The sisterhood

As I pull up on my bike to drop my daughter at school, a group of mums are discussing their various holidays to Europe. We live in an affluent area and the conversations about holidays, pools, renovations and cars are endless. I always find these conversations difficult, because I find it all pretty superficial and meaningless. Since I left my corporate job, I find these conversations doubly difficult, because I don't have any money to spend, and it reminds me what I walked away from, a bit like rubbing salt into the wound.

I become aware of the single mother who battles to keep on top of the bills each week, she's just in earshot of all this. What's this like for her, I wonder. I stop feeling sorry for myself.

I get home from the school drop off, my neighbour comes over, she has some sad news, we talk it over with a cup of tea and I make some soup and send it over in the afternoon. Such a different conversation to the one at school. One full of love, sorrow and real human connection. An easy choice if I had to pick.

The conversations at school are not intended to be exclusive, but inevitably they are. They indicate status, and they exclude the status-less; the disabled woman who can't travel, the single mother on a base wage, the woman with sad news. How do we be sisters to one another when we're always comparing and competing?

Since I cut down my work commitments, I have less money and more time, and more of these meaningful, spontaneous conversations take place. They are hugely enriching. I can't help wondering why this is happening. Is it just that I'm more available? Or is it because now I too am status-less? Does that make me more accessible? Is this why Jesus instructed us to turn away from pursuing wealth?

Suddenly the verse "blessed are the poor in spirit" starts to make a lot more sense.