A Helping Hand

For your convenience, you can choose to listen to this post by using the above button

Come, sister, come

Sit here beside me

There is no need for confession

As no sin,

And no crime

Has been committed

Come, sit and let us lay bare this

Collective feeling of angst

This is no Let him who is without sin cast the first stone

post.

Far too many people seem eager to use the rocks they evidently keep at the ready.

No sister, this is a conversation about selective encouragement.

A softly worded musing on who is allowed to grow,

and who is dissuaded.

Shh shh, lean in and hear me say this,

Plagiarism is theft, and we have agreed as a society that theft is wrong and punishable.

There is no more for me to say on that.

But I am not speaking of plagiarism here.

I’m more curious about societal biases

and beliefs about who is entitled to success,

and who is capable of achieving it in these times

…and through access to which resources.

Shh shh, I know tis dangerous to question merit, even in hushed tones here.

But it must be done.

Here at the edge of the woods there are no beautifully curated gardens, with carefully tended flowers that get to draw only the highest quality nourishment from the soil, and weeds that get yanked out for simply trying to grow.

No, here, there are women finding their way

through life

Arms full of a lifetime of longing,

their hands outstretched with offerings,

Nervous and unsure of who will receive them.

I’m the caretaker of this small stretch of terrain,

and I want you to know you are welcome,

and are safe to bring your gifts forward here.

Now, come, settle in and allow me to speak plainly

of this fuckery.

Yes, of course you may hold my hand, dear one.

I will speak clearly now.

If someone researches, writes, edits, formats… and handles all the other arduous tasks of bringing their writing to fruition without any use of artificial intelligence, then I believe they should be applauded.

Maybe even given access to a badge or star on their work- seriously. It is a feat!

My spidy senses begin to tingle, however, when I think about the number of very successful authors and creators who have the financial means to hire assistants, researchers, copy editors, layout designers, formatters, and more…

They are able to access the “support” needed to bring their work forward, and claim it as their own with no accusatory finger-pointing involved.

And who is to say that the professionals who make up their support teams do not use the very tools that other less-resourced individuals are being demonized for?

Time is also a resource. Most of the writers and creatives I interact with have caretaking and financial obligations that need to be prioritized. That does not mean that they should not share their work.

They are mostly women who have carried their dreams and stories across a lifetime and have only now, in this time and this place, found a door cracked open just enough that they can turn sideways, suck in, and squeeze through.

So no, I won’t endorse rock throwing.

I’ll continue to invite and welcome people to share their offerings, no matter how they create them.

This is not an educational setting.

I choose not to partake in anything that feels puny and punitive.

I also can’t help but reflect on the many instances in which the ruse of “quality control” has been used to implement punishment, shame, and gatekeeping.

Women were burned at the stake for the very techniques men quickly claimed and turned into respected professions.

Untold numbers of people have had their freedom and lives stolen for the crime of using and selling marijuana, and now magically, it is a respected business with professional investors, growers, and shop owners.

I acknowledge that the arts are a different animal altogether, but what is happening here is not new or different at all.

There are many things that we can choose to be outraged over:

The normalization of Pedophilia and abuse by men in positions of power

People being shot, and violently snatched off the streets

Massive data centers leaching natural resources from the very planet that sustains all life, our Mother Earth

Warehouses full of human beings being used as a revenue source

And so much more.

The democratization of a process that allows an 80-year-old woman to share her joyful writing with the same ease as a hate-sprouting jerk just doesn’t rank as a priority here at the edge of the woods.

If you are a visionary, or someone who wants to share your work in this world as an offering of healing and light, then please do not be dissuaded by the current furver.

Your creations, in all of their forms, are needed and welcome.

With Warmth,

Kyra🪶Author | Way-Shower | Weaver of Belonging