A boy is standing in front of an elder. He is being blessed: blessed for stepping into a circle of men, young men, and other boys with courage, honesty, and a sincere desire to find a path to a healthy manhood.
He has spent several days in a space where he is unconditionally accepted for who he is. Accepted as a human being with both gold and shadow. Held in a space where he can begin to release the shadow and lay claim to his gold.
He has shown great courage to dare to open and be himself.
As he looks up at the elder blessing him, his face is open, full of light and wonder. He is being given full permission to be who he deeply is, in his soul. There is no mask, no need for him to hide in any way, and he has responded to that. I am seeing the beauty of his soul directly in his upturned face.
The boy, a journeyman now, turns and is blessed by the whole group, tumultuously and with great joy and love. He is claiming his right to be golden.
The look on the face of this boy is one of the most amazing and inspiring things I have ever seen. And there is more than one boy, there are many.
When I witness this there is no doubt left in my being that we are children of love and light. That our natural inclinations are to shine our light in the world, that this is what we desperately desire and when we are shown a way we will walk through any sort of pain or fear as mighty warriors to claim our souls.
While I have witnessed this with boys and men, it is clearly about all human beings, female as well as male. We need to do this for all our children. And when we do, the world will be changed.
This weekend I have looked at the future and it is glorious.
(© 8/2009)
