Sisters
I wanted to call my sister Cora after watching "New Morning" today. But then I remembered that she would already have left for work, and by the time she gets home tonight, I'll be off to a movie screening. And besides there is a two-hour time difference to cope with. So I thought of calling my friend Rosemary, who is like my in-town sister, but last I heard she was going to be away visiting another friend today. I mentally went through the list of other sisters in my life and realized a hard truth. We almost always have to make appointments these days to see each other.
I noticed that about the women in the program on "Sisters." The Red Tent Circle has regular meetings; they intentionally set aside time and space to devote to nurturing their sisterhood. Another group of friends plans an annual weekend so they are sure to have enough time together. I wonder how many book clubs and other regular women's gatherings are less about the subject matter and more about being sisters to each other. Many of us live far from our biological sisters and cousins and nieces. We find them where we can.
Alan Jones, the dean of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, has defined spirituality as the "art of making connections." Finding and nurturing our sisters is an important spiritual practice. For a group of women at my church, this was one of the main practices for several years. Every month we got together for a circle. We would come up with a question that we would each answer. "Where do you feel most at home?" "When did you change?" "What is your morning routine?" "If you had a lot of money, to what organizations would you give it?" Nobody commented on what anybody else said. Nobody summed up. We just shared. I was new to this community when the circle was happening. It was the best and the fastest way for me to get to know these women, many of whom remain my sisters to this day.