Reading List

My reading list lately has been a bit heavy - all four of the books I am alternating my way through deal with women's lives around the world. Each book tells the story of individual women - stories laden with oppression, crime, cruelty and complete violation of human rights. In many of these harsh tales, the women are enslaved, either by their husbands, or in factories, or trafficked into brothels. And even the women who live "freely" must do so in the most bleak and demeaning of conditions. In some cases, opportunity, escape and strong spirit help them to rise above. In many, the oppression is too heavy. Their spirits break. They live lives without a childhood, adulthood without hope. Lives devoid of joy.

Reading these stories at this time in my life has been eye opening and forced me to consider the luxury of we few and fortunate women of the world who can ponder whether or not we are fulfilled - if we are reaching our potential, following our calling, living our best lives. So many of us struggle in a life that would look like beautiful luxury to most of the world's women. Maslow created an entire theory of psychology - his hierarchy of needs - outlining this struggle. We need basic needs met, food and water and sleep, and then we need safety and security before we can begin to strive for love and self-esteem and finally - finding our callings. Most of us live in the top of his little pyramid, carelessly taking for granted the foundation that lies below.

And I am not sure what to do with this knowledge - not sure how we begin to address the plight of millions of women around the globe - not sure what to do with this intersection of life stories, so vastly different and yet with the same.