The original Greek word for apocalypse – apokalypsis – does not mean “end times”. It means “to unveil”. This is the apocalypse we are living through: a process of unveiling and revealing. Patriarchy is not inevitable. It is not sustainable. If we are to survive and thrive as a species, we must first reveal it, and then undo it: in our systems, and in ourselves. Jess Hill, 2020, Privilege, power, patriarchy: are these the reason for the mess we’re in? https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/oct/18/privilege-power-patriarchy-are-these-the-reasons-for-the-mess-were-in
When I read these potent words by Jess Hill, I pondered how it is that I reveal and undo patriarchy in my everyday life. This is what came to me:
- Sleeping and waking in Kairos time rather than Kronos time. Kronos is linear time, the time of clocks and calendars. It moves from a set past towards a determined future. Kairos time is the soul’s time. It spirals and shifts back and forth. It cannot be determined.
- Moving slowly, noticing my body, my bare feet on the ground, my breath: longer exhalations (breathing in cycles: in for 4, holding for 7, out for 8).
- Dressing in clothes for how they feel rather than how they look.
- Breaking the fast of the night with food and drink I enjoy.
- Gathering information about the world from sources that inform rather then indoctrinate – books; selected social media platforms; the quality of light.
- Living close to trees and birds and changing weather.
- Contributing to projects and movements that unveil and stand against and/or apart from abuses of privilege and power.
- Being curious. Walking through ancient doorways and crossing mysterious thresholds.
- Looking for Her everywhere. Being open to wonder and surprise . . .
How do you reveal and undo patriarchy in your everyday life?
Where we live, how we get money, how we spend our money, who our friends are, what we eat, what we wear, what we do for fun, how we quarrel and how we make up, the art we make, who our lovers are and what we do with them, what organizations we participate in, how we relate to institutions of government and law, what rites and rituals we participate in, what we celebrate and how, and the language we use . . .always, everywhere, on any topic the language and languages we use . . .all these things align our energies and powers with or against (or ambiguously with and against) oppression, resistance, liberation. Marilyn Frye, from the Introduction to Marilyn Murphy’s Are You Girls Travelling Alone? Clothespin Fever Press, Los Angeles, 1991, p. 14.
Meet Mago Contributor Kaalii Cargill
I try to keep fasting at night for the sake of my body. Esp. stomach needs to rest at least for a significant period of hours per day…
Hi Kaalii,
Indeed! This is my initial response and I may or may not continue to comment.
“Sleeping and waking in Kairos time rather than Kronos time. Kronos is linear time, the time of clocks and calendars. It moves from a set past towards a determined future. Kairos time is the soul’s time. It spirals and shifts back and forth. It cannot be determined.”
The linear notion of time is indeed misleading and reductionist. Nonetheless, the public realm is under patriarchal time and calendar. I have reconstructed the 13 month 28 day calendar, which we may call the soul’s time. It is time that are aligned with all others beings in our “matriverse” (maternal universe).