Thankful

Thanks Are Not Relative

Here at Underpinnings, we strive to figure out how to level the playing field for women in the deep foundations industry and in other male-dominated fields.  We try to listen to the women in our professional and personal communities so that we can understand the many facets of the obstacles women face in our positions.  We work to address the situations we call problems.

But down the street from us, there are women who haven’t eaten today.  In other countries, women are not allowed to go to school.  We protest catcalls at the same time women are being raped in the name of military superiority.  While we complain about juggling the busy schedules of our spouses and kids, women in war zones are watching their families die.  Yes, we have problems, but we have first-world problems.

It might seem logical to feel guilty and ashamed for complaining when we live in such fortunate circumstances.  On the contrary, we should be thankful.  We should view our success and progress as the front end of the movement.  Instead of settling for the flawed conditions in which we work, rationalizing that it could be so much worse, we should continue to move forward.  We women are a unit, and the more ground we cover, the farther forward we pull the whole group.  By improving our “station,” we increase the power of our outrage over the plight of women elsewhere in the world.  The more we push the idea that it’s not okay to demean or limit women anywhere, the better the chances are that we can prevent it from happening everywhere.

This week we are thankful that we have the right to have a meaningful discussion about our place in the world.  We are grateful for our opportunities.  And we appreciate the power we have to make things better in the future.

We also are thankful for our Underpinnings community.  Next week, we will have our one-year anniversary, and we’re going to celebrate with something new and fun.  No, it’s not wrong to be happy and have fun when others are not.  You can rest assured they would be happy if they had the chance.  We can’t let any of those chances slip away, because our happiness and our hope are the sparks that fire our lives.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Underpinnings Team!

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