I’ve been AWOL from my blog for four weeks. More like five. Or is it six?

I’ve been in mother-land, daughter-land, teacher-land.

Lands where you can’t see the path until you step. Lands where there isn’t any path at all until you step. And then a narrow lane rises to meet your feet, so you can bridge an abyss.

Lands both real and mythical. Real world places, with practical goals: to accompany children, parents, students as they learn and launch. Mythical inner-world places, with hidden maps that change as soon as you find them. Places without the comforts of a fantasy quest novel, where the characters at least know the grail they seek, and readers are on hand to explain the symbolic, ethical, psychological, and philosophical meaning of the story.

In the real lands, there’s a lot of watching and waiting, to see what others do. I can point out a hidden possible path and help make it safe to step forward, but each person has to step out on their own.

In the mythical lands, there’s a lot of waiting, but sometimes there’s nothing to watch. I can’t see who I am becoming, what I am seeking, or how to proceed. I’m AWOL from myself. All that’s left is to wait with equanimity — DGAF and DILLIGAF inhabited in the sweetest, most respectful way. Because it’s not helpful to be attached to things that slip away as soon as I grasp them.

See the hummingbird moth? Eats like a hummingbird, and also like a moth. Flies like a hummingbird, but lands like a moth. Forages like a hummingbird, but with the steady confidence of a moth. It’s not rattled if you move close to watch while its identity seems to shift back and forth. But it may fly off again, with infinitely moving sweeps of its wings. It’s a bit like your soul, saying, “DILLIGAF about what, from your perspective, looks like ambiguity? No. Keep movin’ baby!”

Ever notice how, in fantasy novels, the right magical object appears just when it’s needed? Even if its magical principles have not appeared earlier in the book? I used to get angry about this, and fault the writer. But how can I fault the soul? That’s just the way it works. New concepts bring sudden insight and then break apart. Signs give their hints and then fly away.

“A great big mythical world awaits you, baby.” That’s what my moth says. “It runs right parallel to this real one. Right behind the wardrobe of your everyday consciousness. Step on through, and let the games begin.”

Image: Photo by Laura Duhan Kaplan (me)

With explicit references to Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, Chronicles of Narnia, Alice in Wonderland…v’hamaskil yavin