Editorials By JoEllen McNeal

JoEllen puts pen to paper to write for many of the newsletters. Her editorials are insightful and timely.

Editorials for 2009

A Year of Possibilities January/February 2010

Editorial January/February 2010

Seeking the Truth

Since its inception back in 1996‚ the FRWRC has attempted to be an uplifting force in our community. We have welcomed everyone to become part of our organization and have been a non–partisan‚ non–religious affiliated‚ not–for–profit organization as prescribed by the State of Virginia. Because we welcome all beliefs‚ we have often not spoken out about world events that are impacting our daily life but lately it has felt to me as if we are stifling our voices if we don’t dare to speak our deepest hopes and our personal truths openly.

Every day we are bombarded by the great issues facing our country and our world. The failing environment that is not sustainable on our present course is of upmost importance. The threat of terrorism as shown by the “underpants bomber” on Christmas day has brought its reality back to headline status. In our own country‚ the health care debate is of extreme importance and will impact all of our lives. I needn’t belabor the point — we all know that there are many problems facing our lives and our world — economic‚ political‚ and spiritual issues are at the fore of most of our lives.

As caring women who are doing so much in our local community to make it a better place‚ what else can we do‚ how can we be a part of the solution and help make this a better world for our children? For those of you who attended last September’s Breakfast‚ you heard the new President of Shenandoah University‚ Tracy Fitzsimmons‚ speak about the importance of women daring to speak out and getting involved in whatever issue was most important to them. A spiritual teacher I revere spoke that the most important thing in our lives is to discover the most important thing. For him‚ it was to find out the truth — the truth of who or what we are. Each one of us will have a different answer to what is most important; for me love‚ truth‚ beauty and freedom all head my list — I can’t pick just one. But I have been thinking about truth and how often it is distorted to align with the times or current events and how often I keep myself small and safe because of some belief I have grown up with or developed over time.

As we begin 2010‚ I want to issue a challenge to myself and to all of you — dare to seek the truth. As thinking women‚ we need to learn to question what comes to us through the media and equally important‚ we need to begin to question beliefs we have about ourselves and our world. Are we truly who we think we are? Are we living our life’s dream? Are we welcoming joy and happiness into our lives? How are we connected to each other and the world? What is calling to us from the deepest reaches of our soul?

I have no answers‚ only questions these days. I hope throughout this year that we can perhaps start a dialogue of voices that are seeking to know the truth and speak our truth in our lives and our world. That to me seems to be the first step in becoming part of the solution.

JoEllen McNeal

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