My friend H sent me this recently as an email; it is long, so I am going to send you to this link. It is an excerpt from a book by Nicole Johnson called The Invisible Woman. I think we have all felt this way from time to time. From my perspective, it is about the typical condition of being taken for granted by your husband and kids; with the knowledge that you have to give yourself credit for what you do - building families - building cathedrals - you will be gone and your dedicated work will still exist. God still sees you.
http://www.parenthood.com/articles.html?article_id=10240
I need to take another stand. First of all, I do what I do because I am self motivated, not selfless. I believe in the connection of all souls. Plus, I am fairly sure that I am not invisible. As much as I try to sneak away, my children and husband still find me. "Mom, where are you?????!! I'm hungry! Can you help me with my homework?" Teachers and schools still frequently call me, grab me in the hallway, etc. I have disguised myself with hats, pink hair, pink glasses, funky clothes, tattoos, but to no avail. They still see me!!! My kids are frequently embarrassed by me, so not only do they see me, so do their friends!!!
OK, I'm being silly. But when I read this from Klaus, Stephen's cousin from Denmark, I was really touched!!! He always has insight and inspiration . . . an amazing master of the English language ! I have cut and pasted his words so often into my blog that I think that I am in danger of copyright infringement . . .
Hi Susan
I read the story about the invisible woman.
At first I agreed. No one will build cathedrals like they once did. The total devotion and perhaps sacrifice for something you will never see finished. At first I was like her friend, wanting to give away books too. The story brought immediate comfort.
But then ..... No ....
No one deserves to be invisible...
No one deserves to be taken for granted...
No one is supposed to be invisible serving waiters living on theknowledge that God knows the struggle you've seen...
I thought that the first steps in the process of liberation of all mankind were taken by persons like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln and has continued ever since.
Everybody deserves to be visible.
Everybody deserves to be needed.
Everybody deserves to be loved and recognised for what they are doing.
Kids are meant to take their moms hand as it is a safe, warm and goodguiding hand.Graduates are meant to bring home their friends for Thanks giving, to show where they learned to cook so great. Perhaps a household needs a lot of domestic jobs to be done. These jobs are just as important as the ones outside.
My stand is that: No women are supposed to be sent back to the kitchen to follow the path of their mothers as their mothers before them. No women deserve to be kept in their place by comforting stories about building cathedrals.
It is a sad situation, if what we have to grasp for, is a story that tells you that god knows.
You are not supposed to be taken for granted. I don't take you for granted. I don't think you are invisible. The work you are doing is as important as building cathedrals, going to school or manage big companies.
I am convinced that both your boys and Stephen recognise the work you do.
Klaus
We all need a cousin Klaus . . . he is a gift, and his wife Susanne, too!
2 comments:
I hope Klaus' wife really appreciates him. He's so evolved. On some levels, although I don't like being invisible, it is more naturally who I am at this stage in my life. When I was younger, a student and a full-time attorney, I thought it was very important to have tangible evidence of my achievements, to gratify myself and prove my worth to others.
Now, I feel like it's more important to be "the puppet-master": being the behind the scenes person who makes things work. If I'm doing my job right, it is others who will shine. I don't like the limelight. I am secure in the knowledge that what I do is important. I guess it depends on what you feel is important. For example, to me, I think it is critical that I raise polite, decent, compassionate, giving, law-abiding human beings who have something positive to contribute to this world. Having just launched my first child into the real world, I know that I did some good work in raising her. She is a monument to herself, her parents and God--it was a team effort. I'm lucky I had the chance to be "invisible" and make such a profound difference in the world, with this one child.
I completely agree with Klaus' take on the Invisible Woman. He put my thoughts into words so well!
We all depend on each other for love, support,and security. Even mothers need this. Klaus is a wise man.
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