Siren's Playground: A Behind-The-Scenes Series (2/5)

i come from

thick

swift, sweet

sassy, soft

i come from

laughter

as loud

as hips

are wide

i come from

gentle on the outside

strong on the inside

~

A woman is meant to be seen. 

She is not meant to be perfect. 

But seen, yes.

In all her sadness. 

In all her anger. 

In all her joy.

She is here to be life in motion.

To be a manifestation of life itself.

But a woman is tasked first with seeing... herself. 

Diving into her own depths.

Facing herself in the mirror and seeing what no one else has seen, could see.

Holding herself in the depths of her toil and despair and inner excavations.

Reckoning with life, with the depth of her own feeling, with the possibilities presented by her own dreams; the beauty and pains in realizing those dreams; and ultimately, perhaps most importantly... with death. 

You see, the Hero's journey is horizontal...

The Hero leaves what he knows, to quest through the land.

The Hero steps out to slay the dragons that threaten his Kingdom. 

To forge his way. 

To exert his will in the face of all external odds.

To prove his worth, his expertise, his readiness to meet life. 

He has trained for this moment.

He ventures out. 

The Dragons are slain.

The Hero returns to his Kingdom. 

Victorious. Wise. Matured. 

He is ready to serve his Kingdom more deeply.

The Heroine's journey, however... is vertical.

It is about going into the muck of existence itself.

It is dealing with grief, rage, extreme loss, abandonment, even cruelty. 

It is grappling with ecstasy, with intimacy, with wild celebration of every waking moment and every breath.

It is about entering into the darkest of her inner caverns and learning to withstand what awaits her there with both strength, and softness. Both grit, and grace..

It is about finding her way back to the surface...

Renewed.

Delighting in the glory of being alive. 

She's gentler now. 

Breathing more easily. 

Smiling more. 

Playing more.

Enjoying life. 

GIFTING her joy to life!

She's the one sitting in the corner, smiling at the young ones and the trees and the birds, throwing her head back to the sky - laughing. Cackling, even.

She quests to understand the heights and depths of what it is to be alive.

So, she seeks spaces... people... experiences... feelings... dreams... that will break and mold and grow her.

The flowers of Persephone, blooming out of the mire of the underworld.

It is not for the faint of heart.

But hers is a journey of serving the Heaven, the Queendom, the Divine All... within her. 

Because as she does that for herself, her radiance serves and illuminates all Life around her.

This...

This is the Heroine's journey.

~

Photos by Julia Raley, at a shoot with Emily Poste

This is the second in a series that will run every day this week, through Friday. The photos are some of my favorite behind-the-scenes shots from one of my favorite shoots I've taken part in, along with some words speaking in various ways to my imaginings and takes on the Feminine experience. Imagine the conversation a Siren might spark with you if she could. Enjoy.