Did you know out of 101 Mayflower passengers landing in North America in 1620, only 41 were men? And actually a woman was first to set foot on Plymouth Rock. So why do we only hear about the Pilgrim Fathers?
In Edward Arber’s ‘The Story of the Pilgrim Fathers, 1606 – 1623’ he points out that 14 of the 18 wives died in the first year in contrast with 3 out of 20 children, prompting him to ask whether the women sacrificed themselves for their children.
I think the question’s just as valid today. But this is not just about mothers. This is all women. Do women sacrifice themselves? For children, parents, partners, colleagues … the list continues. Do we sometimes sacrifice ourselves too much? “Your playing small does not serve the world,” as Marianne Williamson so eloquently puts it. Can sacrifice become a means of “playing small”? Can our caring for others become self-sabotage? Not stepping into our power? Letting others take control? Hiding in the background? Afraid to be the all-powerful beings we are?
Now is the time for women to stand up and be all we truly are. The Dalai Lama in his address to the Vancouver Peace Summit in September 2009 said, “The world will be saved through the Western Woman.”
Are you the Woman who saves the world or are you “playing small”?
In an evocative piece “In Honor of Pilgrim Mothers” published on 24 December 1892, The New York Times reported on what sounded like a great party of high-powered women, who toasted their foremothers with tea and coffee and marched into dinner singing “ta-ra-ra boom de ay” accompanied “with great spirit” on the piano by a member. For all the revelry there was a serious reason for convening – that of celebrating and recognising “the achievements of the women, the sufferings and patient endurance of the “Pilgrim Mothers” (which) were unsaid and unsung at the masculine tables.” I would have loved to be there to sing and exalt the Pilgrim Mothers.
Women in the 21st century also need to be seen and sung. That’s why I’m leading a new programme for women - to be the Women Who Save the World.
My personal mission to galvanise and support women to be all we can be – the very highest and best – and live our dreams in the process. When we tap into and truly follow our soul purpose we travel on a lifelong pilgrimage to a New World, learning as we go. We might not be able to see the end destination – there might be twists and turns, blocked paths, unexpected joys and gifts, tears and laughter, and untold magic.
This is not a journey for the faint-hearted. This is for women who are ready to find their soul purpose (if you’ve not already), and join the pilgrimage to that new place, that new Land of Promise. We create it ourselves by our right action.
The Pilgrim Mother is my call for women to connect, communicate and create our New World.
The Story of The Pilgrim Fathers - Edward Arber:
http://www.archive.org/stream/storyofthepilgri000478mbp#page/n3/mode/2up
New York Times article - In Honor of Pilgrim Mothers:
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=3&res=9A03E4DC1638E233A25757C2A9649D94639ED7CF