The Witches We Burned
There’s a popular meme out there in PretendLand aka internet that says: We are the daughters of the witches you couldn’t burn.
When I first saw it- and maybe I posted it; my feelings were: “YES!!!!! Here we come!!! You can’t get us now!”
I think the meaning of the meme is woman empowerment- which I’m absolutely about.
But I’ve been sitting with that concept, just rolling it over through my philosophical mind and as I do, I am aware that we are the daughters of those “they” didn’t catch…. OR we are the daughters of they who burned them.
Witnessing the political, religious, and social culture we are in today- my perspective has begun to shift. We are more likely to have been the ones who were the burners.
The burners are those who were fear based and sought to control the population or others. The ones who NEED other people to do as they say.
The burners were those that turned in their sisters, brothers, and children for profit, prestige or to save themselves. The burners were those who couldn’t tolerate people who were different than societal standards.
The burners were those who were looking for a scapegoat or someone to blame for why a plague or misfortune fell upon their village/town/household. The burners were those with the mentality of “the end justifies the means.”
We are watching this play out in our modern day society now.
The burners are those that don’t want to allow personal freedom and have no tolerance for free personal choice.
The burners will claim that we MUST burn the witches for the overall safety of society and protect the children.
The burners are those that will always say “It’s for the greater good.”
I’m not making this a political post- if your mind went there- I can see why. But I’m not intending the blog that way.
I’m simply witnessing and wondering whether or not we will ever learn.
Recently, a woman cyberbully blasted me on social media because I wasn’t open to her suggestions about sleep training my 1 year old son. She told me I was raising an abuser if I didn’t set boundaries for his sleep patterns and I needed to be a better mother for him. When I told her to stop- she didn’t; and berated my friends and I verbally for 2 days.
What is so amazing and beautiful is the way hundreds of comments supporting me telling her to stop popped up.
It was a powerful experience for me- not only to learn about the support I have from friends, acquaintances and even strangers; but it was an empowering experience for me to stand in my truth and boundaries.
It gave me the opportunity to advocate for my OWN self and to repeatedly state “stop behaving this way” without returning the attack.
It was a chance to stand up for myself and energetically validate my own worth.
I had the chance that tens of thousands of witches didn’t. I had a voice. I had others who wouldn’t stay silent when an accuser points the finger.
Those who are close to me know I’ve had two of the hardest years of my life. I absolutely fall into the valley of despair about it. My original post about a toddler not sleeping was so despondent and exhausted and AUTHENTIC for me.
Getting to have a heckler rise up from the abyss of strangers on the internet- and tell me I need to do better, think better, show up better- was HUGE.
I was able to hold a boundary, regardless of her battering, with that boundary- I was able to stand up for myself. To stand up for other mothers who struggle.
I had the chance to defend the right to be exactly who I am.
Essentially saying “I am allowed to be and feel whatever I am. I am allowed to be genuine. I am allowed to voice a hard day and acknowledge a challenging experience.”
It helped to revitalize me. It helped me to advocate for MYSELF the way I do for others.
It was as if I was speaking to my own inner voice that has been telling me to “buck up” and get over it. Be stronger. Use your motivational skills.
I was able to stand up to the Witch Burner in my own head as much as the cyber bully.
I don’t know this woman, and if I start to make assumptions about her and her life and why she shows up the way she does- then I’m doing the same as she did. But, I know that bullies and bullying is born of pain. Whatever hers is- I have empathy for.
What I learned from this and am learning is that WE ARE THE WITCH BURNERS.
We burn one another and we burn ourselves.
With our self-berating and self-beating, we tie ourselves to the stake and light the tinder.
Will we, the posterity of those who condemned the different ones, murdered the weird ones, and had intolerance for other people’s personal way of living, ever learn to accept and let be?
Perhaps, if we allow authenticity and creativity. Perhaps if can begin to show up with compassion and understanding then we have a chance as a world. For ourselves AND others.
What would our current world look like if the witches had survived? The herbalists, the ones who weren’t willing to turn their backs on others to save themselves. The ones who knew mysteries of the cosmos, the ones who were innocent.
When the burners win- WE lose. Our planet LOSES.
A few generations later, we have world wars, worldwide pandemics, nuclear warheads- created by our ancestors who wouldn’t tolerate, or accept different people, who wanted to control others. The ones who NEED to be RIGHT.
Let’s learn.
Enough of the wise ones were able to survive, enough of the kind ones, the generous ones, the ones who lived in harmony with nature survived that we could glean from their wisdom and PERHAPS save ourselves from a karmic future we created through intolerance.
We aren’t the daughters of the witches who escaped. There were too few.
We are the burners.
But…
We still have time.
It’s time for accountability.
It’s time for compassion.
Let’s learn.
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