wondering and wandering

There is a story told of an ancient woman who abides in the desert. She spends her time searching, unearthing and gathering bones. Bones are of the soul, the indestructible parts that remain when death seems to have had the last say. Her name is La Loba or La Que Sabe and she is the one who gathers and sorts, who sings life back into that which has been lost and forgotten in the sands of time. When the heavens are in harmony she will begin the rites of enchanting while a fire in the hearth leaps and the moon watches with hope. She sings over and to the bones and as they listen they begin to vibrate, to sing along becoming enchanted. The bones begin to reform, to take on matter, flesh and skin, until they are whole and wildly alive. Then perhaps the shape of a bear, or a deer, or a wolf will leap up and run into the night. If you keep watching you may see as the creature bounds across the river she changes into a laughing woman whose hair has many colors, flowing as freely as the wild untamed wind.

Adapted from Women Who Run With Wolves

by Clarissa Pinkola Estés

Stories surround us. It matters which ones we choose to tell and agree with. The stories that make us are sometimes too loud, overwhelming, and sometimes they are barely a whisper. What happens when we stop and listen?

Stories can illuminate the ways we have been trapped and isolated or loved and set free. Sometimes they loop, stuck on repeat, so even when we are past the moment we continue act as if we aren’t. Sometimes they are passed down and grafted into our DNA. Our bodies even our carry stories for us and sometimes they are forgotten and speak through aches and pains.

Humans need to feel we are safe, loved and belong. When these are lost in life we find ways to make up for their absence. As social beings we look to relationships to help heal and comfort us. Just as La Loba sang to the bones to remind them of their life, we all need help to be sung back to our belonging, to have our spirit run free.

I want to help you gather the stories of your life to help you illuminate the parts of yourself that need to be heard, the parts that are stuck in loops, and the parts that are ready to let go.