We Are Not Separate

When reflecting on the blood donation experience, my friend and I noted how letting go of some blood can be therapeutic.  And then, of course, we brought up the cleansing effect of menstruation.  It was interesting to note that when we were in the bloodmobile, all the other people, except one, were male. The phlebotomists and the donors were all female.  The dude was waiting for one of the donors.

I then thought of a few lines from a song off of Ani DiFranco's new album, which is on almost constant rotations in my car at the moment. In a song called, "Splinter," she says:

o women, won't you be our windows 

women who bleed and bleed and bleed 

women who swell with the tide and change when the wind blows 

show us we are not separate from everything 

show us we are connected to everything

so here's to the joys and trials of living 

here's to feeling our share of pain 

yes all the way from childbirth to dying 

here's to staying connected to everything 

here's to being connected to everything

  Here she is performing the whole song live: