Howl often

That’s it, I have finished reading Women Who Run With Wolves. It is a strange feeling as I’ve never read a book quite  like this before. I learned many truths, have digested a rainbow of stories, looked at myself with thorough honesty, and added a huge splash of wisdom  to my life. I am also more than ever hooked on storytelling.

Today I would like to share with you a few snippets, which I have put into my healing bag, ready to take out whenever I need to. In the final teaching chapter Estes shares powerful, rousing plea to embrace all that we are. It was one of those moments when it was like she knew me personally, it made my heart thump. I don’t want to spoil the pleasure of you discovering that plea for yourselves but I shall share the phrase that glows with many lights for me:

“So come out, come out wherever you are. Leave deep footprints because you can.”

The deep footprints encapsulate what is in my heart, to make a real and connected impact on this earth, for my own wild self and for the world I have the honor to live in. I am reminded so often how short and precious life is,  footprints are vital. Mine and yours. Some days it feels like those prints have been blown away by the wind. Some days it is hard to walk, to make those prints in the first place. But they do matter. Each and every one of them.

Estes also writes a list of wolf rules for life . My favourite rule has to be:

“Howl often.”

Howl. Communicate. Connect. Celebrate my voice. Know that I am alive. Let myself be heard. Release that negativity, get rid of it, put it out there and move on.

The last story in the book is one of a woman reclaiming her true self with the aid of a wise wolf, who helps the woman see  the truths in her life clearly for the first time, both the good and the bad. The wolf leaves her with the precious question, the vital question to take away and use in her life:

"Where is the soul?"

For me it is all to easy to get caught up in the everyday, to be automatic in my actions as a part of my daily routines, to relay on the routines, the comfort zones. But really to live  with purpose I have to open your eyes wide and search for that soul; the life force, the humanity. This is a crazy life, just maybe asking myself the soul question might make me appreciate it more.

The stories told so powerfully by Estes  have made my creative senses tingle, although I am not yet sure where this will lead. What I did know this morning was that I had to create a piece of artwork to celebrate this wolf journey

Of course now I feel a little lost, as I always do when I have finished a book, which has become a part of me. I really like the idea of further exploring storytelling but do not know quite where to start. Do you have any suggestions?