WHEN ERESHKIGAL WAKES
It is not the hand that seeks to rescue me from the underworld. It is the one who comes and sits beside me, with no expectation that I should be any different, that I should calm down or be palatable. Love is the one who listens without needing my story to change. Love is the one who does not flinch when the truth becomes too much. Love is the one who keeps their feet on the ground and their heart open at the same time. When you witness me like this, my rage softens, because it has been received. My grief loosens, because it is held. Witness me, and I will not tear the world apart. Witness me, and what I carry can finally move. Witness me, and life can return. ERESHKIGAL RISING Ereskigal is living within each one of us right now. She is rising and calling forth a kind of love most of us were never taught — a love that does not fix, soothe, or explain, but that stays present without needing the experience in front of it to change. A love that is strong enough to remain rooted while another person’s truth moves through the room in its full weight.
Bearing witness is how we love in the face of injustice.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * This article first appeared in Elayne Kalila’s Substack. Join now for more!
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