4/28/2009

The Daimon

About a year ago I read James Hillman's The Soul's Code. In it, he writes about the daimon, which is a bit like a muse that stays with us throughout our life and encourages us to follow our bliss, to act on our passions. He likens it to an acorn, which needs water, light, protective soil, and loving care to sprout into a tree.

This weekend my daimon celebrated because I had an experience that reminded me just what it is I want to do in this world.

I am in a class called Consciousness & Sustainability and on Sunday our class met in a 1-acre garden in San Anselmo. I was surrounded by lizards, crows, jasmine, borage, calendula, butterflies, hummingbirds, and plot after plot of new vegetable plants. The garden is tended mainly by volunteers, and it is part of an amazing school that is 90 percent powered by the sun through a bank of solar panels. The garden feeds the students. It teaches them about nature. And it provides a sanctuary for those who want direct communion with nature's cycles.

We spent the entire day in nature. All day I breathed fresh air, felt the warm sun on my back and a cool breeze on my cheek, and interacted with silent spiders and boisterous chickens. In other words, I was in heaven.

The running commentary in my head went something like this: "I love this! This is so cool! I want to do this all the time! I can't wait to come back next week! I want to teach outside all day! I would love to teach a class in a garden!"

Even though it had been a long day and the drive was tiring, when I came home I was full of energy. I got out the reading for next week and devoured it. I want to learn all I can about permaculture and the cycles of nature and how I can bring this information to others.

And at the end of the evening, I sat down with a pad and pen and wrote down all the things I want to do when I graduate: teach, write, create art, take photographs, practice psychic work, and work with nature, ancestry, and dreams. I created a web connecting all of these pieces together, trying to come up with a cohesive answer. It was difficult because there are so many options: I could teach nature writing. I could write about psychic dreams. I could create art about ancestry and the land. The wonderful thing is, I could do all of these things because they are all connected.

While I am no clearer about what specific job I want to do when I graduate, I am crystal clear that nature and teaching absolutely must be included. And when I write that, my daimon does a little jig, happy that I am listening and helping my gift grow from an acorn into a mighty oak.

2 comments:

Stephanie said...

Sounds wonderful! What an amazing life that would be.Enjoy every minute of it. That school sounds amazing!!!!

Katrina said...

You are right, Stephanie, JFK is an amazing place.