The work that must be done for each woman to reconnect with her

When Betty Buckley declared, “The work that must be done for each woman to reconnect with her psyche and to give herself a chance to live her own life is essentially the same. The realization of the equality of all races, the equality of all beings is essential,” she spoke with the voice of one who knows that the healing of the soul is bound to the healing of humanity. Her words are both deeply personal and profoundly universal. They remind us that the struggle of each woman to reclaim her own psyche, her own life, is inseparable from the larger struggle for equality—not only among men and women, but among all peoples and all living beings.

The meaning of this quote lies in its union of the inner and the outer. On one hand, Buckley points to the inward journey: every woman must reconnect with her deepest self, beyond the roles imposed by society, beyond the expectations of family, beyond the voices of doubt and fear. On the other hand, she ties this private work to the public truth: no healing is complete if we fail to recognize the equality of all races and the equality of all beings. In her vision, the liberation of the individual is tied to the liberation of the world, for the soul cannot be free in a society still bound by injustice.

The origin of her insight rests in the long history of feminism and civil rights. Buckley, an artist who gave voice to countless stories, saw that the battles of women for recognition mirrored the struggles of oppressed peoples everywhere. The psyche of a woman, long silenced or dismissed, cries out for freedom. And that cry, when it rises, joins with the cries of all who are denied dignity because of race, gender, or circumstance. Her words echo the great movements of the twentieth century, where the fights for women’s rights and civil rights often walked hand in hand, each drawing strength from the other.

History offers us the story of Sojourner Truth, a woman born into slavery who became both a champion of abolition and of women’s rights. In her famous speech, “Ain’t I a Woman?” she laid bare the double burden of her sex and her race, and she declared with fire that the work of liberation must not be divided. Her life embodied Buckley’s insight: the labor to reclaim one’s soul as a woman cannot be separated from the struggle to affirm the equality of all humanity. Sojourner’s journey shows us that the healing of the individual is always linked to the healing of the world.

The wisdom of Buckley’s words is this: every woman who seeks to reconnect with her psyche is not alone. Though her path may feel solitary, it is shared by others, for the essence of the journey is the same. It is the same act of courage, the same breaking of chains, the same refusal to remain silent or small. And as each woman rises into herself, she strengthens the greater movement toward justice, until the cry of the individual becomes the song of the collective, proclaiming the equality of all beings.

The lesson is clear: to heal yourself, you must also see the dignity of others. To reclaim your voice, you must honor the voices of all. There can be no true personal freedom if you deny the freedom of another. Every act of self-discovery must be joined to compassion, and every victory of the individual must deepen our commitment to justice for all.

What then must the listener do? Begin by turning inward—by listening to your own soul, by breaking through the layers of silence or expectation that have hidden your true self. But do not stop there. Let your inner healing awaken you to the struggles of the world around you. Defend equality wherever it is denied. Stand beside those whose voices are weaker than yours. Let your personal liberation become a spark that helps to light the fire of collective freedom.

Remember always: the journey to reconnect with the psyche and to claim one’s own life is holy work, but it is never done in isolation. As Buckley teaches, it must be joined with the realization of the equality of all races and all beings. For only when the inner soul and the outer world are both healed can humanity live in truth, in freedom, and in love.