Ask the Priestess

Structures make us feel good, grounded, certain, safe. They help us make decisions without having to really consider whether they are going to bring us beyond the limits of ourselves, or trap us within. Sadly, the latter is the most common. Structures come in all shapes and sizes. Sure, we all know the 'megastructures' of our physical world, including things such as buildings and houses, but also rules of behaviour set down by society/government: working hours, educational requirements, which side of the road to drive down, how to address each other, what's appropriate attire for a specific event, how to pray, etcetera. Then, there are the individual structures, those which we have built around ourselves in order to have a certain order in life: the people we spend time with, the kind of music we listen to, where we live, our jobs, how we evaluate others' actions and our moral code, what is a reasonable aspiration, and so on. The question is whether we need all, o...

Children have no real innate fear. We should learn from them. I was sitting on a hill in a park in Bristol, quite pleased with myself for being where few others were (most people were lying down on the flatter parts, enjoying the sun). Then, to my right, a young boy appeared. And then, his bother did too! They waited until their mother went around the hill and then, zooooom!! Ran right down the pretty steep slope. They had so much momentum, they would cross the path to partly climb the opposite hill before they could stop themselves. And there was my head going 'oh, dear, oh, dear, careful...' But then I realised that, if they had thought they had to be careful, they would not have been able to run so safely, surefooted and upright. How often do we heed the warning, and mess up as a result? Well, I don't know about you, but in my case, way too many. That's not to say I've spent my life as a hothouse plant, rather that sometimes I am aware I could have done so ...