voice to a new story is challenging work. It means overcoming our own resistance (after all, old narratives have stuck with us for decades, centuries, even millennia). The cut a cavernous groove in our neural networks that makes it difficult even to "see" out, much less to "climb" out of it.
And when you're sharing such an old story to a wider network, a social network of the analog variety, one that may or may not be receptive to the new. In fact, they may resist it with all their might because it challenges the dominant narrative, patriarchy.
I believe we are seeing many new stories rising and climbing their way out of the cave and that's part of why there is such a fierce and ferocious public reaction for whom letting go means losing not just their dominance, but their entire raison d'être. Their certainty that they are kings.
But the stories will keep rising and we will keep telling a different story until, at last, the new way of seeing and being, the new story, is unstoppable!
“Three women. Three wars. Three acts of creation in the face of erasure.”
Wow, Robin! Your words carry generations of resilience, pain and such astonishing beauty … Sophie’s silence, Dottie’s vision and your voice intertwine in a legacy of remembrance and fierce hope. Thank you so much for daring to speak what was once unspeakable and for offering us all a vision of what it means to truly live anew.
The archetypes of the Maiden, the Mother and the Crone came to mind. 🙏💖
Thank you, Deborah.These archetypes are universal. I feel like they're stand-ins for all of our experiences--especially the Divine Feminine. That is the story I am excavating right now.
But you bring to mind something important: our stories are incomplete unless they also integrate the Divine Masculine archetypes: divine child, king, warrior, trickster, craftsman, lover and so on.
So I guess I'm only recounting half the story--at least at this juncture.
I am trying to remember how much of these words and memories were brought to your mother’s 100th birthday at that celebration. That was a memorable evening.
It was indeed, Judy. Made all the more so by our two then-centenarian mothers and their long memories of "the olden days". May their names be for a blessing.
I love this, thank you. We remember 🙏🏼❤️
Thank you, Simone. ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
"Because silence, I’ve learned, is not the same as peace."
absolutely!
Thank you for sharing these parts of your (her)story xx
The thread of generations you sew is moving. We share that commitment.
This is heartbreaking (and how many times?):
"But my grandmother’s crossing was marked by violence. Sexual violence. A fact she could not admit to Abe. Or anyone. Ever.
She arrived a different person from the girl who left Kovshevatoe earlier that year at 18. She turned 19 en route. But that girl was gone forever."
Your mother's poster is a striking precursor to those of the 60s!
Yes. Kindred souls, right?
How many times, and when does it end? I met a young Ukrainian woman last week who fled Kyiv in March, 2022, at the start of this war, living here in the U.S. now--she fled at the urging of her then-fiance/now husband who was already in America. I will be threading in bits and pieces of her story over time.
I feel like I must keep stitching together fragments until the tapestry shows a fuller picture. Creating Tikkun.
Wow, I hadn't caught that Mom's poster looks a lot like the Flower Power posters of the 60s, but now that you mention it. . .!
Beautiful and moving. Thank you, Robin. Your grandmother Sophie's story is tough and all too common. The war zones of our world are heartbreaking. I love how you're making connections across past and present generations of women, for future generations. Daring to remember also means daring to give voice to a new story.
:) Thank you, Robin!
Giving voice to a new story is challenging work. It means overcoming our own resistance (after all, old narratives have stuck with us for decades, centuries, even millennia). The cut a cavernous groove in our neural networks that makes it difficult even to "see" out, much less to "climb" out of it.
And when you're sharing such an old story to a wider network, a social network of the analog variety, one that may or may not be receptive to the new. In fact, they may resist it with all their might because it challenges the dominant narrative, patriarchy.
I believe we are seeing many new stories rising and climbing their way out of the cave and that's part of why there is such a fierce and ferocious public reaction for whom letting go means losing not just their dominance, but their entire raison d'être. Their certainty that they are kings.
But the stories will keep rising and we will keep telling a different story until, at last, the new way of seeing and being, the new story, is unstoppable!
❤️!!!
“Three women. Three wars. Three acts of creation in the face of erasure.”
Wow, Robin! Your words carry generations of resilience, pain and such astonishing beauty … Sophie’s silence, Dottie’s vision and your voice intertwine in a legacy of remembrance and fierce hope. Thank you so much for daring to speak what was once unspeakable and for offering us all a vision of what it means to truly live anew.
The archetypes of the Maiden, the Mother and the Crone came to mind. 🙏💖
Thank you, Deborah.These archetypes are universal. I feel like they're stand-ins for all of our experiences--especially the Divine Feminine. That is the story I am excavating right now.
But you bring to mind something important: our stories are incomplete unless they also integrate the Divine Masculine archetypes: divine child, king, warrior, trickster, craftsman, lover and so on.
So I guess I'm only recounting half the story--at least at this juncture.
Such rich ground for stories--and healing!
Beautiful and compelling from beginning to end. My heart is with you in this moment.
Thank you, Susan. ❤️
Oh, this looks beautiful, Robin. Saving to read when the family visit is over. xx
Thank you, Robin. Enjoy your family time!
❤️
I am trying to remember how much of these words and memories were brought to your mother’s 100th birthday at that celebration. That was a memorable evening.
It was indeed, Judy. Made all the more so by our two then-centenarian mothers and their long memories of "the olden days". May their names be for a blessing.
I am struck by the graphic design your mother drew. Survivance.
Survivance. Yes 👏🏻
Thank you for reading, Veronika 🙏🏻