“The Vessel of Life”
All things growing spring forth from the earth, It is the womb of creation that
embodies life giving nourishment, fertility, and nurturing. Evidentially all things return to the
earth as it takes back the nutrients in order to pass them on to new life. I chose this vase as a
symbol of earth. It was formed from simple clay into a thing of beauty that has only one
purpose, to hold and nurture flowers that have been cut from the vine. It can only slightly
hold off the cycle of life, hoping to ward off death just long enough to capture the essence of
beauty.
I was hard pressed to present the essence of Earth, for although I know many people who
have some of the traits of earth, I knew of no one person who seemed to have all of those
characteristics. Then I realized that a certain group of people together were the best
examples of Earth I knew. I’m referring to my Grandparents. In general, I think Earth is the
element of grandparents because they have formed through years of experiences
together a unity. It is even a common saying that as people grow old together that they
even begin to look like each other. Perhaps they begin to have similar worry lines because
they share so many of the same troubles. We think of grandparents as sets rather than
individuals, and one set usually is as different from the other as night to day.
My fraternal grandparents actually raised me, so I know them best and will begin there.
Grandpa Murphy always wanted to be the life of the party. He always had a joke
number to play on the piano at the drop of a hat. Of all my grandparents he was the one
who most wanted to please everyone. He was always giving of his time. He was also the
most curious of my grandparents, he never failed to pick up a book if it was about some
secret of the human mind or spirit. I think his inward journey was a substitute for not being
able to pursue his dreams of art and music because he had so many mouths to feed (they
had 7 children).
Grandma Murphy to me represents most of the negative aspects of Earth. Most certainly
physically because she had weight problems throughout her life. Would often have fainting
spells (particularly if she could gain sympathy or get someone else to finish the job she had
started) and would often have to go lay down out of weakness. Later in her life she did
develop hypoglycemia and eventually diabetes. She was rarely a happy person becauseshe was always worrying about what others thought of her. She was definitely Earth as she
grew up on a farm and kept alive many of the traditions of her youth. She never truly found
her place in the world as she was a middle child out of 13 children and never felt like she fit
anywhere.
Together they kept each other in check. He worked for nickels and dimes, and she pinched
pennies. I regret that they never truly found the harmony they sought from their many
children because they never learned to give them they same compassion they showed
everyone else.
My maternal grandparents had a whole other personality. They were prim, proper, well
educated. They were financially well off, yet lived simply. I never knew them to own a carfor example, in fact I can remember at four years old taking my first bus ride with my
Grandma Nina. wow
Yep, her name was Angelina, but we only knew her as Grandma Nina. She was of Scottish
heritage and was frugal in many sense of the word. She had been schooled as nurse and
was always concerned with peoples health and comfort. She was a devote Quaker and
loved the example of Gandhi, JFK and Martin Luther King. She emulated people like that
and I never saw her angry. She most definitely had an inner peace about her and believed
that they world to come would be a better place.
My Grandpa Charlie I saved for last because he was taken first and so I knew him the least.
He most definitely had Earth like qualities. I know he was a philanthropist who donated much
to UCLA. In retirement he was a referee for tennis(talk about being a peacemaker and
judge at the same time) even to the professional level. But the number one reason I
associate him with Earth was because he was a geologist. He spent many years in mining
camps throughout the west and was one of the first to find Uranium which is where he made
his wealth. I to this day love going to rock shops as they remind me of his living room and
study full of geodes and crystals and agates. Grandpa Charlie was solid as a rock; he was
dependable, predictable, loyal and secure.
This essay was written as an assignment for my Acupressure class while I was attending the Nevada School for Massage Therapy in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2005-2006. My Teacher gave me creative liberty to fashion my narrative. I choose my own family history to relate to the properties of the Earth element in Chinese medicine. The contrast of the families two natures and what parts of that continues to my children and grandchildren, shapes us and forms who we are in our path on the highway of life.
Just like the terracotta warriors in the tomb of a Chinese Emperor or the statues in King Tut’s burial chamber, our family identity and history becomes what defines us. Our Past shapes the future in ways that are subtle or starkly obvious.
Michael Forrest- Intuitive Mentor.
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#Elements, #spirituality, #Tarot. #mystic, #genealogy
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