The ebb and flow of life

It's very common in archetypal traditions to invite a contemplation of ancientness. And it can take different forms in different traditions. So for example, in some traditions, this is the worship of ancestors or forefathers, or it could be in the form of deities that represent an ancientness. For example, there is the goddess Dhumavathi in Indian archetypal tradition, who is presented as an aging body, a goddess inhabiting an aging body, who walks around at the margins of time in lonely deserts, and who is feared and revered, in equal measure.

This invocation of time, as ancient is also expressed as primordiality something that is incessant, something that preexists our meaning making our existence, even our own existence, in this life, in this consciousness in this body, and it is therefore, not just something that is other because it is ancient, but in a paradoxical way, it is also that we are part of this ancientness, that in the here and now in the present, somehow, we also express and manifest and we are materially also this primordiality or this ancientness.

And I've always wondered, why is it that primordiality of this ancientness, or this consideration of a long past a long arc of time, and why is it important? Before I reflect on that, I just want to share with you this beautiful book that I've been reading, which speaks about deep time, so it's a, it's a book about geology, about geology, and Earth. And it speaks about deep time. And in the book, I find out how the Earth's plates the different that the crust of the earth is made up of these tectonic plates, which are constantly in what is called a flow. And it's such a beautiful word, because it is deeply connected to dance—flow is the essence of dance as well.

So these plates are constantly moving around. And they also hold within their layers the history or the past of this amazing planet. And this is not just a historical past, but it is indeed, what is this primordial past, because we are speaking about this in terms of billions of years, or millions of years, and not just hundreds of 1000s of years or 1000s of years. But the so there is this deep, long arc of time.

And as I was reading this book, something really landed in me about why is it that in archetypal traditions, we have this importance to consideration of this long arc of time. Because what came to me is this sense of being just here, in this long procession of time, and this moment, which is my life, or less than a moment, really, even some milliseconds, or if that of this, this time I have, yet somehow, I am also meaningful, in that long arc of time. I don't come here separate from this deep time, just as those fossils so when you look at this different layers of Earth, you sometimes find fossils, in in those layers, the fossil of some ancient, now extinct deep sea creature that is found, for example, in rocks or in, in the crust, which are very close to cities where there is no sign of the sea anymore.

And this completely different reality. There's different story about this earth on which we live, and about which we have so little idea, even though even with all of the geology, it is almost like it's the tip of an iceberg, that is the, the immensity of the vastness of everything that brings us into this millisecond of our own expression in existence, and yet very much standing upon this big deep time that has gone before us.

And to me, it was this incredible sensation, almost like a liberation. It didn't feel as if I was meaningless, quite the contrary, it felt as if the meaning of my life, the expression of my life, is in that is unconditionally purposeful, because it is part of this long procession of Earth of the universe itself. It is not about me, finding a meaning and purpose that is completely other and as if I have to invent it, or somehow construct it, but something about that experience of being part of this deep time and yet also very present and manifest here brought an experience of landing as if this is the right moment, the time is now. This is the moment it is now that I need to be here, and that I need to express myself and that what I will express will draw upon these deep billions of years of ancientness and also my millisecond of dancing in this moment.