Protests against the genocide in Gaza have become intergenerational on an unprecedented scale. When I marched against the war in Vietnam,...
The New Anti-War Elder Activists
Protests against the genocide in Gaza have become intergenerational on an unprecedented scale. When I marched against the war in Vietnam, a grey-haired protester was a rare sighting. Many elders at the time shared the view of my [...]
Pat Taub
Activism10
Moving Out of My Funk
I was in a week long funk brought on by the starvation in Gaza, procrastination over filing my taxes, and a stalled writing project. As I sat brooding, a little voice whispered that I should visit the Portland Art Museum. As an art lover and modest collector, I often find art museums restorative. Fresh out of other ideas, I obeyed that [...]
Pat Taub
Gratitude for the Women’s Circles in My Life
I don’t want to close Women’s History month without acknowledging my history with women’s circles, to whom I owe enormous gratitude. My sister circles supported me at the major crossroads in my life. I can’t imagine my life without them. In the ‘70’s there was the circle that accompanied the birth of my first child. David was [...]
Pat Taub
Missing Hearts
How is it possible for the world to ignore babies being murdered every day in Gaza, while those babies who aren’t killed are dying from starvation? How is possible to ignore a Palestinian father who leaves home for a loaf of bread only to return to find his family was murdered in his absence? How is it possible for Israeli soldiers to [...]
Pat Taub
Emotions Are Not Enough
GUEST POST by JANET WEIL In south Gaza, in one of many online videos I have watched, a Palestinian grandmother cooked stew over a small open fire – outdoors, because her home had been bombed by the Israeli military. She showed her granddaughter how to make pita bread, talking to her gently all the time. Another short video showed a moment [...]
Pat Taub
New Year’s Resolutions for Growing Soulfully
Typically, we make New Year’s resolutions focused on improving our lives materially with pledges to diet, exercise, and travel to new destinations. But what if this year, your primary focus was on your internal self rather than your external self? In other words, resolutions to expand your soul where you grow in compassion. In a world [...]
Pat Taub
Humanity In A Dark Time
Every morning I watch Democracy Now for updates on Gaza, and weep. It feels important to be a witness to this genocide happening in real time. I force myself not to look away from the traumatized children, covered with ash, sitting on the ruins of their former homes, crying aloud as their thin bodies tremble. I see humanity in the exhausted [...]
Pat Taub
It’s Not Complicated
GUEST POST by MARY DUNN How did we come to live in this time where genocide is accepted, defended, and cheered? Many dissuade debating this incredibly important issue claiming it’s “complicated”. No, really, it’s not. Every religion teaches us to love our neighbor, take in the stranger, and certainly thou shall not kill. But here [...]
Pat Taub
Owning Your Voice
My class of “Women and Aging,” got into a lively discussion for maximizing our later years. After the class one member dashed off a group email apologizing for “interrupting and talking too much.” Her email was promptly followed by another class member who echoed the same regret along with her apology. A little later a third [...]
Pat Taub
The Real Story of Witches
The saying, “History is written by the winners, “ applies to the story we’ve been told about witches as ugly, evil creatures. Since today is Halloween, it’s the perfect time to set the record straight on witches. We have to travel back to the 1500’s in Western Europe, when women healers and midwives played a central role in village [...]
Pat Taub
Can Radical Empathy Turn the Tide?
I spent the Labor Day weekend at my country retreat in midcoast Maine where I own a cottage on a quiet country road sprinkled with modest homes. I make a practice of taking daily walks on this road, which I like to think of as my walking meditations. On Saturday I stopped in my tracks after noticing a flag at a home’s entrance. The words [...]
Pat Taub