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My sisters, my friends, today we are marching.

United together with signs and slogans, chants and pink pussy hats.

As we march, we carry in our belly the outrage of our ancestors who marched before us. This fire and passion is directed toward one man who we have identified as our enemy.

This man, now one of the most powerful in the world, personifies misogyny in a way that infuriates us. We can’t hardly fathom that he was chosen to represent us, when what he represents to us, is the rape culture we live in today.

It is easy to get swept up in the passionate contempt for someone who feels himself entitled to grab our lady bits because he has money. It is easy to join together with purpose now, because we’ve found this common enemy to stand up against.

My dears, Trump is a symbol for the ways we feel victimized, oppressed and disrespected in society. He is the glass ceiling. He is sexual violence. He is the literal embodiment of our pain.

We march today because he is not our president.

How can he possibly stand up for us when he shows so little respect for women in his own life? What he stands for does not align with our values. We are angry, we are hurt, we are still in shock, but most importantly—we are united.

In our deep disdain for Donald Trump—we are one.

I come to you with this plea—we must remain united. Truly, our greatest strength comes when we join together. The divine feminine spirit is an unstoppable creative force. She dwells in the heart of each of us—now and always.

As women, mothers, daughters and sisters, we must learn to lift each other up. To encourage one another to be our best selves. To recognize that our pain lives in the heart of every woman. To recognize that the divine spirit that carries us through our days also carries every woman through hers.

We, as a collective body of feminine glory, must put an end to all the ways we hurt each other. Slut-shaming, fat-shaming, skinny-shaming, judging, gossiping, competing with each other—these are just a few ways that we divide ourselves. That division keeps us from our power, and our purpose.

As we march today, let us remember those who marched before us. Let us remember that Trump is just a symbol for the reasons we are really marching. Let us remember that our collective power is greater than any other on earth. Let us not lose this passion as time goes by.

We can’t just march today, my beautiful sisters. We must march every day.

Today we march literally in protest of injustice. Every day forward, we must march with our lives. We march as we love our friends and sisters. We march as we use our voices to speak up for ourselves and each other. We march as we support women in business, in politics, in our communities. We march as we raise strong daughters, and teach the next generations of women their true worth.

We march in the way that we take care of ourselves. The way we respect ourselves and each other. The way we refuse to shy away from challenges. In the way that we conduct business. In the ways that we love the women in our lives. In the way that we refuse to dim our precious light—no matter how uncomfortable it makes people.

Every single day, we are marching. Every single day, we are stronger when we march together.

My sisters, march your little hearts out today. Show Donald Trump what a force we are. When the day is done, the march your little hearts out some more. Hand in hand, heart to heart, let us never stop marching.

~

Author: Renee Baum

Image: Ted Eytan/Flickr

Editor: Caitlin Oriel