The Goddess

Dear Crew,

For a while, I spent a lot of time in women's circles. It was lovely. We were together and lit candles. We sang, danced, cried, and laughed.

And someday, we should all become goddesses.

There were goddess cards. Beautiful dresses. Certain colors. Certain fabrics. And eventually, some really beautiful photos for Instagram, too.

I still remember hearing this phrase quite often: “Awaken your inner goddess.”

I really wanted to feel it. But to be honest, I never could. Something about it just felt foreign to me. It just wasn't quite my thing.

Then I was called to Brazil. In the middle of the night. In the midst of a bad cold. With period cramps. And a longing that was greater than my reason.

Something happened there that I never would have expected—not in a temple, nor during a ceremony, but during a sleepless night on vacation.

The Yoruba goddess Oshun, whom I had never heard of before, visited me. I had to Google her after she whispered her name.

I never felt like I was Oshun. It was more as if she was walking alongside me for a while. And once her task was complete, she said goodbye again.

These days, I sometimes find myself smiling. Because I no longer believe that we’re meant to become goddesses. I believe we’re allowed to form connections—with nature, with symbols, with archetypes, and with forces greater than ourselves.

And sometimes I look at women like Janelle Monáe, Rihanna, or Beyoncé and think: What goddesses!

Because they are creative. They create music. Businesses. Fashion. New possibilities. They build worlds. And at the same time, some of them are mothers. They show that creativity can take many forms.

Maybe I just came to understand the word in a new way.

To me, a goddess today isn’t a woman wearing a certain dress or appearing in a certain setting. A goddess is a woman who lives out her creative power. Who trusts her inner voice and courageously follows her own path. Who doesn’t constantly downplay herself. Who is ready to create her own world. And that doesn’t just apply to women.

The best part is: I don't have to become anyone else to do this. I don't have to play a role. I don't have to adopt a different way of speaking.

Sometimes Merkén comes with me. Sometimes the Spaceship. Sometimes no one.

And sometimes, the wind on a mountain is all it takes.

Maybe it’s not even about awakening our inner goddess. Perhaps she never fell asleep in the first place and has just been waiting for us to stop trying to become someone else —and to start following our own vitality.

With love and the wind in my hair,
Jeannette