“It is said that whenever a story is told, day becomes night. The telling of a certain kind of story, in a certain kind of way with a certain kind of intention, causes a starry sky and a white moon to creep from the eves or from the corners of the heavens and to hover over the heads of the listeners. By the end of the tale, the chamber or the ground all around is flooded with day break, perhaps a star shard is left behind to show that a great something, a great someone has visited and taken time with us. And whatever of this that is left behind is ours to use towards the mending and making of life”
Clarissa Pinkola Estes
I grew up just like you in a culture that calls maturity to kill anything that resembles even by far the mystery of existence. I had to sit through enough hours of mathematics and history in order to become a total convert in believing only what I see, hear and feel…that is…to become a grown up…
What most of us don’t know is that the time of heroes and legends is never over, it keeps living in one of those parallel universes that physicists talk about and it is always ready to creep in daily life, only given the chance.
These very short stories are born from moments of real life. Even if sometimes there is a logic answer that you can find to what actually happened, I invite you to open with me the door to the great mystery of existence.
Are you missing on the mystery of life because of stress?
I am making a habit of jogging a few times a week in the outskirts of our little village on the hilltops of Crete. When the summer is not suffocating, the majestic views over the Mediterranean sea and the endless rows of olive trees are enough to demonstrate the mystery of existence.
It is a huge blessing to be able to open to this scenery and let your heart fill with all its beauty…And I tell you (from my experience as a stress therapist) most of us have lost that capacity to awe. We have lost it to that point that the researchers at Berkeley University have even created a quiz in order to assess your capacity to wonder.
And if you are just thinking this text is BS and a waste of your time…wondering at the beauty of nature…when you have more important and stressful things to do and think about…STOP RIGHT THERE…this is how you are killing your capacity to enjoy life!
This is how you are reinforcing the stress cycle in your life. And if you think that your level of stress does not influence your ecstatic capacity, I challenge you to take this quiz and find out how stressed you really are!
Lady Goat
But back to our story…I was just passing this enclosed garden with olive trees when I heard distinct voices, a man and a woman talking…I found it strange because usually there is nobody on the hill at this hour. However, not strange enough in order to stop and investigate further. So I continued my jogging tour between the olives for a few more minutes before I turned and took the same way back.
I was passing the olives enclosure again when a man with two goats came out on the road. He did not answer my Yasas (hello in Greek) and continued head down on the way, dragging one of the goats behind him. The second goat was free but following closely in the footsteps of the former goat like a faithful servant.
No sign of the woman though…not in the garden, nor on the street…no matter in which direction she should have left, I would have either met her on my way back or seen her ahead of me on the empty road…
I continued on my path wondering who could have been this beautiful Lady Goat and what horrible spell might have put her under the service of such an ugly old man on the enchanted hills of Crete.
Resources
If you would like to know more about me, my stories and my work, check me out at Home – Dana Iliescu (dana-iliescu.com)
Reach out: Do not hesitate to leave a message below about this text, about your experience with the mystery of existence or with stress. I would love to read it!
Take the stress quiz: Stress is an insidious enemy, many times we realise we are too stressed only when it is too late. Assess your level of stress and get suggestions about how to cope with it.