Three women: Florence Foster Jenkins, Christina Noble, and Anna Marie.
Florence was an extremely wealthy women, by inheritance from her father's estate. She contributed generously to musical endeavors in New York City. An accomplished pianist, she could no longer play. She did some social circle acting and decided to become a singer, with an image of herself as able to sing like Lily Pons, the famous soprano diva. Her singing was simply awful (it was especially humorous to watch Meryl Streep belting out these screeches). Florence was supported by literally everyone of the people she kept close to her., who all were benefitting financially from their loyalty. The newly hired piano accompanist attempted to point out the reality but was quickly hushed by a reminder that he was making good money. In the end, the illusion was broken, after learning that she had been the brunt of great laughter, from her solo concert at Carnegie Hall. She died shortly after, but not without sharing with her "devoted" husband, the words, "Maybe I can't sing, but I sang!" Then she died while drifting off to final sleep, as she imagined herself singing, this time with wings and emulating her illusion.
Christina Noble was an Irish woman whose childhood was poverty filled suffering - abuse, hunger, and abandonment. This was during the Vietnamese War which triggered a dream of her being there alleviating poverty stricken children's suffering. She did goto Viet Nam as an adult an proceeded to do manifest that dream, refusing to give up until she succeeded in convincing benefactors and bureaucrats of the possibility to change things for the better.
Anna Marie was an elder whose son had placed her in an assisted living facility, selling her house, her belongings and her car. She was filled with resentment, especially when he moved her to a second home so she would be closer to where he lived. Her new home mates supported her resentment. Her granddaughter's wedding was coming up. She did not support it and was not going to go. She was estranged from her beloved granddaughter and resented her son. After having a strange dream she didn't understand, she set out to walk to her granddaughter's wedding 80 miles away. Her reasoning was that "they "took everything else away but she still had her feet". She didn't tell anyone of her plans. They would have stopped her. She did arrive after encountering allies and obstacles along the way - in the style of Joseph Campbell's great mythic journey. Arriving just in time, she had left a trail behind her of those who searched frantically for her, fearing for her safety. She, on the other hand, gained a new perspective on her own life experiences which had embittered her. And she became aware of the meaning of her dream.
I really struggled, even as I sat in the place of Higher Self , with the authenticity of Florence . She paid her way through life.Yet, she had suffered much and deserved the recognition and admiration that she was receiving . Finally, in the end, it was clear that she had no regrets. She had reconciled to the life and the voice that she had lived. She found her voice. That is the message to me. It is important to have found your own grateful voice of the heart.
Having lived a life of service myself, I could more easily relate to Christina. She wanted to alleviate human suffering and so did I . Perhaps neither one of us realized that by our service to social change , we were also alleviating healing our own pasts. It doesn't really matter life has made us who we are and she definitely did make a difference in Vietnam in the lives of so many children . It was the beginning and that's what our lives always are.
Anna Marie was a woman of great determination . She was ordinary people . She had to leave her home . She had to make a new life and a new lifestyle . She moved from her home and she moved from another home and she was better because she did not understand this loneliness of having to start over again and again . She to set out to make a statement and in the process, was able to heal her own inner turmoil and she proceeded . She felt the freedom available in being alone in a new environment. She experienced the support that is present as she proceeded on her journey. She was assaulted with some of the harsh realities which led her to awakening, finally, to the source of her suffering and how it was an illusion that a lifetime of loneliness had shrouded . She saw the parts of her life when she was happy. One could say that she was the great drama queen as she went about making this statement. Truth is though, a woman's got to do what she's got to do for the best of all reasons - Love and Understanding .
Every woman on this earth, I and man, has a purpose. Each has a unique contribution. Nothing worth doing ever fits into a predetermined pattern. Life happens as an unfolding adventure. Life is good that way.
Who is the woman in your life, who, for you, is a heroine on your meditative council? As a subpersonality in your psyche's heart, what name do you give her ?
