The Magic of the Alchemical Process and the Courage of our Vulnerability

By Carmela Cattuti, author of Between the Cracks: one women’s journey from Sicily to America

Having published an historical novel a few years ago based on my great aunt’s experience of the 1908 earthquake in Sicily, I started to think about the alchemical process of growth open to humans residing on this planet. To open ourselves to this transformation process we must have what the Italians call “coraggio,” a quality highly regarded by the culture. The word means courage, but when an Italian says it, it is more of a blessing of confidence to transcend the obstacle or confront the issue at hand. A person with great “coraggio” always triumphs regardless of the outcome.

As a species I see humans moving into a time line that is regenerative and healing. Many of us living at this period in history possess courage in spades and are waking up to who we really are. Those who remain steeped in the constructs of religion and politics may take a few more life times to develop enough courage to extricate themselves from these paradigms. But for those of us with enough courage (energetically developed over life times) to face the amount of imposition placed upon the human race from the media, politics, and religion, our transcendence is assured. The time line is created, all we need to do is bring it into our awareness.

Messina after the earthquake

It took a great deal of courage for my great aunt to survive the disaster that demolished her city of Messina, then marry a man she hardly knew and immigrate to a strange country. I wrote her story and I am humbled by it. Her younger sister was never found and for the rest of her life she often wondered if she was still alive. Many years later she and her husband returned to Messina to see if they could locate her, but there was no evidence that she had survived the earthquake. I think her story is a tribute to the indomitable human spirit.

From what I can remember of out conversations, she was very much i touch with her inner knowing from the time she was quite young. When she was a child both her parents died, and she and her brother were sent to live with grandparents while her young sister was sent to live with an aunt, so from early on she had confronted loss and abandonment. After the earthquake she was even more alone, surviving on the street until the American rescue ships arrived and took her aboard. She ended up in a convent and was raised by the Sister of Charity.

Her early life was an intense alchemical experience that strengthened who she was and what she came to the planet to accomplish. A less developed soul without an abundance of courage would have perished or given up. Her relationship with the Catholic Church was superficial and the energy of her worship was focused on the Blessed Mother. Even though she was raised in a strict religious atmosphere where her behavior was closely monitored, the construct of religion was not a force behind her spiritual beliefs. She was vulnerable to criticism for her "Mary Worship" by the Italian Community, but she persisted in having an altar devoted to Mary in her home regardless.

She was bombarded with family obligations and tragedy, but she persisted in her spiritual development and serving others, even when they were less than kind. Her influence on my life has been profound and when I think I am having a difficult time, I refer to her life and it puts everything into perspective.

About the Author

Carmela is a graduate of Boston College masters program in English Literature. She wrote Between the Cracks in the 1980s and then revised it in the early 2000s to bring it into the 21st century. If you would like to order a copy click here. The author is currently in the edit phase of her next novel The Ascent. This is the second book in the trilogy.

Check out Carmela's web page and check her power point presentation about Between the Cracks, click here. If you have any questions about the book or you are part of a book club and would like to read the novel and have Carmela to skype into your book club meeting email her at www.cattutic@gmail.com . Join me on facebook www.facebook.com/carmelacattuticreative .

spiritual development and serving others, even when they were less than kind. Her influence on my life has been profound and when I think I am having a difficult time, I refer to her life and it puts everything into perspective.