Facing Serious Illness With Creativity
The Sword, the Light, and Magic
This creative piece, reprinted with permission, is by Lynne Goldklang, MA, MFT, who is a breast cancer survivor, a licensed therapist, public speaker, contributor to the book Chocolate for a Woman's Soul, and co-author of Count It As a Vegetable and Move On!: Ending the Food-Abuse/Self-Abuse of the Typical Dieter.
This people is a metaphor for the experience of breast cancer treatment. But it is also a story that can apply to people with many different kinds of illness. Seeing the medical profession as shamans gives power to the therapies they administer.
Earth-girl was a beautiful young woman. She lived in the same village where she drew her first breath of life. She had scores of relatives and many friends. She married her beloved Earth-boy and gave birth to a baby son. She and Earth-boy worked together on their small farm, raising fruits and vegetables for the villagers. Life was good and all was well for the little family.
It was time for Earth-girl to make her yearly visit to Medicine-man. He was happy to see her and laughed as the baby tugged at his beard. Then he looked at Earth-girl with his penetrating eyes and a dark cloud passed over his face.
He picked up his holy sticks and ran them around her body, up and down, front and back. He gently placed one of the sticks on her chest and it glowed like a beacon.
"We must act now to begin the healing," whispered Medicine-man.
Earth-girl felt a jolt of fear that struck like lightning. "What is wrong?"
"You have the same plague that has killed many of our women."
"Am I going to die?"
Medicine-man spoke softly and took Earth-girl's hand in his. "No one but the great spirit in the sky can answer that question. You have come to me early and I will use my powerful ways to restore you to health, if it be the will of the Great One."
"But I am fine. I'm young and strong. I have a baby. How can I be sick?"
"It is a strange plague. Often, you do not feel sick until you are healing. We must act now before the invisible sickness grows like the grass."
"What will you do, great Medicine-man?"
He stood very tall and his voice became loud as the thunder. "Behold the power of the sword, the light, and magic."
Then he pulled a silver sword out of the folds of his robe and ran it through the flame. Chanting and dancing, he lunged toward Earth-girl and made a quick slash on the most private part of her chest. He raised the bloody sword as an offering to the Great Spirit. Earth-girl screamed then quickly grew calm.
"Go home now, child. Heal the wound. Let it transform into a warrior scar to show how bravely you battle the demons of flesh and soul. Come back to see me when the moon is full."
Earth-girl went home and took to her bed. Her mother came to care for the baby and her grandmother came to care for her, feeding her soups and juices while singing songs from long ago.
Soon the young woman felt stronger. Her wound was healing and the moon was a full circle. She went back to Medicine-man.
He ran his holy sticks up and down her body once again and nodded. "You have mastered the sword. Now yield to the power of the light."
He rubbed his hands together until blinding beams of light poured from his fingertips. He aimed the light at Earth-girl's chest and kept it there for many moments. She felt a burning heat that penetrated her very being.
The great man spoke gently, "You will feel very tired. Rest and return when the moon is full once again."
Earth-girl took to her bed, her energy sapped. Her mother came back to tend the baby while her grandmother took care of her, cradling her like she was a baby, rocking and singing lullabies from long ago.
Soon Earth-girl felt stronger. The healing light continued to flow up and down her body, revitalizing her strength.
It was full moon once again as Earth-girl returned to Medicine-man. He looked into her eyes and spoke with passion, "You are a brave warrior. You have endured the sword and bathed in the light. Now it is time for magic."
He took out three vials of smoky liquid and mixed the potions together, chanting with full voice so that his tones echoed throughout the little village.
"Now, drink this slowly. You will feel very sick, but only for awhile. This is powerful medicine to strike down the ravages of the plague that seeks your life. Come back when three full moons have passed."
Earth-girl sipped the magic potion. It was bitter and stung her throat. She got dizzy and very sick. She was sweating puddles. Her beautiful long hair came out in her hands like dried grass. She took to her bed. Her mother and grandmother, aunts, cousins, and many friends came to help. They formed a circle around her and offered prayers to the Great Spirit.
When the full moon came, Earth-girl looked at the sky and thought it was her time for dying into heavenly light. She ate very little and waited for death.
When the moon was full again, she was fragile as the wings of a butterfly, but still breathing. She began to sip warm soup prepared by her grandmother from an ancient recipe. She swallowed bits of rice spoon-fed by her mother's gentle hand. Soon she was able to crawl, then slowly walk once more.
At the third full moon, she felt like herself and walked with strong steps along the pathway to see Medicine-man.
This time he pointed his holy sticks skyward and offered a prayer, then ran the sacred sticks up and down the young women's body once again.
"Your eyes are clear as the mountain stream. Your cheeks are flushed with color. Your wound is strong and beautiful just as you are Your energy flows in rhythm with your heart. Go off and live your life."
Earth-girl felt the heaviness within lifting. She felt as though she could fly. "Am I cured now, great Medicine-man?"
"You are healed in this moment. This moment is enough. Go now and breathe life into your days."
Earth-girl went home and danced with her husband. She tended her baby and watched him grow. She baked bread and wove beautiful turbans to give to other women of the plague.
She tilled the soil and planted seeds. She went to the woods and found an old knobby tree with huge roots. She wrapped her arms around the trunk and felt her feet rooted to the energy of the earth while her face was turned skyward watching the branches soaring to the heaven.
Each night she stared at the night sky and waited for the moon. When it was not to be seen, she thought about death and wondered if healing could disappear too, brief as a candle flame.
One night when the moon was full and very bright, she dreamt of a wise old woman who looked just like her. The woman was carrying a large sack filled with more than a thousand gold pieces, each one bearing the likeness of a full moon. The woman gifted Earth-girl with the precious sack, whispering in her ear, "Don't waste a single one."
Earth-girl soon became Earth-woman. She outlived her husband and saw her son have sons and daughters of his own. She lived to see those babies grow tall like the golden wheat and give birth to her great-grandchildren. She was known in the village as Brave Elder, a woman of courage who triumphed over The Great Plague.
The sword became a distant memory while the scar shone white as a pure moment. The light and the magic continued to illuminate her life and those around her. She lived to see more full moons than she could count.
© Copyright 1999, Lynne Goldklang, MA, MFT |
