The Nonconformist

How do we stop child abuse?  My mind goes back to a story, and I am sure I have shared it.  It was in an Eastern European country...we know everyone there has been under stress for generations.  Husbands were beating their wives.  The wives didn't know how to stop it, until they simply became a silent witness.  When a man started beating his wife, the other women congregated and stood outside and watched.  The violence diminished, and in my memory - disappeared.  We need transparency.  We need witnesses.  Witnessing offers a double edged sword, I believe.  A dose of embarrassment/humiliation is offered with a bit of Me too.  You are not alone has power!

So. it's easy.  With Me, too we rebuild.  Healing often occurs in reverse order...so we restore the Mama, then Papa and sibs - the nuclear family, then the extended family, so we'll have our clans, tribes, neighborhoods, villages.  If we are not ripped from each other, we can support each other.  We are closer to whole than imaginable.

Mission Statement?  A personal mission statement?  Really?  I cringe, and yet I want to try.  And I reserve the right to edit - over and over.

I had to redefine mission statement.  I need to state my reason for existing.  That is hard for those of us who wish to be invisible, who think perhaps we are a mistake.  I need to incorporate my aims, my make up, my key market, my contribution, my distinction.  If properly written - it will serve as a moral compass.

I am a nonconformist whose job is to refuse to engage in behaviors that allow the staus quo to continue.  I will not tie my boat to a sinking ship.  Instead I will row fearlessly into the unknown, following other nonconformists and leading the way for younger people who also wish so much for change that they are unwilling to slide into the oblivion of current culture.  I will bring about change, not by talking about it, but by changing.

That feels really scary.  I think I will stop and let that percolate.

Today was a long day...and Best Friend from College will be here tomorrow, followed by S#3 on Saturday.  If you can get away, my door is always open for you.

Love and hugs and smooshy kisses.

Clare