The north country of Minnesota is hot, and extremely dry. Not as hot as much of the U.S., but unbelievably dry. Every time they call for rain, it just doesn't happen. You can see the line of green approaching on the radar, and then it just simply breaks up, a combination of the "head of the lake" effect and simple drought...not enough moisture. Yards are crisp brown, many trees are losing their leaves early, and then to add to it all, we have continued to experience regular smoke and haze. It is all so surreal, especially as we had the snowiest winter on record. I yearn to hear the sound of the rain, and its beautiful smell. Speaking of sounds, I just heard a bird singing that I would associate with the American south...I've never been there, but it just simply did not sound like a Minnesota bird. No doubt the extreme southern temperatures are sending birds all over the place, just to survive.
Late July and early August have been hard for me for decades. It is the time of year in England when there are dozens of music and other festivals. In 2017, it was this time of year that I sang with a choral group at Canterbury Cathedral. But can you believe I have never been to the Three Choirs Festival? Or the Southern Cathedrals Festival? Or the Proms, or Glyndebourne (I'm not big on opera, but I'd love to attend that festival!) It's the time of year, too, for alternative events focusing on things like Crop Circles and the Goddess. I've always imagined what it would be like to live somewhere in southern England and go from event to event, and just binge. But this has never been within the realm of the possible, for many reasons, especially money. Most of my recent trips to the UK have been in winter, a slightly cheaper time to travel, and when I could temporarily leave our bitter temperatures for slightly warmer ones.
I spoke the other week of having wanted to attend something in England, and it was last week's Goddess festival in Glastonbury. Once I realized it was happening this year, I had a frenzied day or two trying to figure out if there was any way to arrange it at such short notice. Having decided there wasn't, I tried to arrange taking part in the online event. But in the end, even that didn't work...that's all I'll say. I had to work through some shame and frustration, not to mention that sense of feeling -- not "hot and dry" but "high and dry". So exiled, so far -- for a whole lifetime -- from things that interest and captivate me. And perhaps because of the Goddess and my unconventional values, never finding a way to the financial power to "just do it" -- whatever "it" is!
But I spoke of the "dog and pony show" -- certainly this event (which is quite large) reflects someone else's take on the Goddess, not mine, and I knew it might not be right for me when I envisioned sitting on the sidelines most of the time. I would love more than anything to meet some women like me, powerfully aligned with the values of the divine feminine, but not witches or Wiccans, or pagans, per se. And could there possibly be one or two Goddess women anywhere in the world whose spiritual practice is choral evensong?!
So my Goddess festival last week cost me $1.50 round trip. I took the city bus down Park Point, and got off and walked to the beach. I had my bathing suit on under a sundress, and I took two quick swims in the brisk water. Then I wrote a prayer to the Goddess, and read it three times, basically saying, "Here I am. I am in northern Minnesota, not England, and I am yours. Help me to do what you need me to do right now, and moving forward." I had a snack, I listened to happy children and watched my favorite horizon, unusually free of approaching ships. Then I packed up again, minced across the hot sand, and waited for the next bus. I guess you could call me a satellite event!
