I feel the need for a broader, deeper story to hold what is currently going on in the world. On March 18th there was an interesting article in the Guardian, Tip of the iceberg: is our destruction of nature responsible for Covid-19? The essence of the article was how the continued urbanisation of wild space, forcing wild creatures and a suffering ecosystem into ever-smaller areas, is increasing the risk of diseases such as Ebola, SARS and Corona virus. Especially if humans eat wild creatures such as bats and chimpanzees.

Though the article shied away from exploring an obvious remedy (i.e. a lower human population through the conscious decision to have smaller family sizes) it provoked a question in me. What if I was bold enough to attempt a translation of what nature is telling us? Not in a way that panders to a target audience, carefully phrased for minds with many filters. But to write directly from the soul, raw and gorgeous, bypassing the mind entirely, hopefully the reader’s too, if only for a moment. In other words, to let nature speak freely, like I would with a character in a novel. Below is what flowed through my fingertips as I sat outside, my company a pot of tea and all the glory of life in spring . . .

[As you read it, feel welcome to play the music at the bottom of the page. It’s the music I wrote this to – Spiegel im Spiegel, Mirror in the Mirror.]

I have many faces. Which one you see is up to you. To your ancient ancestors, along with a very few of you to this day, I am a woodland goddess, a bountiful lover without compare, a noble queen whose hand in marriage requires more than simply courage. To most humans at this point in time I am The Great, Great, Great Grandmother, the oldest woman, the one who gave birth to this world and my love can feel fierce. Rest assured that it is love, love as I know it. Always. My motives are balance, health and diversity. To me everything in its essence is energy and it moves to where it is needed. If one specie grows too large and does not slim down by choice then greater forces intervene. No malice. Just love for the health of the ever-evolving whole. Have you noticed how quickly I recover if you give me time and space to catch my breath? Have you noticed how quickly you recover?

My love will take whatever form is necessary to wake you from your sleep. I have tried whispering. Don’t try to save me. Be humble enough, be grounded enough to love me, to truly love yourself, to make a temple from your grief, and I will shine for you. I will show you such abundance that it will leave you breathless with awe. But if you stay in the storms of your fearful, doubting thoughts then I will gather them up and cast them back at you as a storm you will never forget. I am your mirror.

Your purpose is not to comprehend the infinite intricacy of my ways, but you are part of me, born to be co-creators. So create beauty in all that you do. It is the source of your joy. Have you forgotten that together we can create miracles? Is life itself, in all its dazzling forms, not miracle enough?

Now is the time of the initiations you never had – the rite of passage into true adulthood and elderhood. Why it has been delayed until now is a mystery to do with deepening that will become clear in time. Trust in that. Though your eyes may not see it, this is a time of celebration. Together we are giving birth to something golden. It is why the world is trembling.

Stretch. Breathe. Can you hear the birds singing or feel the wind and rain on your face? You are never alone. You are always in love. It is the essence of everything . . .

Robert Luck
http://www.slowjinn.com
Author of fantasy novel The House of Tusk

Featured image – art by Susan Seddon-Boulet