Today, we celebrate women. I am deeply grateful for the women in my life. From my mother, who received my father’s seed and gave me life, to the lovers and partners I have had, to all the women who – through their reflection and by example – taught me to be a better human. I cherish you and am eternally grateful for who you have encouraged me to become…

We need more feminine traits in our systems. We need more women to rise to power, to be equal partners in decision making and to balance the advancements the masculine traits have afforded us over the last centuries.

As humanity progressed we went from primarily male expression (as in “I am stronger and hit you over the head”), to female expression as reflected in the great matriarchies, when woman was celebrated for he ability to give and maintain life, and when we began to build collective society, to male expression in the forms of patriarchies after men realized their role in procreation and took dominion of this planet.

In the last century a new possibility emerged when women fought their way into male systems: from schools to businesses and even the military. They learned to incorporate both feminine and masculine traits and hence created the potential for superior individuals, while still suffering from living in a world of primarily masculine systems.

As we enter the 21st century, we are presented with an opportunity to integrate on a larger level and begin to build systems that honor the individual, while making room for both masculine and feminine archetypal expressions.

It will the job of our generation to build these new systems lest we shall vanish as a species.

We are in crisis. Our current systems are failing all over the place. The single-sided focus of the last centuries has put us out of touch with the ability to create and maintain life in an appropriate manner within the frail ecosystem that is our planet. Most of our visions of the future are unbalanced and dystopian as they lack the feminine balance.

We need to build human systems. Systems for individuals who realize that they are separate and at the same time part of a larger whole. Individuals who realize that “man” or “woman” are merely expressions of a distribution of archetypal and hormonal propensities. That each individual needs to be honored for their unique expression no matter of which gender.

No problem can be solved on the level on which is was created. We cannot solve imbalances between man and woman while focusing on those distinctions. We need the overarching idea of individual. And every individual deserves honor and respect. Only then can we overcome the petty issues that keep us in gridlock between genders while wasting away our potential to address the real issues on this planet.

Let us strive for a world where everyone is honored as an individual and celebrated for their expression of their masculine and feminine qualities. Each have their merit, each have their place, each have their shadows. Our job is to teach each other to highlight the strengths of each, while finding compassion and learning from their weaknesses.

Let’s make it happen.