A story that I heard while in a prenatal yoga class keeps playing in my head. It is beautiful to think about while transitioning to motherhood and I believe it may be relevant to many people now.
I will paraphrase and have forgotten the exact words but the meaning is strong. I may not do the story justice but I hope it brings you whatever you need.
This is an old story about a princess preparing to become mother. She is told she will go on a journey to the center of the earth and that she may not return. In fact many women do not. There will be five gates to pass through in order to reach her destination. The guard at the gate will ask her a question in which she must answer to pass.
The princess starts her journey alone dressed in a beautiful gown, scarf, bracelets, necklace, and head dress. She approaches the first gate and is greeted by the guard.
The guard asks, “Do you know why you are here? If you can tell me why you are here I will allow you to pass.”
She replies, “No, I do not know why I am here I was told to go on this journey.”
The guard says, “In order to pass then you must give me your head dress.”
“I cannot give you my head dress, this is my title, my job, this is who I am,” she says.
“In order to continue you must hand me your head dress,” the guard says.
The princess reluctantly hands over her head dress that she so proudly wore feeling stripped of her identity and continues on her journey.
She then approaches the second gate met by the same guard.
The guard asks, “Do you know why you are here? If you can tell me why you are here I will allow you to pass.”
She replies, “No, I do not know why I am here I was told to go on this journey.”
The guard says, “In order to pass then you must give me your necklace.”
“I cannot give you my necklace, this is a family heirloom, it connects me to my family,” she says.
“In order to continue you must hand me your necklace,” the guard says.
The princess reluctantly hands over her necklace hoping she will remember her family and continues on her journey.
She then approaches the third gate met by the same guard.
The guard asks, “Do you know why you are here? If you can tell me why you are here I will allow you to pass.”
She replies, “No, I do not know why I am here I was told to go on this journey.”
The guard says, “In order to pass then you must give me your bracelets.”
“I cannot give you my bracelets, these are for bartering if I need anything,” she says.
“In order to continue you must hand me your bracelets,” the guard says.
The princess reluctantly hands over her bracelets hoping she can find other means and continues on her journey.
She then approaches the fourth gate met by the same guard.
The guard asks, “Do you know why you are here? If you can tell me why you are here I will allow you to pass.”
She replies, “No, I do not know why I am here I was told to go on this journey.”
The guard says, “In order to pass then you must give me your scarf.”
“I cannot give you my scarf, this is how I stay warm,” she says.
“In order to continue you must hand me your scarf,” the guard says.
The princess reluctantly hands over her scarf and continues on her journey.
She then approaches the fifth and final gate met by the same guard.
The guard asks, “Do you know why you are here? If you can tell me why you are here I will allow you to pass.”
She replies, “No, I do not know why I am here I was told to go on this journey.”
The guard says, “In order to pass then you must give me your gown.”
“I cannot give you my gown, it is all I have left,” she says.
“In order to continue you must hand me your gown,” the guard says.
The princess reluctantly hands over her gown and proceeds through the gate stripped of everything she possessed.
She is now at her destination, the center of the earth, and preparing to give birth. She births her child in the warmth of the core. They heal, they bond, they learn from one another. Time stands still yet moves fast until one day the mother says, “Child, we are ready to go back to the surface. We are ready for this journey.”
They approach the first gate and the guard offers to return the gown to the mother.
Mother says, “Thank you for holding it but it is no longer a fit for me. You can give it to someone who can use it.” Hand-in-hand mother and child proceed on their journey to the surface.
They approach the second gate and the guard offers to return the scarf to the mother.
Mother says, “Thank you for holding it but I have all the warmth I could ever need by holding this babe. You can give it to someone who needs it.” Hand-in-hand mother and child continue their journey to the surface.
They approach the third gate and the guard offers to return the bracelets to the mother.
Mother says, “Thank you for holding them but I have become far more rich then I could have ever imagined. You can give it to someone who needs it.” Hand-in-hand mother and child continue their journey to the surface.
They approach the fourth gate and the guard offers to return the necklace to the mother.
Mother says, “Thank you for holding it but I have the family I have always dreamed of right here. You can give it to someone who can use it.” Hand-in-hand mother and child continue their journey to the surface.
They approach the fifth and final gate and the guard offers to return the head dress to the mother.
Mother says, “Thank you for holding it but I don’t need it. I have evolved, I have changed, the head dress no longer defines me. I am something more.”
Hand-in-hand mother and child emerge to the surface, reborn. New eyes in a new landscape ready to take on their new world.