Destiny’s Song

“Destiny’s Song” came to me when I was working with the Italian fairy tale Catherine and her Destiny. When Catherine was a young woman, her destiny appeared to her as a goddess and offered her happiness. But she could only have it for half of her life. What would she choose? Happiness in the first or the second half of her life?

Catherine decided to take her happiness later on, and soon after, all sorts of disastrous things happened. Her father lost his fortune and then died, leaving her penniless. Catherine found work as a housekeeper, but no sooner had she put things in order than her destiny showed up and turned everything upside down. Catherine was driven from town to town and after seven years of this repeated experience, she became utterly dispirited.

I understood her feelings. I had come to the same place in my experience with chronic pain, and I was keenly interested to know how Catherine turned the corner.

After despairing that she would ever be happy, Catherine was hired by a wise woman who gave her a spiritual chore. Catherine was to walk up the mountain every morning and offer a basket of bread to her mistress’s destiny. This daily ritual influenced Catherine, and she began to reach out to her own destiny with curiosity and gratitude.

“Destiny’s Song” song came to me like a whisper from the goddess, and every time I hear it, I’m reminded of the shift I made while walking up the mountain with Catherine.

Destiny’s Song

Are you happy to be living this life, my dear daughter
Are you happy or are you very sad?
Are you happy to be given this gift, my dear daughter
Are you happy or does it make you mad?
Listen to me.
Life is holy, life is. Life is.
Life is holy, life is. Life is.
Holy…. Holy. Life is. Life is. Life is. Life is.

Artwork by Elizabeth Shippen (1871-1954)