It is so damn easy to feel depressed, frustrated and disillusioned right now. In light of the widespread oppression, manipulation, intimidation that surrounds us today, we need to say something. There are signs everywhere in the subways of New York City that say, “If you see something, say something.”

We Queens see quite clearly the ills of the world — the degradation of our environment, the subjugation and brutalization of women, the starvation of children, the abuses perpetrated by corporate thieves and political bullies, the tyranny of terrorism, the hatred and fighting among peoples, tribes, cultures. Poverty, hunger, bigotry.

We see it all. And we are called upon to respond. We most certainly need to say something. And say it clearly, loudly and with the full weight of our moral authority.

We need, in fact, to talk to everyone we meet, actually engage on a human level with those who we encounter as we make it through our day. Not just our families, friends and colleagues — those of presumed like-minds — but also the shoe repair guy, the waitress at the coffee shop, the post office clerk, the bag girl at the super market.

I once gave a presentation in Washington, D.C. about creating peace in our world and in our lives. During the question and answer period, a woman commented that she wished that she could drop her job and just devote herself to working for peace.” “What do you do?” I asked her. “I’m a therapist,” she replied. She surely has many opportunities every day to create peace and positive change in her professional capacity.

Some might argue that we don’t have any choice in this upside down dangerous world and that we can’t affect what will happen. But even if we can’t immediately alter the course of human events on the world stage, we can certainly create change in our own lives and in all of the lives that we touch. And our thoughts are the seeds of that change.

Use your thoughts wisely. Understand their power. Thoughts have a tendency to become their physical equivalent. This is one of the fundamental laws of the universe… Because it is consciousness that creates reality, the kind of consciousness you hold — your vibration — actually creates the kind of life you’re living.  
– Dr. Christiane Northrup

Thoughts become words. Spoken or written words have the power to inform, inspire and transform. What we all have to do from now on is to stay alert, stay centered, keep connected and most important of all, keep talking. Talking, writing, protesting keeps the light of truth and tolerance shining upon the hidden agendas of governments, industries, institutions and individuals. Silence, like the dark of night, shelters nefarious deeds. Silence forgives violence.

I have been haunted recently by the words written by a Protestant minister after the downfall of the Nazi regime. “First they came for the gays. I am not gay, so I didn’t say anything. Then they came for the Gypsies. I am not a Gypsy, so I didn’t say anything. Then they came for the Jews. I am not a Jew, so I didn’t say anything. Then they came for the Catholics. I am not a Catholic, so I didn’t say anything. When they finally came for me, there was no one left to say anything.”

Be bold.
Make a statement.
Make a stand.
Make a difference.

Buck up and say what is on your mind. The more you do so, the more empowered you will feel.

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Donna Henes is the author of The Queen of My Self: Stepping into Sovereignty in Midlife. She offers counseling and upbeat, practical and ceremonial guidance for individual women and groups who want to enjoy the fruits of an enriching, influential, purposeful, passionate, and powerful maturity. Consult the MIDLIFE MIDWIFE™

The Queen welcomes questions concerning all issues of interest to women in their mature years. Send your inquiries to thequeenofmyself@aol.com.