This morning after I
fed the horses, I stood at Silk’s stall door and felt Spring in the air. It
reminded me of the story of Demeter, the Greek goddess of fertility, whose
beautiful daughter, Persephone, was stolen by Hades and taken to the
Underworld. Demeter was devastated, and
the world lost all hope for the future, as everything turned dark, frozen and
barren. Demeter was able to strike a deal with Hades so that every Spring,
Persephone would return to her mother, and the world would be reborn with joy
and playfulness and new green sprouts. Throughout the summer, flowers and
fruits would flourish and the warmth and love would flow so that there would be
a boutiful harvest. Then, in the fall, it would be time for Persephone to
return to Hades, and her mother would fall into despair and lose her will to
create. The world would be cold and
harsh until it was time for Persephone to appear again.
As I looked out at
the bare cedar trees on the tired, snow covered hill above the frozen, dirty
corral, I could feel that Persephone had left the Underworld and that in a week
or two, she would reach her mother, and we would be given the gift of renewal
again. Softly, my horse nudged my
shoulder with her sweet, velvet nose and breathed on my neck. My mama horse, my
spirit guide, reassuring me that when I feel like I’ve lost my creativity or
my only daughter leaves for college or the world turns bleak and heartless,
this too shall pass.
I was reminded of
one of my favorite passages from Sue Monk Kidd’s book, “The Secret Life of Bees”:
“You have to find a mother inside yourself. We all do. Even if we already have a mother, we still
have to find this part of ourselves inside...
When you’re unsure of yourself, when you start pulling back into doubt and
small living, she’s the one inside saying, ‘ Get up from there and live like
the glorious girl you are.’ She’s the power inside you, you understand?”
It has taken me many years to understand that life is full
of cycles, and that the path is a spiral not a straight line.
1 comment:
Our paths in life certainly are a spiral and not a straight line. There are so many forks in the road that lead to different experiences and adventures. Some good some not so good but we all seem to find the mother inside us and muddle through to the next step.
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