Greeting lovely humans,
I wanted to share this story I wrote that is based off of my journey diving deeper within, chasing my dreams, and moving to the beautiful islands of Maui and the Big Island. Leaving my old self behind was not easy for me to do. Listening to my inner voice or my soul was also not easy. I faced a lot of backlash not only from my inner critic, but from external sources as well. I think that we all face certain challenges and times in our lives when we must take a journey (whether this be symbolically or literally) to shed the layers of who we thought we were in order to uncover the person we are meant to be.
The power of story is so important in culitivating meaning in our culture and in our communities. Unfortunately , the wonder of story and myth around the campfire or dinner table has been replaced by TV time. Though I do think some media has its place in telling captivating story, it is the stories passed on from generation to generation. From our elders to our young ones, that tell us about our lives and our place within the great web of the world. If you’re interested in learning more about me and my story, keep reading below! If you’re interested in sharing your unique story here, feel free to email me @ wildwhealing@gmail.com:).
The Story of Water Woman:
Water Woman was born in a small village in a place called Minnesota in the United States. Though she was made of water, she was surrounded by a tribe created of fire. They burned so brightly that their heat and desire for consumption and conformity dried out water woman’s elemental roots. As she grew and her limbs became longer, she too became acquainted well with Fire. She forgot about her water beginnings and who she was.
During this time of forgetting, she burned so hot and bright, that she destroyed not only those around her, but herself as well. She was hot to the touch, and this fiery rage that brewed within her, drove away any real chance for love and intimacy with herself and the world around her. Her heart became black and charred. She grew into a deep despair. She suffered greatly and each day was a struggle for her. There was something inside of her, deep deep down that whispered “come home”. Was this the whisper of Water she wondered? She would soon find out.
She knew that she was not a fire person, she was created to be something else. She longed for this soft peacefulness that she felt as a young being, before being taken over by the flames of Fire. She knew she had to change, to shed her skin and leave her charred remains in her wake. She knew she had to leave everything she thought she knew behind. Of course, her tribe of fire would never understand a water person.
They told her she was crazy and that she should not leave. She would never succeed and survive on her own. But what they did not know is that if she stayed she would surely succumb to her burning rage and would be nothing more than a pile of ash, waiting to be blown away by the wind. She could feel the call of her true essence, her longing within. The nudge was here, in her heart center. Powerful and profound. It called out to her very core. She was scared to take these steps forward into the unknown, away from her tribe, but she was even more afraid of staying.
She packed up what little belongings she had and traveled to a new place, thousands of miles away from her village of fire people. She traveled to a place surrounded by nothing but what she longed for, Water. It was here she began to peel away at the hardened shell she had grown during her time with the fire people. She began to take on more of her water nature. She slowed down and brought peace into her being and her blackened heart. Slowly, she began to soften and open. She met new friends along the way who also longed to return to their natural essence. Together, they helped each other on their journeys and explorations into the depths of themselves. Water Woman grew more rooted and joyful. She felt as though she had finally found her tribe and most importantly herself.
During this time, she grew more confident in who she was, she was not afraid of her differences and her true self, even if it was unlike her tribe back home. Eventually, she knew it was time to leave this place and her friends to continue on her journey. Though she was sad to leave, she felt excited by the idea of going to a place where Water and Fire meet one another. She felt she was ready to face what she had so long pushed away-the truth of who she was, so she could remain small to not risk rocking the boat her and her beloved were on. But she knew she was meant to help the fire people remember that they too were of Water.
Like her, they had simply forgotten this. It was at this time Water Woman realized that she could not have one without the other, she needed both her watery essence and her fiery roots to remain whole and balanced. She spent much of her time in this place where Water and Fire meet, cultivating a deeper connection with herself. For so long, she despised who she was-the turbulent depths that took her up and down and up and down. But she stuck with these storms, she rode through her fears; knowing that eventually they would subside and she would again know peace and tranquility. Each time she came out of each storm with more wisdom and a deeper knowing of herself.
By now, her blackened heart had given way, the layers had shed and she emerged forth into her true self. She knew who she was born to be was for a reason. The Stars had shown her as she lay beneath their illuminated canopy each evening. She watched them shine as nothing but who they were designed to be, she realized that she was one of them.
One day, while communing with her plant brothers and sisters in the jungle, she felt the call of her tribe below her feet. They were signaling for her that it was time to acknowledge her roots again, for she could not have one without the other. She was born as Water but she was raised to burn fiercely and to wash away the suffering of herself and her people. But Water Woman felt that she still was not yet ready to face the flames that burned within her so fiercely. She was afraid they would again overtake her and she would forget her essence.
The cries of her people grew louder and louder and they shook the Earth of the place where Water and Fire meet so much that she awoke in her sleep one evening. One day, she ventured to the place where Fire burned so bright against the backdrop of night that she awakened to Fire’s beauty. Before this, she had disowned Fire and thought she merely existed to destroy life. But now she saw that Fire was here to make us see, to illuminate the darkness so that we might once again discover our true light. Water Woman was changed after this night, and she finally agreed to return to her tribe in her village.
When she returned, she found that everything had changed. But this was not because her tribe and her village changed, but because she had. Her reconnection with her truth had washed away the hate in her heart that had driven others away. She knew at her core that she was not different from her tribe, like her, they all were born as Water, but had been taught to dry themselves in of Water in favor of Fire. She knew that her people still suffered, and from her travels and time spent in the place where Water and Fire meet, how to guide them back to their true essence.
Like the Stars she watched at night, she knew that we all are here to shine brightly as the beings we are meant to be. She spent her days using her water powers to lead others in balancing their fires so that they too knew peace in their hearts. Slowly, she began to see the work they were doing unfold like a petal and flower into a community filled with more compassion and love. She knew that more communities like hers were suffering. With the cycles of the moon and turn of the tides, Water Woman again felt the call to return to the place where Water and Fire meet. A new era approached her, she was ready to start anew and share her gifts with the whole Earth community.
The End, thanks for reading!
