Gaia's Children

Leo Tolstoy ran an orphanage in his later life. It was his home. He schooled the children himself. To accomplish this he would tell the children stories, and then have them tell the stories back to him and that is what his extraordinary wife wrote down. She compiled this into the ABC books, covering math, history, writing and more. They went on to become the backbone of the first 8 years of school in Russia. 

It was the re-telling that captured the essence. As the story was retold, the essential elements came into sharper relief, and they found context in the contemporary world of the children, their thoughts, their language. 

I offer you this myth that sees the world in a new way, a simple loving way, and ask you to retell it, or find a way for it to be retold and own your retelling make it yours. I'm sure you can do a much better job of it. It is through our combined effort our passing along that we will come closer to the truths contained here and that truth will guide us to learning to love in a new, accepting and cooperative way.

The Earth seen from Apollo 17

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Gaia's Children

I am a child just like other children. Also like other children I am a child of this earth, a child of Gaia. 

I have watched my older brothers and sisters wreak havoc and beauty in near equal amounts. Gaia takes it all in stride. "Just children being children," she says lovingly. The same Wind that gently sets the leaves to quaking in the grove of Aspen outside my bedroom window, teasingly tears the limbs from trees and strews them about the garden. Gaia sways to the music of the rustling leaves as she slowly draws the broken limbs back into her womb to be born again. "Always sacred," she says, "All my children. Always my children." 

The same Sun that warms the air and charms the flowers into bloom, will later choke them to death and set the place ablaze. Gaia swallows the ashes and thanks the Sun for his bounty. She never says, "I have an evil Sun." She never says, "I must punish the Sun." She does not even try to stop him. Hers is a slow, gentle, insistent guiding that allows the Sun to live and grow in his own way.

Lately Wind and Water have been joy-riding around the planet  spreading mayhem and abundant crops. Gaia has seen them gang up on Earth and drag her kicking and screaming through the mud leaving a torn and tattered trail of wreckage in their wake. Gaia does not send them away, she knows all her children are sacred. She calms and nurtures. She fills the world with  an abundance of selfless unconditional love. Her warm accepting arms wrapped around us, restoring balance to our lives. 

Gaia teaches cooperation as the best way of healing her children's excesses. Each mistake is another opportunity for learning, loving and healing. Sun dries the drowned. Water cools the scorched earth sinking in deeply. Earth offers up a bounty of Seeds to heal herself and Wind spreads them joyously across the land. The Rain comes and settles the Seeds into their beds. Earth comes and kisses each one goodnight and in the morning Sun wakes them and they rise up spreading happiness and greening love across the land. Slowly, in Gaia time, knitting Earth's wounds back together. 

Gaia gathers her children and we all stand in awe of what we can do together.

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I've written this myth to get us started it is released into the commons. The commons is the well from which we all drink, it is nearly dry and we need to fill it up. It is released under an attribution share alike license which means anybody may do anything they want with it, own it, change it, rewrite it, add to it, draw it, make it a film, paint it, display it, sell it or anything you can think of  just reference it back to its origin so the world can see where it came from and license your work the same. 

I am inspired by the great love of all my siblings here at Gaia, some i have met and so many I have yet to meet. Many that i have corresponded with in the past week will find themselves interTWINed here. Thank you for being you. I am especially grateful to Jung Girl for this morning's catharsis her soul sharing brought to me which birthed this myth and this sharing. Thank you all.