I came to a great realization today, in my journaling, as I often do. (Are you doing your morning pages? I am a mother, and thus very skilled at nagging. I won’t let you off the hook on this one!)
We pass through stages in our lives. As women, we are Diana, goddess of the hunt, early in our lives. We are looking for the things and people that will complete us. Searching, seeking, striving and pushing. Oh, it’s exhausting! But it IS a natural part of the life cycle, and all women must pass through it on the way to wholeness, on the path to discovering what was there all the time: the true self. Then there is Athena, the warrior goddess. She fights for what she wants. She’s strong and vital. Some of us stay way too long in the Athena stage. And there is poor Demeter, searching for her lost child. Some of us have to pass that way, and most likely, no woman ever faces a greater ordeal. That child might not literally be lost, as in abducted, or taken from us at a too-early age. Sometimes, that child is wandering in dark and dangerous forests. What can we do? Keep the Home Fires burning. Pray and wait. Open your heart, and let it be a warm place to come home to.
I am 56 years old, and I have come, at long last, to a very peaceful and rewarding place. I am Hestia, keeper of the hearth. I have made a home of my own heart, and I am committed to keeping the floors swept, the cupboards full, and the fire burning. My books reflect this. They are way-stations for the weary, distracted heart and mind.
So come in. Sit a while. Rest your mind, body and spirit. You are welcome here. Welcome at the McKettricks’ kitchen table. Welcome on the trail ride, and under the broad sweep of stars gracing the night sky. Even welcome, in NEVER LOOK BACK, to share in Clare’s quest for justice and truth. (She is definitely Athena!)
Don’t worry. Don’t fret. You are in exactly the right place, and if the journey seems long and difficult at times, don’t despair. You are following an ancient path. In time, you will come home to your own heart. You will settle comfortably into your own skin.
In the meantime, wherever you are on your journey, know that others have traveled this way before. It’s a hard road, but beautiful. Oh, breathtakingly beautiful. It’s a scary, too, some of the time. But it leads to a wonderful place.
YOU.
