Guest Post: A Mother’s Temple

I am honored to be able to debut this beautiful piece of fiction written by a fellow mother. In her own words, this lovely tale represents “the transformation of a body that has been through difficulties into a place that brings life.” Enjoy!

There once was a humble building with a good foundation. It had a beautiful, open, welcoming room where people gathered and filled the walls with laughter and singing. But as the years passed, life was hard on this building. As it survived each war and famine, the walls began to crack and the floor began to sink and the people didn’t come to fill the rooms anymore. So after many years of decay it was decided that this building should be a temple. After all, it had a good foundation and just needed some care and repair. The repairs began slowly. The cracks were patched. The floors were redone. The roof was replaced. The windows were opened to let in the sunlight and the breeze.

As this work was being done, a traveler came by. He liked the temple well enough that he decided to stay and make it his home. He stayed a couple months, but the work on the temple was incomplete and he decided to move on. After he left, the work on the temple was increased and a space was made in case any other travelers would need a place to stay.

After half a year, another traveler came by and decided to make the temple her home. She helped paint the walls in colors that suited her and began to plant a garden around the temple. For nine months she stayed growing stronger within the walls and they prospered. After nine months, it became clear that the room was not big enough for her and she made preparations to leave the room. Having given so much to the temple and having received the gifts of comfort and rest and life, she did not want to travel far so she built a little cottage nearby and went to the temple daily.

As the years passed, she tended the garden and it flourished. She cared for the humble temple and allowed other travelers to spend time there resting and growing and receiving the healing, nourishing energy that she had received. As each traveler finished their stay, they would build a cottage nearby. They began to make a little town and would invite others they had met on their travels to stay with them in the town. They raised families and grew their crops and cared for the temple. They gathered there and filled the walls with laughter and singing. When a big storm came through the town, they sought safety under the strong roof of the temple and kept each other warm, riding the storm out together.

Decades passed and the repairs on the temple could not be maintained. It began to creak more and the shingles on the roof became worn. As the walls slowly began to crumble, the people of the town helped the temple become part of the garden that had grown up around it. As a wall fell they took the pieces and made a bench in the garden. As the shingles fell from the roof they were used to line the paths. As the floors broke, they took the wood and made welcome signs.

And so this humble building, with a good foundation and a healing room, became a temple and then the main garden of a thriving, loving, strong town. The townspeople filled the garden with laughter and singing and found strength and comfort walking along the paths. Long after the building had transformed, where it stood remained a sacred place for life and happiness, peace and transformation.