Women who just do their job

As I was thinking about the first words to write this blog, an email of the German distributor just came in with the link to the announcement of the German DVD on his website. Before I continue, I just wanted to share this with you, as I am – as there is such a nice expression in English – very chuffed :). You can pre-buy this German version or you can wait until October, when it is officially for sale. For you English and Spanish speakers, please be patient, the films are currently being shown publically and will be on general release in October. If you would like to do a viewing within your school, university, women’s, men’s or any other group, please contact me. I also offer workshops relating to the film. The first one just happened at Global Generation in London with a gathering of about 30 young people and adults. It was an incredibly inspiring evening that gave me lots of hope for the future! The way the young people were able to internalize Gerda Lerner’s spirit of courage and vision was fantastic. Thank you to the founder of this great charity and dear friend, Jane Riddiford! In autumn there will be more showings in Germany, in planning also in Switzerland, Austria and Netherlands. Also, the film will be shown at the UNESCO September 15 in Paris. Watch this space. The US showings will be more likely to happen in Winter/early spring after the US has elected her first female president 🙂 (who happens to know Gerda Lerner). And South America is in the works as well. I just returned from premiering the film in London, at the St Etherlburga’s, a beautiful multifaith venue in the middle of the financial district in London, an oasis that I am sure would have also pleased Gerda Lerner and the values she was cherishing. It was an engaged crowd of men and women with great questions. Thank you to Karen Lee Downes for doing the moderation and to my old friend Mary Adams who supported me on all levels for making this event succesful. The next day after the Premiere I met with an old friend of mine in one of the leafy green parks of London. We had an interesting conversation. He told me, that on the way home after watching the film, his girlfriend said, that she didn’t really understand the deeper layers of the film. However, he felt he understood something, and it made him almost a bit scared, as he didn’t know if he wanted to deal with the implications of what opened up for him: Maybe we do live in a Matrix, and the different roles we are playing as men and women are going quite deep, and are not letting us be deeply free human beings. He also told me that he experiences his girlfriend to be quite attached to the role she is playing as a caretaker, supporter and ‘second in command’ partner. So, what do we do? Do we continue to play our roles but feel slightly or heavily victimized by it? Or do we lean in, talk together, explore and enjoy the ride of new possibilities and bear the feelings of insecurity of not knowing who we really are, shaking up centuries of ideas and values? The question is, what is needed right now? Do we need to find new ways of relating and interacting on this planet? Or not? What do we prefer? An alive, engaged and courageous exploration facing lots of insecurity or do we prefer a more safe, unquestionned and slightly victimized known way of living where we shy away from the dark clouds circling over us? Last night I read an article about Teresa May and Angela Merkel having their first meeting together. (Teresa is only a premier minister since one week, so I was impressed!) Normally the new UK Premier goes first to meet the US president, but Angela and Teresa felt it was important to meet first, especially because of the imminent Brexit situation. It was also a statement from Teresa, that Europe is important for her. Apparently they were both very serious, and they said that they were going to take care so that the situation will not de-stabilise more, and that they were going to find ways which are not going to aggravate the insecurity of people more. It was all done in a cool and polite way, as they both are rather cool, undramatic characters. The title of the article was: Two women who just do their job…. I really hope so, and I actually believe it. I sometimes wonder if Angela Merkel has read Gerda Lerner’s biography where she writes about how ‘no matter how bad a situation gets, you live and act as if you are not a victim.’ Kudos to her. Brian Swimme, an evolutionary cosmologist, said many years ago, that in terms of our global human evolution we are at the stage of teenagehood. So, it is time to grow up. Maybe this is the time, when after all the drunken parties, hangovers and bad, entitled behavior we wake up and realize that life is much more serious than we thought and that each action we take has profound consequences. As Gerda Lerner puts it simply: The main thing history can teach us is that human actions have consequences, and that certain choices, once made, cannot be undone. Gerda Lerner Perhaps we are starting to get this. That our historical actions have consequences and undoubtedly will have way into the future past our own lifetimes. If we can start feeling responsible for this fact, so much will already be giving us guidance on what we need to do and what not. We live in serious and unstable times. But we also live in times where we are asked to be very innovative and creating new ways of being together and thinking. And more than ever we need the stabilizing, undramatic spirit that many of our heroes and heroines have embodied and that maybe some women in leadership will now take on. A calm, big-hearted and firm view and hand on what needs to be done. Step by step, with no panic but love. So, it is time for us all to grow up. Life is good, fundamentally really good. Let’s never forget that fact. In that sense, I wish you all a creative and engaged and also stabilizing summer, wherever you are on this planet and I hope to see you all soon in various showings of the film. PS. If you want updates, please sign up to the newsletter, and you can always keep up to date about the next showing here or write to me directly. PPS. If you would like to support the film, you can do so here. It is not too late yet. I have had various requests for sub-titling the film in Hebrew, Portuguese and other languages, but there are no funds at the moment to do this. THANK YOU in advance!