Deep Dive: Resilience in the Face of the Storm

From March of 2020 through May of 2023 the Covid19 virus swept across our
globe. During that time hundreds of millions of people contracted the virus,
millions succumbed to it, whole countries shut down except for the most essential
personnel, and the world changed.

Beginnings of Change

In January of 2020 I was living in North Central Florida and has just started my
premiere tour as a traveling pagan musician. Finally, after 60 years of being alive
with music running through my mind and poetry flowing out of my soul I was going to achieve the dream of being a real and true musician, traveling amongst like-
minded people and changing the world one song at a time.

I had played the Community of Consciousness in Hudson, FL for Imbolc 2020 and
was getting ready for Trees of Avalon Gathering Oestara in March in the Ocala
National Forest when the SARS-COV2 virus shut the world down. I had 8 more
festivals lined up over the year and was working on trying to add house concerts
and metaphysical shops to my dates when it was all taken away by the virus.
I was devastated. Not only for myself and my personal loss, but for everyone
infected with the virus itself. So, many, sick. It was horrible watching the medical
personnel get suddenly overwhelmed and seeing the numbers of sick and dying
never let up and therefore they couldn’t either, but gods and goddesses they were
so tired, and sick, and dying themselves. We were determined not to be a part of
that burden.

So we sewed and then put on the masks, and we got hand sanitizers that fit in our
purse and the drink holder of the car, and we washed our hands over and over
and over. My husband was an essential worker and I worked Uber so masks and

hand sanitizers were everywhere. He kept working wearing a mask and washing
his hands as much as he could, and I kept driver Uber with new restrictions and
procedures because it was an essential service and you know we needed the
income. We kept our distance from others if we had to go out shopping for food
and other essentials and we stayed home if we didn’t.
And we started to lose physical touch with people.

Lines of Connection

While grateful for the internet and social media which did help us to not become
totally isolated as we waited for the virus to run its course, we lost the opportunity
to share physical space with our people – our families, our friends, our churches,
organizations and communities. We did over the course of things establish new
online spaces we could gather in through video applications and programs, yet it
was not the same as standing within the circle and sharing the energies with each
other as power and prayers, songs and celebration were raised with the smoke
from the sacred fire.
With the loss of being able to share my music and our loss of being with
community I fell into a deep depression.
Days turned into weeks and then months as vaccines were developed and political
wars were waged. I kept working, and filling my mind with books and video games
and music as much as my heart would let me. I did end up seeking the help of a
spiritual counselor during this time, and her gentle words and perspective were a
tremendous help to me.
The rest of 2020 passed by, and 2021 seemed an endless repetition of the same
as we watched the millions succumb to the virus as the world continued turning.
When the vaccines were developed and ready for the public we went and got
them because we had to do everything we could to help stop the spread. We
kept staying at home when not working, and keeping our distance – 6 feet away
means you don’t get to ever be in anyone else’s aura space – when we had to go
out.
I was still writing music. “Transcendental Dreaming”, “Whirlwind”, and “Ode to the
Forest” came out of that time. I was also becoming involved with Circle Sanctuary
and their online Pagan Spirit Gathering as well as their online Full Moon Circles,
both of which helped me write “Spirals of Change”, “Flower of the Moon” and “Yule Song”.

