Fourteen billion years ago,
the Universe flared forth,
and the Great Story began,
a story which finds itself alive in you,
right here, right now.

All that light,
all that energy and creative power
has been moving forward,
groping its way,
trying everything
so as to find everything,
until, at this very moment,
it has made its way,
to birth itself
in you.

It has come a long way
to find you,
and evolve into you.

When the Universe had been around for several billion years,
Somewhere in our galaxy,
a star exploded.
Its supernova created all the atoms that make up the Earth.
Its dust gathered
To create our solar system, and our planet.

Then, the Earth began to create:
Atmospheres, water, rock,
forests, flowers,
fish, insects, dinosaurs, mammals –
and you.

Once upon a time, the Earth was molten lava.
Now it swims in the ocean,
It grows grass and sunflowers.
It shoots up mountains and creates snowflakes, no two alike.
It sings opera, plays the trumpet,
dances ballet and hip hop,
and writes poetry.

It laughs and cries,
it looks at the stars with wonder,
it caresses a baby,
it roars in the savannah
and croaks in the ponds.

It blooms in flowers
and flies on the wind
in seed
and on bird and insect wings.

Do you get the idea?

The Earth itself
is a creative Being,
Trying everything,
So as to find everything,

And now,
At this time, and in this place,
It has created itself
In both of you.

So the two of you,
have a narrative
that is part of the Great Story.

How do you respond
to this evolutionary impulse
which has been traveling
for 14 billion years
to birth itself in you?

Let me suggest four things.

First,
develop your intuition
and your imagination.
We take in ideas mostly via our intellect,
and we analyze them,
mostly using rational thought.

I don’t suggest you get rid of this.
But I do suggest
that you elevate your intuition
and imagination
to that place
your intellect thinks it owns.

Make your intellect share it with them,
and use all three –
intellect, intuition and imagination.

Second, understand this:
Attention is the simplest and most basic form of love. 

Let me repeat that.

Attention —
is the simplest
and most basic form
of love. 

When you give your attention to your spouse,
when you attend to the other,
you are giving love
in the deepest
and most profound way.

Third, dare
to learn your own
and each other’s
true names.
Dare to dive beneath
your constructed personas,
beneath your cultural and societal roles,
to peek into the other’s soul
to find the true names.

Have the tenacity and endurance
to be able to bear
what you find there.

We were all born to take a certain place
in our habitat.
Like an acorn
that has all the instructions it needs
within itself
to grow into an oak tree,
you have within you
the indelible stamp of the Universe
that will enable you
to grow into the one
you were meant to be.

That is your true name.

Last,
learn to love
the wild,
untamed nature
of your partner.

Allow yourself
to be stirred in the deepest parts of you
by the wildish soul
of the other.

Begin to understand
the numinous substance
of which the other is made,
let it wash over you
and amaze you.

When you learn
each other’s true names
Sing them
to one another.

Your songs will make your eyes shine.

They will bless
and fill the world.

In this way,
You will be heroes
Returning from the journey
Bearing gifts
For your people to see.

Go well.
Be brave.

Live on the edge.

Material about true names and learning the wildish nature of the other adapted from Women Who Run With the Wolves, by Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés.

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