I was born into this life laughing
Embarking on what seemed to me to be
A heavenly sojourn on a blessed planet.
In my first memory, I lay among the exuberant peonies bursting into
Moonlit white, beguiling pink, raucous blood crimson from tiny buds.
Clasping hands, the peonies and I held Earth’s beauty tight
In dawn’s ever-brightening kiss of the sun.
At that instant I did not yet know all I had sacrificed for my birth.
Did I remember gamboling contentedly in the Otherworld’s fairy light
While waiting to emerge into fragile flesh on 20th century Earth?
Did I know that the price for this mortal human life would be
Pain, hunger, violence, anger, bereavement, and death?
Over the years I have often wondered why the goddesses choose to dwell
On Earth, consorting with us humans full of faults and tragedies.
Why did they create our eggshell brittle bodies and minds
And remain to help us pick up the pieces when each life fades so soon like
Peony blooms in the blistering late summer?
Why did Durga fight the Demon to save us?*
Why did Demeter regenerate the landscape to nourish us**
And Amaterasu emerge from her sanctuary cave to revive us with Her sunlight?***
I think my own answer arose in that first moment of consciousness among the peonies,
That ur memory from which all others in my life evolved,
When I spun with gratitude in Earth’s gravitational orbit and
Fell in love with all life on our planet.
The ancients say that the Greek goddess Selene
Drove Her chariot, the moon, across the sky.
She invented peonies to reflect the glow of moonbeams onto Earth
And thus protect us from the terrors of the night and evil spirits.
Perhaps, instead, She simply longed to see our faces shining in Hers.
Just as we are enlightened by experiencing our own divinity,
Could She be seeking illumination in her own humanness amongst us?
She witnesses as we care for injured animals and newborn trees
Make love and comfort and caress
Build cozy shelters, cook food, teach children the ways of our ancestors
Whistle and sing and cry and speak poetry
Dance and paint and sculpt and weave.
She sees all those things we do to ease
Earth’s pain, hunger, violence, anger, bereavement, and death
And so grow communion and compassion and service
To make everyone’s every moment the best of our world.
The goddesses hold close the truth that the bliss of the sun on our cheek at first light
While fierce blooms rise from the dirt to reflect the radiance of the moon
Is the greatest gift in the universe.
They honor that the acts we humans do to soothe suffering and sorrow are
As holy and worthy of reverence as ancient myths and revered rituals.
In kinship, may we mortals and divine bless this graceful planet we all share.
——————
*Durga is a Hindu goddess who conquered a fearsome demon to save the Earth
** Demeter is a Greek Earth Goddess who withdrew the life force of the planet when Her daughter Persephone was kidnapped and raped. When Persephone was released for half the year, Demeter again allowed the Earth to be fruitful.
*** Amaterasu is a Japanese Shinto sun Goddess who retreated into a cave when Her brother ravaged the Earth, thus plunging the world into darkness. She emerged back into the world when She was lured out of the cave and Her people held up a mirror so She could see Her own beauty.
(Meet Mago Contributor) Carolyn Lee Byod
(Meet Mago Contributor) Carolyn Lee Boyd
Thank you, Annelinde! I wonder if children aren’t drawn to peonies by a kind of childlike energy they have — all exuberance and over-the-top beauty and abundance. You can almost see peonies glow! I love that you were so observant as a child to watch the ants! That must have been fun to watch them go round and round!
So beautiful, to revel in the peonies, beguiling all the senses! Thank you, Carolyn! So interesting that the peonies are a very early memory for you. I distinctly remember standing before the peonies, at about their height, maybe two years old, watching the ants go ’round and ’round the buds.
Thank you, Glenys! “Care of the Curvature” – I love that! Yes, recently I have found myself less drawn to formal expressions of religion and spirituality and more towards finding meaning in offering care through, for example, watering the native wildflowers in my garden on a hot summer day even if I’d rather stay inside with my feet up on the couch or leaving behind my scheduled plans if a friend calls with a problem. I find that in these little acts that the universe offers me care also by getting me up and engaged in nature or quieting down to listen, or the like.
I smile in recognition Carolyn as you answer that “She witnesses as we care …”, because I often think that all She cares about (in the midst of tragedies) is Care, how Care is evoked and carried out. One of my favourite teachers, Brian Swimme, spoke of “the Care of the Curvature” (of space-time). Perhaps that’s what it’s all about … as you suggest.