Retreat and Re-Emergence

And then one day I August of 2021 my friend Gina messaged me and said “Hey. I
want to take you with me on a songwriting retreat. There’s a small cottage on the
bay we can rent, so lets go write some music”.
We were both vaccinated as much as we could be at that time, and neither one of
us were showing any signs of illness, and it had been sooo long ……. so we felt it
was safe to come together to spend time by the ocean for a change of scenery
that would inspire us, heal us emotionally and mentally, and would allow us the
companionship of a like mind that we were both missing so very much.
The weekend we went the weather was stormy off and on, as is usual for summer
here in Florida, and the cottage was right on the bay with a lovely view of a small
marina and the bay itself.
That first masked hug was long, and it was everything.
Over the first day we caught up with things, shared new music with each other,
told stories of our lives, and I shared the first meal in over a year with someone
outside of my household. It was so lovely.
On our second day we both went our separate ways for the morning, each
reaching into that place where the music and the stories come from. I had a chord
progression that had been playing itself in my head for a while before this retreat
and so I let it get out and wild while I sat under a beautiful blue sky dotted with
white clouds that lazily danced over the bay. As I played my guitar I gazed upon
the seabirds flying across the bay, watching the waves below them and from time
to time diving in for the catch, and thought about how resilient they are as they
lived out in the wild, surviving through the changing seasons and the frequent
storms that rumbled their way. I thought about all that had transpired over the past
years, and how we, too, were resilient, riding the winds of life as they carried us
along. Getting out my phone recorder, I started singing myself a story.
Before I knew it a rainstorm was rolling in and lo and behold lunchtime was upon
me, too! When I returned to the cottage Gina had most of a new song done, and I
happily said that so did I! We shared our newest creations with each other over a
common meal and spent the rest of the day sharing our new songs with our social
media folks before we settled in for more stories of ourselves, our lives and our
dreams, told over hot coffee and the most delicious salmon ever (what a cook my
friend is!)
That time together was a catalyst for me. Being able to share space with
someone who feels the same way about so many things – to be able to share the
energy of ourselves – was such a gift and is a memory I will always treasure.

That time spent out under the open sky – with the seabirds living their lives upon
the wind, the baywaters and their marina perches – helped to remind me that even
the worst storm eventually passes, and the sun will shine once again upon the
world. We just have to keep going, keep singing our songs and telling our stories,
and keep reaching out to our families and communities as we walk our paths upon
the ever turning wheel.

Here is a link to a video I made of the song that I wrote that day, called “Deep
Dive”

And here are the chords and lyrics for your enjoyment:
Deep Dive
Meren Edna Marie King

Deep Dive
Meren Edna Marie King

August 2021
3rd Capo
Am Slide (Am1, Am3, A5) x2
Em Slide (Em1, Em3, Em5) x2
[Am] Oh its a beautiful clear day
Sky is blue and the clouds are
Drifting a [Em] song my way
Yeah they're driftin' a song my way
[Am] Morning Seabirds float above the Bay
Seeking Fishies in that ancient way
They're [Em] chasin' their next deep dive
Yeah they're chasin' their next deep dive, and they
[C] Rise above with [D]both eyes open [Em]wide
[C] Ride the wind, keep a[D]loft, and don't lose [Em]sight
[C] Of the thing that [D]keeps them in the [Am]sky
Searching for that next deep [Em]dive
Deep Dive
[Am] Sudden storm clouds move across the sky
Rising winds and falling rains
Give a [Em] brief reprieve
To the critters of the sea
[Am] Hunkered down and waiting out the squall
The birds know there'll be quite the haul
When the [E] rain dies down
Tasty fishies to be found, and they
[C] Rise above with [D]both eyes open [Em]wide
[C] Ride the wind, keep a[D]loft, and don't lose [Em]sight
[C] Of the thing that [D]keeps them in the [Am]sky
Seraching for that next deep [Em]dive
Deep Dive
Music Break x2
Am Slide (Am1, Am3, A5)
Am Slide (Am1, Am3, A5)
Em Slide (Em1, Em3, Em5)
Em Slide (Em1, Em3, Em5)
[C] Rise above with [D]both eyes open [Em]wide

[C] Ride the wind, keep a[D]loft, and don't lose [Em]sight
[C] Of the thing that [D]keeps you in the [Am]sky
Searchin' for your next deep [Em]dive
Deep Dive
Deep Dive

For more information about Meren King, including her collected articles here on Pagan Song, her bio, and links to Meren’s sites on the web, check out Meren’s page on Pagan Song.

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