It was an extraordinary scene, an indelible chapter in our rich and evolving life together.
Maria said in the living room in one chair, I sat just across from her, we had just come from the post office to check our P.O. Box and were still a bit shell-shocked to see it crammed with letters and envelopes from everywhere, all over the country.
Maria veers up and down like a big balloon caught in the wind, she veers between guilt and unworthiness, to joy and excitement. She will land soon.
Maria asked that we not open the letters hurriedly, that I open each one, read the letter slowly and carefully so that she could absorb it, hear who it was from, consider every word and thought. It was a profoundly moving thing we began to do, Maria was in tears almost from beginning to end, I found myself crying more than I might have imagined.
Your letters are amazing, I am so grateful to our little Post Office Box, it is the most wonderful channel of humanity and connection.
From all over the country, all kinds of people – young and old, rich and poor, working people, housewives, corporate executives, artists and elderly mothers – had gone to the trouble of writing checks to Maria and letters along with them, or carefully folding $10 and $20 bills into folded and handwritten notes and sending them to Maria for her trip to India.
“I am writing this from a nursing home,” wrote Eugenia from North Dakota, “and I cannot go to India, I so wish I could join you on this mission to use your wonderful heart and creative gifts to lift up people who have been battered and exploited. Please, take this contribution, it is small but all that I can give, and go to India for us, for all of us who have been bullied and exploited and held down…”
She added. “Do NOT ever feel guilty for accepting the help of other people on this journey to India, it will change your life and the lives of the women fortunate enough to meet you and learn from you. We will come along in spirit, if not in body, we will be the angels that carry you along. Bless you for this.”
From Colorado, Patricia wrote, “I am so happy to contribute to this journey, please do not let anyone make you ashamed of asking for this help, I wish I could give you more (she sent $100). So many women have been exploited, persecuted, diminished and it is so inspiring to think of the joy and meaning and hope you can bring to some of the worst women victims of cruelty on the earth. We will all be with you in spirit, you are a generous person of great heart.”
Janet from Rochester, New York, sent a $10 bill, and she wrote “I am not an artist, writer or musician but I am a true appreciator. As I approach the end of my life, I often ponder the lives of people who make a difference in the world. Creative people belong to this group, they touch many, the rest of us touch a few. This is why you should feel deserving of the help and those who help. You see, you are giving the rest of us a wonderful gift. We can help a creative touch the lives of many, thank you so much. I wish it could be more.”
It was more than enough Janet, it was a generous gift, it had both of us crying as we sat in our living room, the dogs curled up at our feet. You cannot judge the size of the gift by the amount of money.
“Dear Maria” wrote Mary Ann Clark, “of course you deserve to go on this trip! You are a beautiful soul who creates beautiful art, and now you have a chance to take your knowledge and expertise and share it with women and girls to help them learn to save their own lives…I truly believe we need to return to the Divine Feminine, to help all women understand their uniqueness and place in this world. The time is now, and you have been presented with a wonderful opportunity.”
All of this attention, affection, support and encouragement is a lot for Maria to handle all at once, for she was once one of those women who felt left behind and without the voice or the power to create or fulfill her capabilities. Everyone’s suffering is different, and these women in India have suffered a unique kind of horror, but so many women empathize so powerfully with their suffering, that tells us much about the experience of women in our world.
Maria and her potholders have struck the deepest nerve.
A part of Maria does not believe she deserves any of this, she is struggling to accept it and is also exhilarated, almost beyond words, at the chance this trip offers here. It is a very emotional thing for her. It makes me emotional also, seeing this generous person of great heart supported in this remarkable way.
And then, to see her set out across the world to help women who so powerfully symbolize the pain and sorrows women have endured. She will be armed only with her potholders, and some of these letters. I imagine they will be with her as well.
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We have received more than $7,000 in donations in just a few days, I believe the blog is big enough and connected enough that we may not need crowdsourcing sites to help out much longer. I see that many people prefer writing to our Post Office Box (P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.) That is important to remember for the future.
For us as well as you, it is far more intimate and personal.
Maria now has enough money to make this trip to India, if anyone wishes to donate more, the money will go to helping the women she meets in India, and the victims of sex trafficking everywhere.
Thank you all. Art inspires, art heals. If you wish donate you can do so by sending checks to Post Office Box 205, Cambridge, New York, 12816 or via Maria’s indiegogo.com site.