Return to the Beginning

It’s one of those cool, green May mornings that open like a gift from all that is sacred in the heavens and the Earth. My lens upon the world is filled with wild violets, the recalcitrant golden heads of dandelions, and pollen that sifts onto the lawn like a snow of creamy pear-shaped flakes. The forces converge on days like this to support the creative process and revitalize the spirit.

Today, Mother’s Day, is my self-imposed deadline for choosing the cover of my new book, Swift and Brave: Sacred Souls of Animals. My publisher’s art department did a flawless job executing the cover I devised, soulful and dreamy yet anchored into the flesh. Then in a flash of creative zeal, they created another option, dynamic, spirited, and ranging free.

These choices have flung me into a quandary. Do I follow my instincts and select the cover I originally wanted? Does this book call instead for a leap into different territory? Thank heavens I was only given two options, or my internal debate might have raged for months!

This is a deeply spiritual book, exploring the depth and breadth of the souls housed in Earth’s creatures, their missions in the world, and the higher call to honor and support life. And so I’ve chosen the cover with eyes, the soul’s windows, fathomless and brilliant in the misty visage of a dappled horse. My original choice, I might add.

So on Mother’s Day, I give a face to my child, a book borne from nearly three years of work. My creative process is slower than some, elegiac and joyful by turns, more a ballet than a sprint. So having only a few days to decide on something so momentous was consuming, demanding all my attention – and becoming cluttered with thoughts and the shaping of questions.

Sometimes, we just have to return to the beginning. This is a deeply spiritual book. The exciting cover with a mare and foal running across a flower-strewn meadow backed by blue mountains “could be anything, could be a novel” my physical therapist said. (Yes, I shoved cover proofs in front of my physical therapist the second I arrived for my appointment).

“I won’t say it right,” he went on, “but that horse says ‘Swift and Brave’ to me. Any animal lover would connect with him.” And when he asked me why I chose that image in the first place, I agreed that it was because of the look in the horse’s eyes, the intelligent and soulful contact he makes.

And so I’ve forfeited movement and wild scenery for a glimpse into a horse’s eyes and the lifetimes of truth and wisdom behind them. Swift and Brave: Sacred Souls of Animals has its official equine ambassador, and in the fullness of summer this book will come fully out into the world.

Happy Mother’s Day to the women who give birth, adopt children or animals, nurture, bring artistic fruits into being, and otherwise love in every way. We’ve been given another day in this glorious journey. Fill yours with joy!

Elizabeth Eiler