Written on 16 May 2012, when I was smitten with J, an artist from the north highland city of Baguio, north of the Philippines. She sent me the artwork she made (in photo)

This is how goddesses make their presence felt. They do not come down to us riding on a bolt of lightning. They do not come down to us with much fanfare, not with angels heralding their arrival. No, they have no need for those.

They make their presence felt subtly, yet in the most sublime manner: they send parts of themselves through gifts we never thought could reach us. Through songs, through literature, through art. Through things that can make us feel so human, so mortal as we listen to it, read it, or behold it.

Goddesses need not touch us or come near us. They can make their presence felt, show us how much power they have over us, even if they are miles and miles away, from up there in the heavens.