On this 4th night of Navaratri as we celebrate and honor Lakshmi, goddess of enlightenment, let’s call in Porcupine Goddess to share an ancient wisdom story…

long ago, in the coldest winter ever, many of our relations were dying… we of the porcupine council met and decided we’d nestle together to keep warm and stay alive… alas, we were warm but the quills of our neighbors were wounding us, so we decided to separate from each other to relieve the hurts of living in close quarters… although now we were protected from being wounded, we began to die one by one, alone and frozen cold… faced with our extinction or living as wounded porcupines, we chose wisely – deciding to return to being together… we learned to live with wounds caused by being in close relationship to receive the greater benefit of the warmth that comes from others. this way, we were able to not only survive but also to thrive.

may we be as wise as our porcupine relations in realizing interdependence, the way of the heart, is the way…