Our hike was about four and a half miles from the Sawtooth Lodge, Grandjean, where we were preparing for our departure into the Sawtooth Wilderness. It would be our first venture into the wilds of the Idaho backcountry.
We hiked in, me and my two canine companions, Takota and Nanook (Native American Indian Dogs), June 28, 2018, on a Thursday. We had our food and gear packed in by the Outfitter at the Lodge, requiring six pack animals total. The Outfitter would return in five days dropping off the rest of our food supply to us. We would stay at one camp for sixteen days—alone.
Our camp was on the Northern edge of the Sawtooth mountains, about a half mile up from the South Fork of the Payette River and about 300 feet elevation higher than the river. The Outfitter had been to this camp before—I hadn’t. He told me it would be easy to find and if you go beyond Minks Creek, you went too far. Our camp was right next to Minks Creek that was hidden mostly by thick vegetation, and no more than a couple of feet in width. This small trickle of a creek would be our drinking water source.
Before we left, I asked the Outfitter what critters we might encounter such as mountain lions, bears, or wolves. He said, “wolves, and I hope you are bringing a weapon, they will kill your dogs.” For some reason, I didn’t think wolves would be much of a threat.
On our 11th day out, I was getting some water from the creek and left the dogs tied up in camp. They usually come with me. Both began howling as they tend to do if I leave them alone. Back at camp, shortly after getting water from the creek, I heard wolves howling down in the Big Meadow about a half mile away from us that was just adjacent to the river.
With the thick vegetation that was all around us, it would be easy for the wolves to sneak up on us silently unseen—I had thought. I got my guns ready for any probable encounter and kept the dogs tied up. Things were quiet, eerily quiet, too quiet. I was a bit concerned, not knowing what the wolves would do. Would they come up to check us out or stay in the meadow? On occasion, we would hear the choirs of howls from the meadow. I was happy they weren’t coming any closer for a visit.
All afternoon and evening I kept a close watch on the areas around us. They could come in from any direction, and I wouldn’t know it, but hoping my dogs would.
We went to bed, and I was still thinking about the wolves and what they might do. Would they come into our camp because of the dogs, or just to check us out, or would they leave us alone knowing a human was there? The thoughts were always running through my mind with, what if’s. I did not want to shoot a wolf, but if I had to, I would shoot to scare them and would that be enough to stop them in their tracks? I had no idea, especially with a pack of wolves with possibly young ones with them they would want to protect.
Listening for any strange sounds and watching the dogs to see if they were hearing anything in the darkness of night, I heard Nanook get up and walk to the entrance of the tent—Takota, quietly laying in his bed. Nanook then began following something he heard outside from inside of the tent moving from the front to the side and then to the rear of the tent. I was thinking, could it be the wolves? I then heard directly behind us and very close, a wolf or two howling. That got me concerned, thinking, what are they going to do? The howling of wolves were then all around us. The howling persisted for a time, then stopped. It was an awesome experience listening to them, but also disconcerting at the same time.
In late morning the next day, we heard a distant howling from down at the river. I sensed they were leaving the area. After a couple of days of observing the region, they were indeed gone.
It was indeed an incredible experience and was the call of the wild.
I have been struggling lately with what my purpose is, how may I serve the Creator, the world, and all life? How may I be closer to GOD? This has become my Truth, my reality, my very Being of who I am. In touching the Creator, God, the Source, the Sacred, in deep reverence. I have even prayed for Jesus to help me, guide me, in writing a small book on this very subject, but with no answer. I am sure he has a full plate dealing with other Earthly matters. Maybe he is telling me, “a short article will do.” Just let it come from the heart,” whispering to me in his silent loving voice. While I am struggling with my own life. Struggling with endless nightly prays, asking for help, for guidance, in, how may I serve? Just to get me through these dark nights of fear, doubt, and uncertainty that plays in my mind for the past four years.
But those who live in this other world that man has created, that is empty of the very life that is given to us – the gift of life that we are surrounded with, in the beauty, and wonder of the natural world, in our natural ability to love unconditionally. That we are experiencing on so many challenges of pure evil in perpetual wars, senseless mass shooting, greed, rampant corruption and lies in government, in hatred, and anger. And our biggest threat, climate change.
Because the boys and I are basically Homeless, I am told what I need to do. I need to get a job, I need to find a place to live with the other homeless and downtrodden souls. Give up on these foolish idea that you have, in serving. Wake up man! You need to live in reality, in the real world. You need to be a productive member of society. I have seen what this so-called reality brings to humankind. And I choose a different path. And then my little mind says, “how?” I then start believing I need to follow those others. I constantly battle with this, and Knowing I need to follow my heart.
I have shared, and written about my experiences with the spiritual transformation I had experienced back in the 90’s that changed my life completely. How I found the Truth of the Creator, the Source of unconditional love. How this love can heal us, heal the planet, and all life. (Please read in my blog, the article, “Healing.”) I will repost it on Fb as well. I was very fortunate in experiencing this gift of a different reality, a different Truth. I did not ask for it, but it was presented to me if I chose to see it. I was gently pulled on a new path.
