Obsidian Skulls and Peacefulness

It may not be a flower, but we are all drawn to a skull, especially a human one

Last Friday (12/07) I joined Soul Circle with Beth Kempton for an hour (or maybe more, I didn’t count) of writing. I decided that I would like to share a couple of the pieces that I wrote. It was lovely to join a huge community of writers coming together to do one of the things that writers do best; write. Below is one of the pieces the I wrote during that session:

“Obsidian Skull

This obsidian skull is my offering to the circle. Here’s why. I feel it symbolises something deep. There’s a real profoundness to it. Almost like it lives after death. In a way I feel like it is death. All things die. I’ve not had it that long, about a year. There’s a huge part of me that had to die in order to get here today. The journey was a long one, but became far more focused, intentional and geared towards this sort of thing three years ago, just over. Maybe four. I changed. I evolved. I decided that for once I would dive into the darkness rather than keep trying to run from it. I am the darkness after all. We all are. There could be no light without darkness. I was born from it. It’s what gave rise to my deep inner journey and the outer which it reflects. Here I dig for answers. Here I dive for personal experience and for knowledge. I aim to bring it to the light for all to enjoy. For all to use as part of their own profound journeys. For the sages and the mystics. For the wise men and women. For the heroes and the fools. For those on the path and those who are yet to begin or may not ever take the first step.

It may not be a flower, but we are all drawn to a skull, especially a human one.”

(The writing circle offering. It may look like just a black skull to some, but I find a lot of depth to this wonderful piece of work)

I think I wrote that in seven minutes. Either way, far from being all rainbows and fluffy bunnies it can be good to move away from all of that and into the real heart of the matter. I’m a huge believer in shadow work. It’s worth looking up Carl Jung’s work if you want to know more. Maybe one day I’ll post something even. To me it seems very easy to get caught up with love and light and the such, but if we don’t look at the dark I feel like we’re really missing something. For me, personally, it was in the darkness that the real treasure, the pure gold, the most precious of stones, were to be found. That’s not to say that we condemn ourselves to a life of pessimism and doom and gloom, not at all, but more that we accept and integrate our darkness as part of us. I can’t speak for anyone reading this, but in the end the darkness that I felt inside me turned out to be nothing more than a child in distress who needed a lot of love!

Now for my next piece. I think I did this in nine minutes.

(One of the places I love going to for peace and quiet)

“For so long I have wanted... Peace. I used to think that I wanted fun. Then I used to think that I wanted happiness. Now I realise that what I wanted all along was peace.

I’ve done the drunken nights out. I’ve done the music festivals. I’ve been to the gigs both small and large. I’ve had boyfriends. I’ve had best friends. I’ve been to yoga classes. I’ve been to meditation classes. I’ve tried Tai Chi. I’ve seen therapists. I’ve tried the law of attraction. I’ve done shadow work. I’ve done many things. First for fun. Then for happiness. Now for peace. I love tending to my garden. I love the sound and feeling of my cat purring. I love cuddles in the morning with my boyfriend. I love walking by the river. I love looking at clouds. I love the sunset. I love the deep peace of winter and the vibrancy of summer. I’ve never felt better. I realised that for so long, and all along, that I wanted peace.

I searched for it at the bottom of a pint glass. I stood front row at many gigs. I tried to force it. I tried to ignore it. Then, recently, I realised that it’s all around me. If I allow it then peace can be found anywhere, your version of peace that is. Genuine peace. Not the peace that other people tell you about. Not the peace that I write about. The peace that you deem to be peaceful. Indeed I found that peace wasn’t even to be found in your bank account on payday.

I wanted peace. That’s what I wanted for so long.”

I started wondering what it is that I wanted from my life deep down in my mid to late teenage years. At first I was convinced it was fun in a world that seemed intent on keeping me down and bored. As I hit my 20s I thought it was happiness in a world that seemed intent on it being something akin to a carrot on a stick. In the last few years I knew that it was peace and that peace is something that only I have agency over what it looks like. If I have peace then I also have happiness and if I have happiness then, in the most boring way according to a teenager, I also have fun. I had do a lot of soul searching to find that out. It was well worth it though.

Thank you for taking the time to read the two short pieces that I wrote last week. I really appreciate it. I hope you’re having a lovely sunny summer day wherever you are!

(Just look at how awesome that sky is on my peaceful riverside walk!!!!)