New Beginnings

I am starting to realise that the traditional, monotheistic religious perspective is not for me. Having encountered various 'prophets of doom', online and in real life, I have to say that too much time being spent meditating on an old-testament view of the world is an unhealthy thing. We need to free ourselves from the clutches of superstition. We need to live vibrantly, full of life and compassion. These true values cannot be found in the traditional, 'patriarchal' view of the world. This is not to say that traditional, true male values like inquiry into truth, risk-taking, courage and scientific or religious dedication are not without value. On the contrary, they are as valuable as ever. But their true value only can be appreciated when seen in harmony with the feminine virtues of compassion, understanding, love of beauty and delicacy for it's own sake. If we want a healthy life, a healthy society, we will have to embrace this gender-equality change. Which is not the same as one gender's values seeking to cancel out those of the other.

We have all seen how feminism once sought to make women more equal by encouraging them to be more masculine. Whilst equality is good, a solely masculine society would be a monstrosity, for the reasons outlined above. Each gender has virtues which we can share- they are gender virtues, but not exclusive ones. We have a long history of saints, mystics, prophets, and also scientists, artists, philosophers illustrating the mostly male virtues of inner seeking and love of truth. Women of course love truth just as much, but traditionally more in a receptive, feminine, devotional way- whihc is why there are so many sincerely religious women around. However, the feminine virtues have long been neglected, even despised, even as all the housework that has made homes comfortable refuges for the millenia was ever left unpaid.

Beauty, joyfulness, lightness, kindness, generosity- all these values need a fresh appreciation, not just as commodities for society to trade (as in advertising campaigns) but as end-values in their own right. Why is the young lady carefully putting on make-up so as to look prettier seen as wasting her time, compared to the office worker shining his shoes, identically black to the others in his office? Why is one set of mannerisms and preoccupations seen as 'more important' than the other? Because one is legitimately profitable and that any woman who is profiting through her looks is immoral, whilst a man profiting by his hard work is more morally upstanding? How does this fit in with Jesus' revolutionary teaching that it is love and faith that matter most, not conventional work?

It would seem that the revolution that Jesus preached has yet to make serious inroads into any society to any great degree. Yet it is for us spiritually-minded people to try to help it do so, just that little bit more, permeating through the ages like molten gold dripping into a mercurial base. An appreciation of the feminine is part of this, along with the corresponding love of natures, the Earth and people who are different to us- as throughout the ages, even when following fashions, women have never sought to be 'uniform', but rather to differentiate themselves from their peers. One could say that this is a necessary next step in a society as advanced as our own. Let us make it together.