Is Wisdom Feminine? (second in a series)

Posted on October 18, 2010

 

Can a modern gal Get Real by getting into ancient archetypes?

 

We think so. Timeless models of female wisdom provide real inspiration for women navigating their lives through a modern culture that does not.

 

Throughout time, wisdom has been represented as feminine, even in very patriarchal cultures, according to Jean Shinoda Bolen who spoke on camera for our documentary.

 

Classic female archetypes of wisdom are relevant today because they are based on something very real – the potential of a woman to become wiser, more powerful and more valuable as she grows older.

 

Let’s stop obsessing over our wrinkles and embrace our inner wise woman. The world needs us.

 

Here are some archetypes that inspire us:

 

The Triple Goddess. She embodies the maiden, the mother and the wise old woman. These three become one in the crone, representing the wholeness of female wisdom. Hecate is one of her names as is Triformis. She is beautifully associated with lunar phases – the full moon evokes the fullness of female wisdom.

 

And from ancient Egyptian scripture: In the beginning there was Isis, the oldest of the old.” She was the Goddess from whom all becoming arose. She was known as the One who is All and the Giver of Life.

 

Unfortunately, in Western culture the early church did much to suppress the female archetype of wisdom. But she resurfaced in the Virgin Mary and a later Madonna cult.

 

The ancient Vedic manifestation of the female trinity is alive and well in India today as Kali, the embodiment of eternal energy, the source of creation and destruction. Here the maiden, mother and crone are recognized as the Creator, Preserver and Destroyer.

 

We don’t have space to explore all the female archetypes here. But ponder this: for centuries female energy was known as the creator of time, the universe and life. And still is, in many cultures. Perhaps we can reject the influence of our superficial society’s negative attitude toward aging women and embrace our potential to become wise old women.

 

For a deeper understanding of how these archetypes can inform modern life check out Goddesses in Everywoman: Powerful Archetypes in Women’s Lives by Jean Shinoda Bolen.

 

 

What is Wisdom, Anyway?

Posted on October 18, 2010

 

First in a series.

 

What makes a woman wise?

Is it possible to agree upon a definition of wisdom in our polarized world?

 

Our documentary points to an age-old, universal feminine wisdom that transcends boundaries of religion, politics, race and culture.

 

I think about my own mother – surrounded by a pack of wide-eyed boys in a suburban Indianapolis driveway – demonstrating how to scale and gut a fish. Vee could fix anything, cook anything, sew anything, grow anything, tackle anything to do with math – she could fillet a fish and fry it beautifully, she entertained, she decorated. She wrote beautifully.

 

Paying her own way, she catapulted herself from tiny Florence, Kansas to college and on to build a life. She was hungry sometimes. She married young and worked hard, often searching with my dad for nickels and dimes in the couch. She lost him in a car accident, remarried, and mothered a pack of seven children. Things got pretty bumpy. She worked side by side with her second husband, building a business in tough times.

 

And along the way, Vee was strengthening her own brand of wisdom – something she called gumption.

 

In her eightieth decade, Vee became very ill and spent her final days in hospice. In her dying, she taught me how to live.

 

She got up and got dressed every morning regardless of how awful she felt. Her hands were shaking, but she applied her makeup with care – then went on to face the day with dignity and no complaints.

 

She cherished what shards of independence remained and continued to do anything for herself, no matter how small, that she possibly could. She let the wisdom of a lifetime inform her dying days. She displayed courage, grace, dignity and her ever-present gumption to the end.

 

Her wisdom came from a live well lived, from experience, from inner growth and strength honed by the years.

 

My mom and I had differing political views. But that doesn’t amount to a hill of beans. Mom knew how to live and how to die, and that’s a wisdom that transcends boundaries.

 

Next: Archetypes

 

Are You Dissatisfied, Too?

Posted on June 8, 2010

Are you tired of the way pop culture never tires of hammering, filming and featuring young women in the throes of making mistakes, living badly or simply growing up in front of the camera? Why is the media’s camera so seldom turned to women like Sylvia Earle – one of our Wise Women who is passionately working to right the oil spill catastrophe in the gulf? She is speaking up loud and clear – point the cameras at her!


Sylvia is one of the brilliant, immensely current, wise older women at whom I pointed my camera it in the documentary, Get Real! Wise Women Speak. My own personal dissatisfaction with the media’s unrelenting focus on youth, and its crass and superficial representation of women inspired me to search for more authentic and varied portrayals of women. Specifically, I was searching for inspiration in the accomplishments of older women — cool women, wise women, old women — I wanted to learn more about the special kind of wisdom women gain with age. And I wanted to find out what they are doing with that wisdom. Let’s imagine a new, more expansive concept of what aging means for women and all human beings.


Life does not end when the babe stage is over. In fact, for most women it gets better – much better!


The media’s relentless obsession with the most superficial aspects of youth culture is sharply contrasted in Get Real! Wise Women Speak by the power, vitality and the deep worth of the extraordinary women showcased:


Nobel Laureate Jody Williams; actress Jane Fonda; entertainer Della Reese; editor Susan L. Taylor; author Marianne Williamson; Buddhist nun Tenzin Palmo; poet Nikki Giovanni; and oceanographer Sylvia Earle. Jane Fonda discusses how age has brought true self-acceptance and even moments of magic to her life.


Spunky dance teacher Roberta Pollard with her hearty laugh, feisty attitude toward aging, determined physical ability and personal warmth paints her own very accessible image of aging that reads as genuine to many women.


Get Real! Wise Women Speak! does not shy away from the real issues women face. Is there beauty in aging or only in youth? Isn’t the role of grandmother universally appreciated? If so, why are women often afraid to embrace the look and reality of that role? What does it mean to be no longer valued for sexual attraction? Can the allure of an aging woman be equally attractive in its own way? How does an older women navigate the world of work? What is the special wisdom an older woman offers? Why does the world need it now? (That may leave you wanting to say –“ Duh! It’s kind of self evident.” We agree.)


The women in the film are as diverse as the possibilities that lay before them, but what unifies them is the choice to celebrate the third act of their lives in a manner which is rich, rewarding, and of tremendous benefit to society. A benefit to society which we believe is critical.