I am here, sitting at the reception desk at the soup factory in Lynn, my temp job for the past few weeks. Parts of my days are painfully boring and still and I stare off and daydream or catch up on reading. This afternoon is one of those times. My mind has been wandering all over, curious but unfocused.
Thunder and lightning rolled in slowly, followed by a loud torrential downpour. I can hear the rain berating the sea of steel surrounding me in this industrial park. The wall of windows in front of me provides a dramatic show of water and wind and flashes saturated in gray.
I checked my email and found Danielle’s monthly call to new moon sisters write renewal. I felt my soul lift, remembering that new moon circle is just a few hours away. My heart started to swell with the thoughts of all the ways this circle has held me and uplifted me, uplifting us all together. I’ve been wanting to write a piece on the ways our circle has been releasing my goddess self, allowing me to more fully embrace my erotic, my pleasure, and my vulnerability. Suddenly in a magical moment engulfed by stormy skies and fluorescent lights, the flow arrived. Words, then sentences, then full ideas made their way from my brain to my fingertips. (or was it full ideas finally broken down into words and sentences? How does writing even work? Stop thinking about the stupid mechanics of it, Erin!) An iPhone is not an ideal writing tool, but it will do for now. I am finally writing this thing, and no one around me has any idea how freaking excited I am at this moment.
I’m not going to finish this piece today with all the office sounds and interruptions fluttering around me, but I felt so inspired that I wanted to write briefly on the inspiration, sort of like a little warm-up exercise. I knew how to write this all along, my voice was just hiding. She needs to run and stretch. I feel like I’ve finally found her again, coaxed her away from whatever she was pre-occupied with, even if only for this moment in time. So here I write. And here I push send before I get the chance to over-think or over-edit this.
Erin Coates-Connor
Erin Coates-Connor earned a Master of Science degree in Environmental Conservation. Her work is particularly interested in plant ecology, invasive species management, ecological restoration, land conservation and stewardship, citizen science, and community outreach and engagement in science. She spent nearly six years working in consulting for energy-efficiency program evaluation and currently works in Health and Safety operations.