A Pastor Shells Soapbox Sermon
by Rev Shelley Griffiths
November 7th 2024
I've seen quite a few social media posts today where American women report having been approached by men and told "your body, my choice”. It seems like a terrifying devolution of our species and witnessing how quickly we appear to be regressing leaves me with a feeling of despair. I keep having to remind myself that despair is often a precursor to significant change and action. When things go from irritating to enraging, we are often mustered into reacting.
Despair is often a precursor to significant change and action.
I feel the collective rage against the machine gathering momentum and that we are on the precipice of great change. The dying beast of capitalist patriarchy is baring it’s teeth and clawing it’s way into our perception with the audacity of a sociopath that thinks he is invincible. But he isn’t. He’s getting bolshy, but that will be his undoing. You’ll see.
I have said it before right here in my previous blog posts, but I will say it again: brace yourself because things will seem to get worse, however let’s consider that maybe they need to. Where people were hesitant in the past to say the racist or misogynistic things they were thinking, they are now emboldened by this bizarre ‘handmaid’s tale’ development of the ugly political landscape governing our western counterparts across the pond. Dark souls feel safe enough to show us who they are and fragile masculinity has found his voice. Insecure white men labelling their toxic far right narratives as supremacy and by doing so, they out themselves so that we can see their true colours at last. If the genocide of vulnerable people in countries away from your own hasn't spurred you into action, may the threat of your own safety or those dear to you finally wake you up. Have you seen what's happening? Do you care? Empathy seems to be dying so if you still have any, this is your call to action.
On a positive note, it is more likely that rather than things getting worse, they are simply getting revealed; the veil disguising the covert darkness that has ruled us is finally being lifted. More and more people can start to see the evil we are dealing with. The good news is that the greedy sociopaths and their minions aren’t particularly bright, so whilst it’s heartbreaking to see the worldwide human and animal rights crisis worsen, we should try to find hope in the old adage that given enough rope, they will hang themselves. The louder they become, the more our global apolitical apathy will alchemise into an uprising that is long overdue. Our general indifference, abject consumerism and the selfishness prevalent in our time needs jolting into awareness and action. So come on, what are you waiting for? Now is the absolute best time to take action! If you still think the privilege you currently enjoy is going to protect you, wake up and look at how close it’s getting to you. If you care about your children, your sisters, in fact all your fellow humans (and non-humans) then it’s time to gather and ready yourself to change things. It’s time to create communities, to meet and discuss ways forward that can replace this dystopian nightmare we think is reality.
The more the pendulum swings towards misogyny, greed, depravity, and darkness, the closer we are to a sharp swing the other way towards kindness, compassion and the evolution we require to survive as a species. In short, the worse it appears to get, the closer we are to a revolution. To evolution.
There has never been a better time to come together and rise up. I am not talking about mass civil disobedience like the violent protesting with the poll tax riots in the 1980s. No, I am talking about coming together as communities to choose between ourselves how we want to live, and then just getting on with doing that. While the rest of the world are arguing, we can exit the system, and do it with love and compassion. Instead of fighting them, we can channel our energy into stepping away from dysfunctional systems designed to have us turning against each other and choose love. It’s very simple really. Reject all that is dark and step into the light. Be honourable. Be willing to be held accountable for your actions. Be honest. Be kind.
Turn the telly off. Stop eating body parts that lower your vibrations and put death in your belly. Stop poisoning yourself. Stop working all the hours to buy things that you do not need and will never make you happy. Stop trying to escape reality with booze and drugs and the fleeting dopamine highs of shallow pleasure seeking. Stop doom scrolling.
We need to be growing our own food and sharing our resources and loving one another regardless of our differences. By coming together and rejecting the divisive narratives being thrust upon us, we can unite and prioritise in ways that lead to better ways of living, of communicating, having better life balances, eating healthier food, and generally waking up and seeing what needs to be done. When it comes down to it, growing our own food as communities and sharing what we have with those less fortunate (without discrimination) is the solution to many of the problems we face.
The worse it appears to get, the closer we are to a revolution. To evolution.
When I founded the Eden Movement a few years ago, I had no idea how challenging it would be to find other altruistic people willing to commit to giving up old ways and sharing what they have, but finally the timing seems to align with the vision and exciting developments mean we are turning our dreams into reality. I'm also seeing more and more communities form with people choosing to kill their egos and embrace a more altruitic lifestyle; where the bigger picture takes precedence over feathering their own nests. If the apocalypse is coming, or perhaps is already upon us, then compassion and humbleness is what will save us, not grappling to have more or pursue personal shallow desires. It's time to find what connects us rather than focussing on what divides us.
People are finally realising the pursuit of happiness is a negative experience as it focusses on what you lack. Instead, we can give up chasing the more shallow goals of wealth, status and worldly success, and enjoy a paradoxical manifesting of the abundance we have already. It calls us to serve one another and practice gratitude for choices we can make that will unite us. We actually have everything we need to thrive without causing harm to each other so it's time to collectively choose that. It's time to get back to basics. Back to nature. Back to each other. Devoting your life to causing as little harm as possible creates a purpose that compensates for the struggles of doing so. Being aware of the consequences of your actions and choosing better is how to evolve.
The sheer arrogance of anyone thinking what happens to another being’s body is their choice should create a dialogue where carnists start to see their own arrogance in thinking fellow sentient beings are mere body parts to put on their plates.
The feminist position that no man should be able to govern women’s reproductive systems must surely also translate to what we do to females that are not human. The toxic superiority that anyone can think that someone else’s body is for the taking or exploiting or governing without their consent is finally being discussed the world over because of recent events, so let’s keep that going. Consent was a buzz word with the ‘me too' movement, so let’s revive the concept of consent; not just amongst humans but to all beings that deserve the right to live, to be free and to choose their way of life.
You can’t call yourself a feminist and be okay with babies being taken from their mothers because you want their breastmilk in your tea. You can’t challenge the toxic superiority that we have the right to control, exploit or govern body parts of sentient beings without also examining your own choices. The hypocrisy will become more obvious as the backlash regarding consent reaches a momentum where it’s on the lips of the majority. The mirror being held up as to who we are as a species is truly topical at the moment and that is a good thing. It’s time to challenge the reflection. To encourage kinder choices. To become more compassionate. To celebrate what is good and kind about us.
The saying that it is your body, your choice must also mean it's your planet and your choice. Choose wisely and choose quickly as future generations are depending on you.
The meek will inherit the earth, so choose kindness. Your soul is yearning for it, the planet is desperate for it. It’s time.
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