It seemed I had some preconceived ideas about the Goddess Pele, you know, the hot headed wild child of the Hawaiian Islands? She can be portrayed as quick tempered, vain and sexual. (Not that that’s a bad thing…)

The last time I worked with her, only briefly, a few things that I needed to happen quickly did. So I was thinking of her, or her energy, as being one that can get things moving or happen quickly. And yes that’s true but…there is a much greater depth to it.

My painting of Her was progressing smoothly. I felt happy with it, excited about it. Then I stopped. Things came up. After a couple of days I realized that I had planned to be finished with her by then and instead I hadn’t painted at all. And I realized I hadn’t really stepped into her energy at all either. Instead of go, go, go, in the way I thought she was, she made me stop to understand more completely the idea behind the movement.

Pele doesn’t move randomly or impulsively. She moves instinctually. Her movements are about trust and the flow of the universe. And when you find yourself in that flow you cannot afford to stop and think, you cannot over analyze or you will crash and burn, miss opportunities. Pele is teaching me to trust my instincts and my intuition. She is teaching me to grasp life, but don’t hang on. It is more experiencial and a letting go. She teaches us not to question but to enjoy the ride.

Let go of your fear and ride the mountain. Feel the movement and make a hundred tiny adjustments for balance so that you don’t get creamed on the way down. You won’t have time to think about it you can only react to it. Adjust, move, balance, breath, flow… rinse and repeat. Read the rest of this entry →