Jody England

It was a tough week for my daughter, Olivia.Being thirteen, a growing girl in a patriarchal culture, and a student at a public junior high certainly all add their special sauce to the perfect storm of teenage angst that has been making its way through.And then there is her particular Soul Medicine Path and the lessons and gifts she is charged with growing into and inside of.As a Great Mother/Heroine, she is wrapped pretty tight.Striving, working, achieving, organizing… she is geared toward bigger, stronger, better, faster.All eyes on the external world and how she shows up in it.Photo by Brooke ShadenGoddess, I love that girl.On the cusp of finding her independence and newfound freedoms, she is also still innocent and naive in ways I hold so tenderly. She wants to do it all herself, believes in her own strength and capabilities, while also deeply questioning her courage and her worth.SUCH a mixed bag of humanity reflected back to me in the experience of this Wise One.So it was, that we found ourselves out on