It is only through my aging that I can realize a lifetime’s experience of being a woman from inside the opening of the flower that I am, only now finally blooming, having come to a profound sensitivity of understanding of society’s diminishment, historic abuse, objectification, judgment, and successful tempering of spirit that we endure as women.

This awareness and sensitivity is magnified while witnessing our reproductive rights being taken away at the cost of our health and safety, a male hierarchy of government ripping the very roots of our worth, intelligence and value that has taken us lifetimes to establish, grow and flourish.

There are other significantly alarming regressions taking place, but what would be most alarming to me is if women do not stand up collectively to speak, and vote to retain our freedoms, so that we can continue to build on them. Our collective power is undeniable but I fear we have become numb, subdued, and exhausted to the degree that we are turning our heads and looking the other way.

Aging has brought much reflection of my own personal choices in life born of a conditioning of diminishment and shame as a woman. Despite what I’ve overcome, and my courage and boldness in forging my own unique path in life, the undeniably insidious patterns still echo off the canyon walls of society itself, and sometimes from within.

I just finished watching a series called The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart that prompted this writing. It speaks of the souls of women at the hands of damaged men, which is a global story. And of an incredible circle of women who gather to grieve, gain strength, heal, and live the acknowledgment of that story, creating transcendent unity and productivity largely through nature’s gifts of healing.

A completely different perspective, and quite brutal one, can be seen in Sheryl Sandberg’s documentary “Screams Before Silence” about the women sexually brutalized and murdered in the Hamas attack in Israel on October 7, 2023. Do you realize how hard it’s been to bring out the story of rape and sexual violence used against women in war? Do you realize how silent our suffering is?

Something is happening in our world as women. We are watching the patriarchal archetype going down in a spiral, grasping for its life, and there is much death and destruction. Our eyes have to be open. And we need to come together rather than isolate. It doesn’t have to be them against us any longer. It is now about a different perspective gaining momentum. The perspective that women offer including nurturing of life, empathy, intuitive wisdom, healing, inclusion and respect of nature and all forms of life.

But will we rise and stand together, especially on behalf of those whose lives are at risk if they do? Will we support one another rather than compare and compete? Will we dare to break the ridiculous prioritization and demand of our appearance as our greatest asset? Will we stop using our sexuality for favor and worth? Will we recognize our true value and power and work for the greater good?

I know millions already have, and are, and I applaud and bow in gratitude for every one of them. But as I reflect on nearly seventy years of life and my own slow climb in getting here, I want to speak to my sisters and daughters and ask you to wake up, stand up, vote to retain our rights and pass the word, and never ever believe your voice won’t make a difference or you are not capable. We are a part of history in the making and our unification can heal our past and help turn the tide.