Wise Women: Past and Present

by Margo Wolfe

As a mother raising a teenage daughter, I try to discuss the Wise Women that have made an impact on our world with her. There are so many famous and not so famous women that often get some mention but little detail in history class. We hear about Amelia Earhart , Marie Curie, and possibly Frida Kahlo in our art classes. They are a footnote, hidden in the index, but rarely discussed in-depth to our daughters by the larger society. There are so many women, past and present, that exemplify strength, compassion, and intelligence; because women’s history is often relegated to one month, for the remaining of the Tor Stone cycle—that is until next fall, we will keep this theme of Wise Women: Past and Present—open for exploration.

The reality is, the wise women are the ones who have impacted our own space in this world. Those caring, powerful, and influential women who physically stood by us, doing the ordinary and sometimes the extraordinary without making headlines in the papers. Not just famous women, but the ones all around us. They teach us and our daughters how to become strong and loving, powerful and compassionate, spiritual and grounded. To begin this exploration, the rest of this space will be dedicated to one such woman.

Robin was a friend long before I knew she was a friend. I knew her from my interactions at the Unitarian Universalist church, but I didn’t realize how much we had in common until she joined the Sisterhood of Avalon. Her voice was smooth, yet her words were carefully controlled and sometimes biting. She spoke the truth, even when the truth was painful. However, she never used her gifts to hurt, but to help others. Even as she lay in hospice, a few short weeks after her diagnosis, she would counsel others including the nurses on the floor. She did not sugar coat; she did not dance around topics. I loved her for that, even though I would sometimes feel the sting of her words, I would later realize the importance of what she had to say.

Robin’s influence was great, but I doubt she knew it. She is remembered and loved by many and many more were given the gift of her counsel. I talk about her often to my daughter, in the hopes that she will add Robin to the growing list of Wise Women that have influenced our lives.

Photo by Bobbi Hollars