“…and we take in the reality that whatever was used to create the world — the big bang, the little spark, a breath, a snap of the fingers, the spit and the dirt — it began in the most sacred place. Our creativity comes from the creative energy within that mystery, and through that, we have life today, a constant beginning.” -Kaitlin Curtice, from the chapter called Creation Stories, Native: Identity, Belonging, and Rediscovering God

My daughter named this precious expression of deer life, “Dottie.” Dottie spent her early days tucked in different places, chosen by her mother, around our Texas cabin, until she was ready to journey with her mother.

Have you seen the recent images from NASA, as they seek light from the first galaxies in the universe? Mind-blowing.

I smile now as I look at the image of Dottie created two months ago. I remember pondering the swirling mandala. With an impulse to add the dotted brown areas, the mandala became the energy becoming Dottie. That green swath was actually the first mark on the page, put there in a manner I can’t recall. It reminded me, though, of the vine shading Jonah and as such, it offered a spirit of protection for little Dottie.

In my heart, the great mystery of love is naming the younger universe, “Dottie.”