As we near one of the 'thin places' in the calendar year-- All Soul's Day, All Hallow's E'en, and yes, even the Day of the Dead, those who have gone before are working with me even harder than usual to make contact and to teach me through my thick skin.
Being an initiate
to the wisdom years
humbled and open
living with boundaries
but without limits.
My grandmother's skin*
is my talisman
door to the mysteries
alive and vulnerable
now incapable of ever being harmed.
Inside me that skin now breathes into life
what seemed to be outside.
Ancestral love flows through my veins
teaching me sacrifice, sacredness and hope
stronger with each passing season
an amulet of love.
Click on the photo for lyrics to 'My Grandmother's Hands'
*Consider reading this story of my grandmother's near death experience to make some sense out of this poem! Basically she said that Jesus (her spiritual guide) is actually closer than our own skin. Pretty mystical words from this pragmatic centenarian...
Submitted for One Single Impression prompt: talisman. Thanks to Joseph Harker of Naming Constellations for hosting this week’s prompt. Visit OSI for a smorgasbord of impressions about each week’s prompt…this one about talismans!
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About Beth Patterson
The Virtual Tea House website became 'word-ripe' when, over a cup of jasmine green, I realized that the web has an expanding part to play in the communal aspects of spiritual growth.
With a master's degree in religion, my career spans 20 years in end of life care and I currently work in the field of child abuse intervention and advocacy.
Here in beautiful Central Oregon, my spiritual homes of the high desert and the mountains are both in proximity. And for good measure, four hours away is Grandmother Ocean and the stunning Oregon Coast.
I'm making decent progress on the goal set by my mother early on: she taught us that the goal of humanity should be to become ever-more eccentric, i.e. more fully human.
Entering the 'forest-dweller' phase of life, I am honored to host the Virtual Tea House for all who wish to explore how our lives are enriched and made new a thousand times each day by the spirituality we embody. Exploring this engagement together is the purpose of the Virtual Tea House.
Welcome! Let's have a cup of virtual tea together and share what brings us joy, what we are being taught by life, how we are leaning into the Big Questions posed to us each day in sometimes 'distressing disguises'.
Follow me on Twitter, if you must
http://twitter.com/MyraB