Friday, May 17 Reflection from Cherise Vallet

I am a Well-Keeper today. Today I’m part of a network of women around the world who’ve signed up to ‘hold’ the world in consciousness for a day, hold it in love and care and tenderness. Hold it for the safety and happiness of all beings, whether human, animal, reptile, bird, plant, rock, ocean, sky. I’ve been reading the reflections of the women who’ve held the space so far this year and they are full of a sense of ceremony, of going out into the world of nature quite often, listening to mother earth, making special ceremonies, going about their day-to-day life with a special sense of carrying something precious.

And most of today will be a social day for me, a time with two special friends – first Mandy and then Anne. I’m shouting Mandy brunch at a little French bistro in the city in honour of her birthday. Then I’ll come home and quickly do a turnaround to meet Anne at Yoga Garage for an evening of clothes swapping. A whole pile of women will bring clothes they no longer wear to give away. We all bring a few items and then when it’s all laid out on tables and racks by the organisers, we go back in and choose a number of items to take away. Proceeds of the night go to a local charity, as do the left-over clothes. So, I’ll be keeping the well in good company of beautiful-hearted women whom I’m lucky to call friends. I can’t think of a better way to spend this day.

But before all that I taught my regular weekly morning yoga class... there were 11 women this morning, squashed into the small studio like sardines. And everyone was happy. They all know each other by now and are at ease. They gladly accommodate each other by shifting forward or backward on their mats to make room for outspread arms and wide-legged forward bends. There is a lightness to this weekly gathering. All the women are in their 50s, 60s, 70s. They’ve had heartbreaks and difficult times, they’ve done all the life things you do as a woman – had babies, relationships, jobs, encountered deaths and setbacks and dire health challenges. They have gardens, some go swimming in the ocean first thing in the morning, others sit at their desk and write all day. Grandchildren feature in many conversations. Sometimes I imagine them each as a bird, fluffing their plumage, admiring each other’s colours. There is no jealousy or competition or rancour in this group. They are past all that. They want to laugh and connect and offer something of kindness into the world now. Nothing else is as important. I feel blessed to be with these women each week.

Maybe it’s women who keep this world from crumbling completely, I don’t know. There are certainly many fine men out there (and in my life) too though. We’re working together, holding this world in our hearts, all the people in all their various states of happiness or distress, all the animals and sea creatures and birds flitting through the air and perched on branches. All the trees with their green lungs and the cities too, with their concrete pathways and tall buildings and millions of souls living their lives. Life. The great array. It throbs in my heart, and I am privileged to know it.