The reason I titled this article, Messengers Of The Sacred,” was because of my experiences, and all the experiences of those who have experienced Near Death Experiences, (NDE). Some where afraid to share these experiences, and have waited for years to share them in fear of retaliation, ridicule, mockery, and being shunned by mainstream society. They were thought to be out of touch with reality. But many are now sharing their experiences they had in another world, in another reality of pure unconditional love. When I was dealing with my spiritual transformation in the 90’s I struggled with the concept of God in the dogma of Religions. I asked, “what is God?” The answer that came to me was “Pure Unconditional Love.” Those people who have experienced death and have come back, are the Messengers Of The Sacred.
In our current so-called delusional reality of a physically formed only world, that discards the formless, the unseen, the Sacred, we removed, killed, tortured, and committed horrific atrocities, and genocides against those who believed differently. Most of these people were indigenous, most saw all life as being Sacred.
This is the reason the boys and I took our journey into Nature, to experience a deeper relationship with all life. A life of unconditional love for all life forms.
I hope this may open the minds, and hearts of those who choose not to believe there is much more than the eyes can see.
What was valued since man’s existence and not too long ago for primitive people (a little more then 400 years ago) like the Native Indians was simple. And still applies for what is remaining of primitive cultures today. These resources are the essence of life for all of creation – water, air, earth, fire, animal life, tree life, and plant life. Without any of these, life as we know it could not exist. And the amazing thing is how close each works with and supports one another.
In today’s modern cultures these resources are just a second thought for many. We don’t even think about the air we breathe unless there is a fowl smell to it; the water seems plentiful and we see no reason to stop wasting it and polluting it. Our land to is being built over and polluted with little respect for what foods it provides for us and all living things. We see plants as something on occasion to appreciate, poison or destroy. The animal life we have relied on for food for thousands of years is just an attraction for us to see when we do see some form of wildlife. In the city, they are typically ignored or seen as a nuisance.
All of these resources are being threatened by man’s lack of respect and greed mentality for what is essential for life to exist. We have put value on a piece of worthless paper; metals, stones, oil, coal and forests that provide for us the comforts we are accustom to with devastating cost to our planet. Precious metals such as gold and silver as with precious stones have destroyed our environment and have cause death and misery to many people. For what? So we can look good?
Our survival and the survival of all living things does not depend on how much we have, but how we take care of our Mother Earth.
“The Peacemaker taught us about the Seven Generations. He said, when you sit in council for the welfare of the people, you must not think of yourself or of your family, not even your generation. He said, make your decisions on behalf of the seven generations coming, so that they may enjoy what you have today.”
Oren Lyons (Seneca)
Faithkeeper, Onondaga Nation
This principle of the 7th Generation dates back to the 12th Century to the Great Law of Peace of the Iroquois Confederacy. A generation is generally considered to be 25 years, so that’s 175 years. The 7th generation principle was so important to Native American cultures that it was codified in the Iroquois Great Law of Peace. It is believed, this teaching is embraced by all Native American tribes, First Nations Tribes and indigenous tribes throughout the world. Unfortunately it is clearly not embraced by most governments, corporations or people in the world and this especially applies to Americans. Few Americans look at the impact they have on the future of their children or the children of the world. This has been clearly shown in our very slow to no response to act on Global Warming.
Ted Kennedy said to Congress in 2008: “I cannot look into the eyes of my grandchildren and tell them: Sorry, I…can’t do anything about it.”
Barbara Boxer, at the National Press Club: Will our grandchildren know the thrill of holding their child’s hand watching with excitement a towering snow-capped mountain or awesome, calving glaciers?”
Arnold Schwarzenegger, signing new energy legislation: “I want to make California No. 1 in the fight against global warming. This is something we owe our children and grandchildren.”
Joe Lieberman: “Shame on us if 100 or 200 years from now our grandchildren and great-grandchildren are living on a planet that has been irreparably damaged by global warming, and they ask, ‘How could those who came before us…have let this happen?’”
David Attenborough: “If we do care about our grandchildren then we have to do something.”
Former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, addressing his Climate Change Advisory Group: “By committing ourselves to action in Illinois, we can help minimize the effects of climate change and ensure our children and grandchildren inherit a healthy world full of opportunity.”
Sir Richard Branson, chair of Virgin Airways: “I think businesses can indluence leaders thwo are not worrying enough about our grandchildren.”
Bill Clinton, stumping for his wife in Colorado: We just have to slow down our economy and cut back our greenhouse gas emissions ‘cause we have to save the planet for our grandchildren.”
