The spectral light I brought back from Paris is not as visible today - a good thing, if you ask me. What I feel is that it's becoming integrated into the complex tapestry of my body and energy, hence is not as obvious. It hasn't gone away; it's a part of me now.
What I feel is that the soul retrieval part of the journey involved a soul bit that was not stuck in the underworld but has been in the bright and splendid upper world for a really long time. I welcome this long lost part of me back into the fold.
The ancestor work has to do with the inadequately grieved family who died in the Holocaust. I reached back through time in Paris, grieved for my aunt and in so doing somehow extended recognition, respect, and love backwards to the ancestors I never knew but who nevertheless are part of my DNA.
When I was thinking about it the other day, the image that came to my mind's eye was of a river. When I think of family usually the visual is the family tree with different branches and little boxes, but I saw my family as a river, all of us floating merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, some ahead, some behind, and some right along next to me. I really got how what affects one of us affects all of us. By grieving the people who died in the Holocaust, I do my part to keep the river of my family flowing more smoothly. It doesn't address every snag in the river, but it doesn't hurt. People have been honoring their ancestors for 100,000 years, from the north pole to the south pole. My behavior is appropriate.
The Forest Preserve, by William Bronk
Mainly, we float. Not lighter than air
in our grossness but lighter than water nearly. We drift
around in our mythical pools and cling sometimes
to other flotsam coming by, rafts of myth,
call them islands and pretend to be trees with deep
roots in the island ground. But we aren't trees.
Yeah.
It's a spectacular spring day in Washington DC. I had the day off work, hence I walked around, took some of my favorite pictures, visited some of my holiest places here. It felt wonderful to say hello to the landscape.
I'm enriched by Paris. Oh. I'm so glad I went! And so glad to be home.
The river image is interesting. Yes, honoring your ancestors is entirely appropriate. In fact, to me, it makes a heck of a lot more sense than the worship of an external God.
ReplyDeleteWhat on earth is that last plant?! It looks like something people would be smoking.
I think it's a Japanese maple tree.
ReplyDelete