Have You Forgotten Your Wild Soul Lost Beneath the To-Do List?
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- May 17
- 3 min read
Story Medicine from Sealskin Soulskin - Myth from Women Who Run with The Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes

There’s a story Clarissa Pinkola Estés shares in Women Who Run with the Wolves that has echoed in me for years. It's a favourite of mine (although I have quite a few favourites).
You might know it: Sealskin, Soulskin — the tale of a Seal Woman whose seal skin is taken by a fisherman. He tells her to come to shore, live with him and in some time he will return her skin. She goes with him, she feels she has no choice really. She does build a lovely life with her husband and child but her soul slowly withers without her seal skin — her essence — until one day, she cannot bare it any longer and she must return to the sea, her home, her soul self, no matter the cost.
I don't see this as a story about abandoning a life built but rather about remembering who you were before you got lost in all the labels, all the responsibilities, the noise, the busyness.
I had an experience a few weeks ago where I broke out of my day to day pattern and simply drove a different way home through the hills after school drop off. I stopped in at this little shop that's been on my mind for years, and the magic that unfolded in conversation was a magic that I had forgotten exists, that story is for another time though. But it was while wandering around this shop in the hills, collecting pieces for Rituals, pieces that inspired me and my art that I felt my eyes stinging with tears because in that moment I was tapping into a part of myself that I had forgotten. A part that felt less important than the constant to do list. This is the part of me that had far less responsibilities. The part that would drive through the hills, windows down, smelling the damp earthiness, wind through my hair, taking my time and following my own flow, allowing myself to be inspired by beautiful art and rich conversations with strangers. And I felt her, this part that I had forgotten and I felt her take a breath again, for the first time in more than a decade.
Do you remember a part of yourself that you miss and long for her return? A part that was so present before you learned to put everyone else first...?
Before you tucked away your own magic while carrying the weight of others...?
Seal Woman stays on land for a while. She mothers. She loves. Tends to her home. But she also fades because she cannot survive without returning to her skin — the part of her that knows the tides, that feels wild and whole and at home.
So many women I work and talk with are standing at the edge of the metaphorical shore.
We've all built beautiful lives…… and still feel something is missing.
There’s a deep unspeakable longing for richness and depth. A call to return to your Soulskin.
For me this is not about denying responsibilities but rather allowing my Soul Self to integrate more in my day to day life.
What is your Soulskin?
This myth lives in so many women I meet — women who’ve built full lives but no longer feel the full breadth of their vitality.
If you feel this… you are not alone.
Bone Women Gathering is your invitation to return to your Soulskin.
Through story medicine, movement, ritual, and creativity — you’ll reclaim the magic and meaning that’s always been yours.
🦴 Bone Women Gathering – In-Studio Women’s Circle Series A deeper 7-month journey weaving myth, movement & feminine reclamation. A deep dive into and exploration of the Myths and Fairy Tales found in Women Who Run With the Wolves, we explore powerful stories, sacred ritual & embodied practice in a supportive circle of women.
With love,
Lauralee
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