…because of the wonderful things she does.”
Well, it did have a “Dorothy looking for the Wizard” sort of quality. And I do have that sometime trait of looking without for what is within.
Although, I didn’t have a request. And I knew my way home. But I was definitely searching for some mysterious and mystical “something”.
Well, let’s go back to the beginning: My granddaughter had loaned me the book Grandmothers Counsel the World, by Carol Schaefer and I was fascinated. Thirteen indigenous grandmothers from all across the globe, respected and valued for their own wisdom and that of their tribes, coming together as international authority seems a miracle to me.
And, wonder of wonders, Flordemaya, the representative grandmother from a Maya* tribe in Nicaragua was speaking at a fundraiser in my state.
Here is where it gets a bit more like the Wizard of Oz.
My sister joined in my excitement, and off we went. On the way, we stayed with my daughter and her family. (You know, Tin Man, Scarecrow.) And there’s something about a family of women in a nurturing setting that creates a tangible glow of wholeness. We laughed and cried. We shared memories and admitted fears. We were willing to listen to and accept thoughts and ideas that might, at other times, have felt like intrusive advice. Such soulful communication sent all of us to bed wrapped in a cocoon of love and acceptance.
Yet still we were seeking for the magical Grandmothers to show us the way.
Well, I’m just going to cut to the chase. We found the grandmothers. And it wasn’t a great gathering of wisdom. It was a fundraiser with booths: massages, crystals, jewelry, gluten-free cupcakes (delicious), vegan food, books, tee-shirts and everything one might expect to find at a no-longer new-age-but-definitely-a path-to-higher-consciousness type fair.
The people in attendance were what we would find at any such event; women like ourselves, (no men like our husbands), young couples with matching dreadlocks, aging men with pony-tails, various people dressed in tie-dye, swirling skirts, sandals with socks, not many bras and one unlikely bikini.
It wasn’t a bad journey. I enjoyed meeting Flordemaya. Agnes Baker Pilgrim, the grandmother from our area was there, too, sharing her great spirit and earth-knowledge. And ultimately my sister and I agree we had to have gone. If not, given our healthy genetic dose of FOMS**, we would have yearned forever toward a perceived lost opportunity.
The lessons I learned were invaluable and I hope I can retain all of them.
Lesson One. As long as it is in my power physically and financially, I will take every opportunity to spend time with my sister(s).
Lesson Two. I have the attention span of a Tse-Tse fly and it is better to attend events with people who are willing to cut and run no matter what they have spent to get there.
Lesson Three. I must accept in myself that I am prone to imbue the people I admire with magical qualities and will go to great lengths to come into the presence of those I deem to be magical.
Lesson Four. All women have the wisdom and power to come together in mind and spirit, whether physically or psychically, and accomplish great things in this universe. NOTE: A wonderful concept in the “Grandmother” book was a reference to the inherent power in the feminine method of gathering, which is without agenda. Their council feels that insights gained in groups without agenda do the most valuable work toward peace and healing of our planet. (My loose translation.)
Lesson Five. I am quick to judge and categorize. If I’m to benefit from Lesson Four I must continue to strive for a universal love and acceptance which includes me with all of humanity (which I’m included in anyway…it’s the acceptance that I’m lacking.)
And finally, it would be nice to say that there’s no place like home. It’s just that I read about this one day gathering in Atlanta…
xxoo
*My granddaughter who loaned me the book is of Mayan descent.
**Fear of Missing Something
A Letter to my Children 