The Pagan Heart
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March 2005 Issue
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A Child Discovers the Goddess
By Diancecht Goibniu
My eldest daughter and I were taking a walk one afternoon about three and a half years ago. It was a beautiful spring day - blue sky and the bright sun warming our backs. Spring flowers were pushing their way up through the dark moist soil. A perfect day. As Chloe and I explored the nature preserve we came across a small bird lying on the ground. My young daughter asked me if it had died. Together, we gently looked at the bird and learned that in fact it had moved onto the underworld. Naturally, Chloe began asking me questions. We talked about what happens when we die, where our souls go and what happens to our bodies. Of course this led to us creating a lovely little cairn for our bird. My daughter said some lovely words about how its sweet song always made her happy. As Chloe and I continued our walk, she stopped and asked me, "Where does the Goddess live?" We talked about how the Goddess live in everything we see and touch, even in the things we can't see. I told her that She lives in the grass and in the trees, in the soil and in the rocks. Her voice is in the wind and the song birds. Chloe looked at me carefully - her big blue eyes glinting in the sunlight. Her gaze slowly turned to a bush, the kind with the yellow flowers on it that look like daisies. She looked back at me and said, "Dad, does the Goddess live in this bush?" I replied, "Yes, honey, her energy is in the bush too." To that my daughter squatted down low to the ground and starts looking very hard into the bush. After a few minutes of contemplation, she moves aside a few branches with her hand and peeks, in yelling, "Goddess, you in there?" Over the past few years there have been many small moments like this one. When I see glimpses of the compassionate and caring young woman that my daughter is growing up to be, I find myself honoured to be blessed with the wisdom from such a young child. On the days when all parents grit their teeth and can't wait for bedtime to arrive, I remind myself of this day, its innocence and its profound wisdom all in one pefect moment, and I find peace. |
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