Once there was a faerie. She had eyes of hazel, and her garment was cobalt blue. The light around her, because all faeries have such, was also blue, and so Blue is what she was called. She lived with the other faeries in a strongly bonded troop that sought to help each other, and all things.
It came to be that one beautiful day, when the sun was shining, Blue was working with the rest of the troop doing the daily tasks. It was Blue's turn to go and bring items to trade with a nearby troop. Blue had never been on this errand before, and she was very nervous about doing everything exactly right, so that the troop would be pleased.
Her friends helped her gather the items together. Blue lifted them into the air next to her with a simple thought, and she was on her way. As Blue traveled, she had to change her route a few times. The first time was because of a human with his gun, and the second was when sister hawk was hunting and flew right in front of her, startling her!
Blue was growing more and more nervous, she did not want to be late. She imagined what the other troop would be thinking, worrying that they would be angry with her. They might send someone back to her own troop to report how inept Blue was! Picturing this in her mind made Blue so frightened. It was almost physically painful for Blue to contemplate making someone unhappy or displeased.
As Blue continued on her way, she could not stop worrying, and she found that it was getting much harder to keep the items aloft that she was bringing along. She was getting so very tired. In looking around she realized that she had taken a wrong turn. It took Blue quite some time to find her way once again and by the time she did she was in tears, and she dropped all of the items to the ground!
Suddenly, 5 faeries from the other troop surrounded her! Blue was practically cowering, waiting for the worst. One of them said, "Hello! My name is Cherise. We came to meet you and show you to our home. We'll each take one of these items, come with us." Blue followed the others and upon arriving at their beautiful glade, was given honey and water. Cherise and the others listened to the tale of Blue's day. Cherise hugged her, saying, "We have all had days like that, Blue. Don't worry at all. You did wonderfully. Everything has turned out just fine!" After a short rest, Blue returned to her troop, relieved that she had not angered anyone.
The next day, Blue was with the others, gathering honey. The bees gladly shared this in exchange for the troop sharing their love in the form of a very special blessing upon the Queen of the hive every spring. It was a tradition that had been around for a very long time. Her friends and family had a very particular way of gathering the honey. Blue thought the system, which involved twigs and leaves, was much more complicated than it needed to be. Blue suggested a different method using cupped flower petals held aloft by a delicious thought. Her intuition told her this would work very easily because she knew pleasurable thoughts were very strong indeed, and besides, the flowers were always willing to help.
Several members of the troop were very skeptical of Blue's idea and told her so. Heather, who was considered to be very wise, counseled against changing things that had been working just fine for so long. Blue felt her cheeks grow warm with embarrassment. She said "I am going over to the second hive to try my idea." Blue hated hearing her own defensive tone of voice. As she made her way over to the second hive a short distance away, she felt hot tears on her cheeks. Blue was very frustrated and sad, and she thought to herself, "Sometimes my different ways do not fit in."
Blue tried her idea, and found that it worked very well, indeed! In fact, it was so simple and easy that tiny Periwinkle, the very smallest of the troop was able to manage it on her own with no help at all! Blue and Periwinkle worked together for quite some time and after gathering what they needed, they thanked their beautiful bee friends and made their way back. Upon their return, the troop was amazed, because Blue and Periwinkle were able to gather and bring back three times as much honey in a shorter time than the entire rest of the troop had done using the old system.
Heather was full of praise, saying, "Thank you, Blue for sticking with your intuition and doing what you knew made sense for you. Your courage and creativity are a blessing to yourself and the entire troop!" Blue felt tears coursing down her cheeks. Some of her friends and family still seemed a bit disgruntled, and firmly stated that they would stay with the old way. Others were eager to try Blue's idea the next time around.
Blue and Periwinkle held each other's gaze for a long moment, and then everyone moved off to take care of their own affairs. Blue sat on the soft moss under a small tree for a very long time after this, letting the sounds of the forest sooth her. Eventually, she fell asleep.
