It's been a busy few weeks here in Phoenix, and life is good. The weather is warming up and we hit 98 Monday. We should be cooling back to the 80’s tomorrow. I know, many of you are just beginning to see the snow melt. But, summer in Phoenix, is like winter in the colder climates. We are not as active outdoors during the heat, and spend more time indoors during the intense days of monsoon season when we hit over 110. So, it’s not much different than the winter cold, except we don’t have any white stuff to shovel and the intense heat only lasts about 4 weeks!!
Today I want to chat about Earth Day coming up on Tuesday, April 22. It is sort of humorous in my mind that people have set aside a WHOLE day, to focus on Mother Earth and give one day’s time and effort to undoing how many hundreds of years of mistreatment. At least having the one day, may bring a small change into people’s lives that they will carry with them for then next 364. Every small bit helps.To a shaman, EVERY day is Earth Day. Every day is a time to honor our mother. Mama Earth is our source of life and support, all that is. She literally is the ground we stand on, the food we use to nourish our bodies (note that’s the REAL food we eat), the source of the plants that provide the oxygen that we breathe and the water that we drink. Without her life giving support we, as a species, would not survive. We humans have become like spoiled children, and unfortunately, Mama is now giving to her children until it hurts.
As I am writing, the quote from Chief Seattle came to mind... “The earth does not belong to man. The man belongs to the earth.” In about 1852, the United States Government inquired about buying the tribal lands for the arriving people of the United States, & Chief Seattle, of the Suquamish Tribe, in the Pacific Northwest, wrote a marvelous letter in reply. (Joseph Campbell, 'The Power of Myth') I have quoted the whole letter here, as it is very powerful. It embodies the shaman’s connection with Mother Earth and the connection which most have lost, believing it archaic or blasphemous, but re-connecting to the earth is definitely one of the solutions to the problems we are creating for ourselves.
"Every part of this earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every meadow, every humming insect. All are holy in the memory and experience of my people.
We know the sap which courses through the trees as we know the blood that courses through our veins. We are part of the earth and it is part of us. The perfumed flowers are our sisters. The bear, the deer, the great eagle, these are our brothers. The rocky crests, the juices in the meadow, the body heat of the pony, and man, all belong to the same family.
The shining water that moves in the streams and rivers is not just water, but the blood of our ancestors. If we sell you our land, you must remember that it is sacred. Each ghostly reflection in the clear waters of the lakes tells of events and memories in the life of my people. The water's murmur is the voice of my father's father.
The rivers are our brothers. They quench our thirst. They carry our canoes and feed our children. So you must give to the rivers the kindness you would given any brother.
If we sell you our land, remember that the air is precious to us, that the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports. The wind that gave our grandfather his first breath also receives his last sigh. The wind also gives our children the spirit of life. So if we sell you our land, you must keep it apart and sacred, as a place where man can go to taste the wind that is sweetened by the meadow flowers.
Will you teach your children what we have taught our children? That the earth is our mother? What befalls the earth befalls all the sons of the earth. This we know: the earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does it to himself
"One thing we know: our god is also your god. The earth is precious to him and to harm the earth is to heap contempt on its creator. Your destiny is a mystery to us. What will happen when the buffalo are all slaughtered? The wild horses tamed? What will happen when the secret corners of the forest are heavy with the scent of many men and the view of the ripe hills is blotted by talking wires? Where will the thicket be? Gone! Where will the eagle be? Gone! And what is it to say goodbye to the swift pony and the hunt? The end of living and the beginning of survival.
When the last Red Man has vanished with this wilderness and his memory is only the shadow of a cloud moving across the prairie, will these shores and forests still be here? Will there be any of the spirit of my people left? We love this earth as a newborn loves its mother's heartbeat. So, if we sell you our land, love it as we have loved it. Care for it as we have cared for it. Hold in your mind the memory of the land as it is when you receive it. Preserve the land for all children and love it, as God loves us all
As we are part of the land, you too are part of the land. This earth is precious to us. It is also precious to you. One thing we know: there is only one God. No man, be he Red Man or White Man, can be apart. We are brothers after all."
Re-reading this letter always gives me what I call “truth bumps”. So, I am going to invite each of you who read this to begin to re-establish your connection with Mother Earth and invite others to do the same. Choose some regular times, like at the new or full moons, the changes of seasons or just any regular time to do healing ceremonies or journey for Mother. If you have not yet met her, during a meditation or journey, go deep within the earth and ask to be introduced to Mother Earth. Allow your mind to flow and observe the awesomeness of her realm. Once you meet her, introduce yourself and ask about her realm. Ask what you can offer in the way of a healing for her. Then ask her what one thing you can take out into the world, as an example, to help re-establish that connection that most of her children have lost. Thank her and let her know that you will be back and continue to help.
This may seems like a drop in the bucket. But, if each of us helps heal our dear Mama Earth in one or two ways, soon the bucket will be overflowing and our Mama will be flourishing.
Happy Journeys!
Mitakuye Oyasin ( A Lakota prayer as a reminder that we are all related),
Debbie
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