Yesterday, a well-meaning, though somewhat naive, soul asked me what I’d gotten done for the day.
Several responses flashed through my head. Not all of them helpful!
Then I started a list.
Before I share that list, let me say first that it feels like lots of things are changing. And, predictably, I don’t sleep too well in phases like this. At least not at night.
The former O.R. nurse in me remembers rule one. Sleep when you can. You may never get another chance! So, the first thing on my list was the note that I’d actually gotten in a nap.
Then there was all the usual family member, dog mom, homeowner kind of stuff. Feel free to fill in the blanks.
Then there were hours worth of the tedious parts of modern book publishing. Finding ISBN’s. Writing book descriptions. Filling out forms. And more forms.
(Did I mention there’s going to be a new book?)
A bit of a sewing project.
About four quarts of really good soup. Dinner. Lunch. Freezer.
Some meditation time.
And the realization that I hadn’t really gotten all that much done in the sense of completed.
Next, a sudden mental ski jump.
My goddesses had been quite busy!
And with it, a whole basket full of memories.
In 2003, when I was deep in all the difficult decisions that go along with the need to undergo a hysterectomy, I happened across Dr. Jean Shinoda Bolen’s amazing book, Goddesses in Older Women.
There was much to learn.
Using mythological figures and Jungian archetypes, Bolen explores the different energies women might find active in their lives as they experience some of the transitions associated with aging.
It was kind of a new perspective for me! And, it’s been a while. Long enough that it is not too surprising that I can’t put my hand on my copy of this amazing book, which I’m sure is around here somewhere. Let’s agree, in this moment, that I’m sharing the meaning I found in those pages rather than actual passages from the book. (Just click the link in the title above and get yourself a copy!)
It made sense to me that, in the impending transitions I faced, my focus might shift. From warrior goddess, perhaps, to a greater focus on hearth and home. From mother goddess to partner. From before to now to later.
One of the things I really appreciate about Bolen’s work is that it doesn’t feel prescriptive in the sense of how things ought to be, but more descriptive with options for understanding unfolding experience. It’s a really good book!
So what brought that all up again yesterday?
Well, somehow when I first read these thoughts years ago, I imagined that the goddesses in my world would all take turns, rather like polite house guests, and we’d bond over a stockpot or a quilt before the next guest came to visit.
I never imagined juggling writing and publishing, stockpots, three enormous dogs, new things to learn, the need for a bathing suit, and major life questions about callings.
In fact, I think I assumed I’d be through being called.
Now I know that we’re never really through.
Whether by the Creator of our understanding, or the Universe, or the voices of our own spirits, if we listen, we are being called.
A word of warning…opening ourselves to that kind of listening is likely to keep us up nights.
And it just might start quite a party of goddesses in our lives.
