Waters Gather - a story for beginnings
This is a myth for the beginning of the year, the start of a new time in life, or any other times when the road is unclear and full of uncertain emotion. I told it at our Evenlight (spring equinox) ritual circle this past weekend.
The world was brand-new, and They weren’t sure if They fit within it.
They walked away, solitary, from the families where They didn’t fit, but as they walked, all that each one saw in front of Themself was an expanse of barely-formed creation, with no one else there, and no hints of where to go.
Feeling alone, and lost, Their feelings overflowed, and They cried, and Their tears flowed in front of Them like a stream in the desert. Seeing no other path to take, each one followed that course of water as it wound through the world.
They let those streams pull them along, step after step, turn after turn, and finally each one saw something strange. Their little stream was growing, as other streams joined it, trickling in from elsewhere across the expanse, as if tears were flowing from others as well.
None had expected anyone else to be in Their situation, but as They looked they saw Them, other figures following the pull of Their own feelings, all gathering closer. Those tears became tears of joy as they joined, and still they flowed together, two, four, seven, more…
Finally They together knew They were enough, as They stood at the confluence of a grand river, every tributary giving life to the world, vibrant where they all met.
And there, They kindled a fire, a gathering-place not just for Themselves, but for anyone else who followed the rivers, or their own streams of feeling, seeking someplace that would accept them as who they knew they were.