Ahhh, what a lovely moment this is. Friday night, at one of my favorite haunts in Asheville, Jack of the Wood. This was the first place my husband and I went when we arrived in Asheville in July 2007 - a cute little Irish pub that hosts bluegrass bands complete with fiddles and mandolins and people passionate about their groove. It is a place that our "Best"est friends from Seattle had enjoyed as they explored our city, long before we arrived. It is a place that holds memories, passion and mystery. (Tim, you'd love it!)
The Green Man, pictured here, is, for lack of a better word, the mascot of this establishment. This photo is from the outside of the pub. He is a Man of the Woods, a man of mystery, a wild man. He has also been described as a symbol of rebirth, representing the cycle of growth each spring (Wikipedia).
He reminds me of Ireland's leprechaun, a myth not unlike the Sasquatch of Native American lore. When I was in grad school, obtaining a degree in counseling, the legend of Sasquatch was an important part of one of my classes, "The Power of the Unconscious." In that class we were challenged to consider the legend/reality of Sasquatch. How can we know he is not real? How can we know he is? And, bottom line, does the reality of the beast really matter?
My conclusion was OH YES, it matters. Not literally. I don't need to go out and prove or disprove the existence of Sasquatch. But what I do need to consider is the presence of the part of my soul that is shrouded in mystery, intrigue, darkness and passion. What is the story of my inner Man of the Woods? What's the story of yours? The Man of the Woods is elusive and mysterious, a scary part of our unconscious that we often try to avoid. But what if we were to encounter our fear and journey into those parts of our soul, allowing what we find there to speak to us? What if we were to go "into the woods?"
Entering the woods of our soul opens us to awareness. As I work toward running a marathon, the journey is about a whole lot more than just the physical output required to run 26.2 miles. It is about finding parts of me I never knew existed, and embracing all parts of me - beautiful, ugly, scary, vulnerable. Running is an avenue into awareness of what is stirred in me, into awareness of the different parts of me, all of whom have something to tell me. I truly want to be one who loves life, and awareness of what (or who) can hold me back from really loving life is essential. What holds me back? I want to know. And I trust the miles will guide me.
As I sit here in this pub, alongside my husband, drinking Highlands Gaelic Ale (North Carolina's closest answer to Seattle's Mac-n-Jack), I am aware of an awakening in me. The past few years have had me solidly, depressingly and traumatically in the woods. Now, finally, I feel I am out of those woods. But there will be more invitations to enter the woods - sometimes on a daily basis, and certainly on a run by run basis! I want to continue to be awakened to that call. I want to enter those woods to learn all that the mysteries of the soul have to teach me. And when I am there, I hope I will still say, "I love life!"
~~~Thoughts~~~
When have you had to go "into the woods?" What life circumstances have called you to re-examine who you thought you were, to change how you viewed the world?
What gets in the way of you truly loving your life? And as you answer that question, are you willing to go back into the woods in order to confront/embrace the silent parts of you that hold you back?
Until next time, may you love your life today.
