In his book The Disobedience of the Daughter of the Sun, published in the year 2001, Martín Prechtel recounts an old Mayan tale about “finding one’s true form.” The story is told in a universal language, with archetypes as old as, … well … the Sun. As is the way with all good stories, this story can live differently in every one who hears it. We each get what we need. In Prechtel’s re-telling of the tale, one thing is clear and universal:
While the Hope that advances our becoming cannot guarantee we will get what we want, it does guarantee that our essence stays intact.
Rather than become invisible through assimilation into a culture that demands we feed it our reduced selves, by cleaving to Hope we retain connection with what matters most – the truth of who we are.
Getting closer and closer to the truth of who we are can be a road fraught with peril, yet I would bet you agree that a little bit of peril is a price worth paying for this most precious of soul treasures.
That peril includes the very real possibility that the “bad guys” will win sometimes. That peril includes betrayal, heartbreak, bewilderment, disappearance of all we hold dear, and separation from all that we love. But that peril is the very passage that leads us through the gate to our true form. Somehow embedded in the structure of human story, seemingly a mechanical law of collective evolution, the experience of the chrysalis can be a scary thing to give our lives over to.
The political, economic, and environmental climate of our world today feels pretty scary right now. Yet I hold great hope. Not the hope that we will get what we want, in the time we want it, in the form we are expecting. Prechtel’s retelling of the Mayan tale reminded me of a wisdom about our collective becoming: though we may not get what we want in our current form, our Hope is what will lead us through a rebirth to our true form, where what we want is at last possible.
This metamorphosis may require time and patience. Yet the guarantee is that by holding to Hope, and our vision of what deeply and truly brings us great joy, our authentic form will eventually, inevitably emerge – changed, but true.
If you have a couple hours over the holidays, treat yourself to the audiobook of this tale narrated by Martín Prechtel. His story of Hope, devastation, and renewal will bring you the very nourishment that is needed in the deep dark of winter. In it, he provides a mythological roadmap for us to navigate the discovery of our true collective form.
Blessings to you and yours in this season of Hope and renewal.