huskies

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Elsa’s Song, Dec 14th 2021

The call of the first starling braided itself through the air. The clouds vanished. The bright winter sun creating diamond crust on the ground.

Ricky and Nejla were busy getting the sleds ready for the trip. The Crew were eager to get going. The five older huskies pulling Ricky and Luca’s sled sparkled with anticipation. The group of starlings were belting out their regular lunch serenade right after the morning one. They just kept on going.

“Gorgeous!” Nejla could not help herself. She just had to yell it out. “Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!”

“Oh, yes!” Ricky sounded in. “Gorgeously freaking gorgeous!

Luca the Lab was getting comfortable in Ricky’s sled. Nejla tied the cargo basket closed. It was filled with food for The Crew, her own provisions, backpack and all the regular long distance mushing gear.

Both Ricky and Nejla had inherited their sleds when Ricky’s grandfather and Nejla’s uncle passed. He’d been the most renowned musher and sled-maker in the country. Everyone who were serious about the art of mushing came to grandpa and uncle Ford to learn how to work with “these gentle souls with fierce clarity” as he’d called called “the polar breeds”. The sleds he built were known to be strong, fast and flexible.

Ford had told both Nejla and Ricky that his grandfather’s grandfather had actually learned how to build the sleds from the trolls and the pixies. The fairies and the alves had then taught him how to create the lines. Every sled made had its own Nisse appointed to look after both sled, dogs, food, human connection and more.

A faint sound of “swish, swish” in the snow made Nejla turn her head. A little black cat looked her straight in the eyes. A moment later she graciously jumped over the handle bar and placed herself on top of the cargo basket.

“It’s obvious she’s joining”, Ricky laughed.

It took less than a minute for the cat to make herself comfortable.

“And who are you?” Nejla asked.

“Maddy the Mighty”, the cat replied. “You know you ain’t gonna connect to any dragons with just them dogs. And you know you need dragons! It ain’t gonna work without dragons. So who’d you gonna call? Cat Kingdom! And I’m your representative. Pleasure to connect”.

Cecilia Götherström, December 14th 2021  

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Elsa’s Song, Dec 1st 2021

“When the full moon dances in its own light. When its shadow pulls the breath of slivering starlight. When the omens and the signs are one and the same. When the exhalation of the pine trees is your sleep, your lingering moments of trust. That is when the moonstone speaks to you my child.”

The voice meanders through the dark morning like a hymn.  Dawn is approaching, yet it is not here.

The moment before dawn. The moment before birth.

The dark. The void. The nothingness.

The sense of being held in Nothing-ness, in Everything-ness. The space we have been taught to fear, but which is the most loving, enveloping space. The space where we can hear. Where we can listen. Where we can see through the eyes of our own inner light. 

I roll over in bed, ready to put my feet on the ground, placing them on the warm, fuzzy blanket. 

The entire bedroom floor is covered with blankets held in place by sticky yoga mats underneath.

She’s old, you see. Her paws sprawl out to the sides sometimes. Her grip on artificial surfaces has let go. Her grip in moss, mud, earth, soil and sand has strengthened.

As the dust of dawn foxtrots gently through the tightly pulled blinds, touching the floor, reflecting off her fur, I see her. Curled up. Her white furry legs crossed. Jaws totally relaxed, breathing, snoozing. Head resting gently on the edge of her orthopaedic bed.

Peace. Magic. Love. Stardust. Gentleness. Listening. Kindness. Holiness. All. Breathing in. Breathing out.

As I open the faucet to splash my hands and face in ice cold water, it drizzles like gemstones landing in the sink. The light is as if from another dimension.  Rich, gentle, blessed. This water. A gift.

 Day one. Every morning anew. A promise. A vow. A vow of presence.

I will give myself to the story being birthed in each breath. The one story springing forth from the song. The song of creation.

“Listen. Listen to the moon. Listen to the stone. Listen to the song. This is Elsa’s Song.”

She on the other side of the veil embrace us both in her magic stride of sacred fierceness. Blessing us.

“We are all blessings”. Elsa’s song begins.

December 1st 2021, Cecilia Götherström

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Snoozing, snoring blessing

Snoozing, snoring blessing.
On a pile of blankets
in the corner.
Sweetness sleeping.

Curled up
like in a den.

Comfort in heart.
Comfort in soul.
Even through loss
she has found some type of peace.
Being herself.

No compromise.

Only fullness.
Only love.
Only stamina.
Only Elsa.

- Cecilia Götherström, Jan 8th 2021