"Through the tender mercy of God; whereby the Dayspring from on high hath visited us, to shine on those who sit in darkness and death's shadow, to guide our feet into the path of peace.
-- Luke 1 : 78-79
-- Luke 1 : 78-79
"In ancient Crete around Love's altar where the delicate grasses flowered graceful women with a quickening of soft footsteps kept time in the choral dance."
-- Sappho, Aeolian Ode (7th century B.C.E.)
-- Sappho, Aeolian Ode (7th century B.C.E.)
April 26, 1992. Seattle. I attend the birth of my niece, Tatiana, as she pops upside-down out of Mama Alex's womb, head-swiveling to bat eyelashes at everyone in the room. Welcome Indigo Child! Days earlier, to celebrate her imminent arrival (coinciding with the 22nd Annual Earth Day), I undertake a pilgrimage to one of Seattle's hidden delights, Streissguth Gardens, a lush oasis near the freeway bordering Capitol Hill. Laden with flora and intersected midway by tiers of stone steps, the garden is lovingly well-tended in silence by folks engaged in the biblical art of care-taking, i.e. communing with the Seed Body of the Green Goddess (Ann and Dan Streissguth created the garden in the mid-1960's; and published In Love With A Hillside Garden, in 2009. According to their website, "Along with the beautiful vegetation and view, visitors enjoy winding trails, gurgling ponds, and birdsong."1). The crest of the hill buzzes with an alignment of beehives - the heart of urban permaculture!
Earth Day (Everyday! for Those-in-the-Know) is the Appearance Day of Gea, the Garden. In key solitude, toning AUM, I meditate in half-lotus, on one of Her Stations of the Cross (a well-trodden path), passing the hours observing flowers following the Arc of the Source, climaxing in a totality of opening at noon (their heads actually turn! in slow motion). A fortuitous and religious experience - the chlorophyll-feeding of Nature's Children - Time via the Sun, encapsulating Growth. Nodding along to the subtle imperceptibilities of natural light, the day was literally growing on me, buzzzzzing its contentment. Unusual permutations were afoot, whissssperings and whizzzzzings, seen out of the corner of one's eyes. I enter into a trance, aided by puffs from a glass-blown pipe, filled with Cannabossom.
Activated by the sacred herb, I am compelled up to dance (moving to a grassy knoll, close to the East Blaine stairway - the six flights of twenty-odd stairs which span the steep hill)......."I'm dancing barefoot"2......a whirling dervish / Sufi twirl, hands uplifted to the Cosmos, imitating the flower deities, fielding electromagnetic forces under the Sun's hypnotic streams. I'm singing softly, chanting a Native American prayer, when out from under wisping tendrils of hair, I spy an Epiphany (Koine Greek, "manifestation" or "striking appearance") / Theophany (Ancient Greek, "vision of God" or "the manifestation of a deity to a worshipper" or "God shining forth").
An older, robust man (a gypsy Magi?!!), with white-flowing hair and a full wavy beard, is bounding up the stairs towards me, looking the absolute incarnation of.....dare I say it? for it is Her Day, after all....Yes, No Doubt, Here Comes God. I instinctively Know Him, in His Gardener's Attire (white overalls). He's Come Down to Earth, or this Spaceship / Garden Portal's......risen to meet Heaven. I continue spinning as He Comes Nearer....feeling humble (and faint!) in His Presence. Our eyes gently connect as I whirl, He lingers, dare I say, lovingly, regarding me....for a moment in Blessed Eternity, before continuing His Ascension (I recall a deep satisfaction of feeling acknowledged, as a wild Medicine Woman, of sorts).
Angelico, Fra, Coronation of the Virgin 2 (1434)
Following on the footsteps of "My Sweet Lord"3, a cacophony of merry laughter and lilting twittering signals the arrival of a resplendent, angelic assembly, charged with Pure Gaiety. Dressed in flowing attire, gesturing animatedly to one another, as in a sunlit wave they climb the remaining two flights of stairs, barely registering the stranded, beguiled mortal. Wait! a she-angel pauses, looks back over her shoulder and beckons me forward, with a scrolling motion of her hand. She unfolds a book and a pen from the crook of her arm, and kindly asks my name....to enter in....the Book of Life? Lightly caressing my arm in passing, she nods, smiles, scribes in said book and glides away.
Following on the footsteps of "My Sweet Lord"3, a cacophony of merry laughter and lilting twittering signals the arrival of a resplendent, angelic assembly, charged with Pure Gaiety. Dressed in flowing attire, gesturing animatedly to one another, as in a sunlit wave they climb the remaining two flights of stairs, barely registering the stranded, beguiled mortal. Wait! a she-angel pauses, looks back over her shoulder and beckons me forward, with a scrolling motion of her hand. She unfolds a book and a pen from the crook of her arm, and kindly asks my name....to enter in....the Book of Life? Lightly caressing my arm in passing, she nods, smiles, scribes in said book and glides away.
Sigh!......the Epiphany-of-the-Day fades from view. I search the grass (grasping!) for Clues of His Grace to no avail; before I begin to lament, a little voice reminds me to "Bee Present" - to stay in deep gratitude for the Garden. "Listen!"...... the rhythmic buzzzzing is rising in frequency. Nectar is being collected via the fertile magic of pollination! Re-entering the everyday street of things, clearing the crest of the hill, I am touched by the humming wings of honey bees in flight.
1 www.streissguthgardens.com
2 Smith, Patti, "Dancing Barefoot"
3 Harrison, George, "My Sweet Lord"
-- Honey Bee "Skep"
No comments:
Post a Comment