A few days later, Blue was sitting under brother Oak. He was a very old and wise tree, and had been in the forest longer than anyone could recall. Blue loved being with Oak. Ladybug, butterfly, dragonfly, and several other friends were there. Blue and her friends had worked for a very long time to create a stunning, colorful mandala under the Oak, as a gift to all creatures, using many items found in the forest. As they finished, Blue breathed a blessing into the mandala. The mandala represented the connection between all of the creatures that lived in the forest, and was made with much love. By speaking with the other trees, Oak was passing the word around so that other residents of the forest could come and see the mandala and feel the loving energy.
Just then, Farrow, another member of the troop came along. He looked at Blue, and then at the mandala. He said, "There's no time for play, Blue. There are many tasks that need doing back at the glade. Your time should be spent there, and not wasting time here on things that are not helpful." Blue had been friends with Farrow for so very long, and they had often worked together companionably. She was deeply disappointed and hurt at Farrow's words. Despite their friendship, he could see no value or blessing in the work of Blue and her friends. Blue felt her heart sink. Trying not to cry, she looked up at Farrow and quietly said, "My friend, I hear your words and I appreciate what you are trying to say. But this work is the very best place for me. I will not be going with you right now." Farrow stared into her eyes for the longest time, thrown off by her refusal, which he had not expected. "Fine" he said, and left.
After Oak spread the word, more creatures came to see the mandala Blue and her friends had made. Many exclaimed what a marvel it was, and everyone could feel the love and the blessing coming from the beautiful work, made in spontaneous creativity, fueled by love. Blue and her friends felt such gratitude that their work brought joy to others. Blue found herself in the most peculiar combined state of joy and sadness all the rest of that day. She was overjoyed at the way the mandala was received and how it had helped so many, but the interaction with her dear friend Farrow hurt so very much. Just before sundown, everyone went back to their own homes. Blue and her friends said goodbye to each other. Owl and Oak promised to guard the mandala.
Blue went to sit on the great rock near the still quiet lake, it was her very favorite place to be. As the sun made its way down, the sky lit up with every imaginable color, and they were all reflected in the water. Suddenly, Blue was overwhelmed by the beauty of life, beauty that created such a tender feeling in her heart as to be an actual pain, and she finally cried freely. She cried for the beauty, and for the love of all things. And she cried for the pain inside of her that wondered where was the safe place, the place where she fit?
"Daughter." Blue heard the voice say. It was the Mother, and Blue felt warmth and love encompass her entire being. "Oh Mother!" Blue said, and just cried and cried all the more. The voice said, "My sweet daughter. Why do you seek in others that which only you can give to yourself? The safe place you seek is within you, my beautiful one. You are wondrously made, and unique. Only you can be Blue, and you are doing so in a singularly beautiful way."
Blue stopped her sobbing, and looked up. The sun had set, and the moon was rising. The lake and all of the forest was alive in a magical silver light, which was reflecting everywhere. She did not hear anything else from the Mother, but knew Her presence in the warmth that still enveloped her entire being. She sat on the rock, watching the fireflies and breathing in the sweet, damp night air.
"I think...I think I'm alright", she said aloud, hiccupping a little. "In fact, I think I like me. I might even love me. And maybe I make mistakes sometimes, and I probably cry too much, but I'm doing my absolute best every day. I'm the only one who knows how to be Blue after all, so I'm going to do that my own way. I can do that and still love everyone, I understand that now. I am never separated from Love. My safe place is always here, within me!" The tears were still flowing but they were good tears, the kind that clean everything out, and leave you so very much lighter. Blue's tears dropped into the lake, creating ripples in the water.
After a little while, a very sleepy Blue moved over to the ferns growing near the lake. They curled around her body, creating a soft bed for her, and she fell asleep, smiling, with the night time forest sounds as her lullaby.
Written by Elizabeth A. Carrignant
This writing is the property of the above writer
October 15, 2015
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