This idea that humans could fundamentally alter the planet is new. This notion was asked by the Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius a century ago regarding evaporating our coal mines into the air. Bill McKibben in his book, “eaarth, Making a life on a Tough New Planet,” “This idea about global warming is a huge experiment. We’ve never watched it happen before, so we didn’t know how to proceed.”
This notion that we could not alter the planet or it being a huge experiment, not watching it happen before, is nonsense. Although what is currently happening is new to us, the rapid melting of the Arctic and Antarctic; the lost of many glaciers; the extreme weather that is occurring with increased number and strength of tornados; hurricanes; the increased amount of wildfires, floods and drought that are hitting many parts of the world; increased oceans levels and the increased levels of acidity in our oceans from carbon dioxide. And this is only just the top of the iceberg. What about the impact is will have on the social fabric of human life; the economic impact; the impact on our ecosystems and all life on this planet? Many scientist believe we are moving towards a mass extinct of many life forms on this planet. And it is due to our irresponsibility, our lack of connection to the planet and to all life, our blinded appetite and obsession for consumerism, for stuff. The choices we make to live in a synthetic world vs. living as one with the natural world, to see the natural world as part of our community to protect and preserve. We have seen what man can do in a very destructive way to our environment many times, but we seem to forget and continue with this destruction. Seeing what we are doing to our planet, to the natural world is a simple process of just being aware, being connected to our natural world and probably the most difficult for modern day man is seeing all life as sacred. It is a cop-out to say we didn’t know. The Native Americans knew, the First Nations knew, the Native Hawaiians knew, and all the indigenous cultures who still lived in their traditional ways knew. And now with the effects of climate change on top of us, we are still in denial of it and its impact on the world and to all life. We are at a point of no-return on many of the changes that have occurred recently by climate change due to our ignorance and selfishness.
Here are some ancient Indian proverbs you may want to read, think about and act upon:
“Treat the earth well.
It was not given to you by your parents,
It was loaned to you by your children.
We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors,
we borrow it from our Children.”
“Humankind has not woven the web of life.
We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.
All things are bound together.
All things connect.”
Chief Seattle, 1854
“When all the trees have been cut down,
when all the animals have been hunted,
when all the waters are polluted,
when all the air is unsafe to breath,
only then will you discover you cannot eat money.”
Cree Prophecy
“You must teach our children that the ground beneath their feet is the ashes of your grandfathers. So that they will respect the land, tell your children that the earth is rich with the lives of our kin. Teach your children what we have taught our children, that the earth is our mother. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. If men spit upon the ground, they spit upon themselves.”
Unknown
In ending, if we choose to do nothing, we will leave our children and grandchildren with a very uncertain world.
And now in 2022 we seem to be doing very little. Climate change is here and is impacting the whole world.
Why is modern day man so much afraid of indigenous people? They are afraid of what these peoples represent – freedom, happiness, community and having a deep connect, and relationship with the land and animals they live with and because many indigenous cultures require large areas of land for sustenance and for their very survival as a people. They have lived on land that has been part of their cultures for tens of thousands of years. To the modern day man, they see this as pure waste of the valuable natural resources that can be tapped and used. They see this land only for profit with no concern of the destruction of habitat, people who live on the land or for the animal kingdom that call these lands their home. For the indigenous peoples, these lands are their being, their people, and their cultures and feel a deep and sacred relationship with the land and for all life. But because greed breeds corruption, destruction and control over valuable resources, these peoples who have lived for thousands of years in peace and happiness are forcibly removed from their sacred lands, killing their cultures, and traditions and destroying their people physically, and emotionally.
Modern day man thinks this is okay and ignores the human atrocities and environmental destruction against these people and land, because these people and cultures are not using these lands in a productive way. They see these primitive people as undeserving to live the way they do. They should not be living the way they do, but should live in the ways of the modern day man because we believe this is the civilized way to live. We see them as just wasting land that can be used for other purposes other than just for sustenance and as their home. We the modern day man have chosen to live a very irresponsible way towards the land, polluting her with toxins, stripper her of forests, destroying her ecosystems for thousands of creatures that rely on the land for life and making the land uninhabitable, in some cases for thousands of years. This way of thinking and way of life for the modern day man has only been in the time frame of a few hundred of years, where the existence of indigenous cultures living with the land as hunters and gatherers and some farming has been going on for at least fifty thousand years. For the indigenous cultures, the land was free from modern day man’s toxins; the waters were pure and clean, the air fresh and clean and the flora and fauna abundant.
We are and have allowed these peoples and cultures to die off like some unwanted animal going extinct. We then celebrate their cultures for being unique, being part of the animal kingdom and part of our uncivilized past. We see these cultures as primitive, cave man like behaviors and ways of living that have no place in a modern day world. We also refuse to see the simplicity of living with nature and not against her; we refuse to see our connection to all living things and we refuse to see the horrific destruction we are doing to the land, air and water – our Home. We can learn from these very people and cultures who we are trying to destroy, our true place on Mother Earth – our true connection to all life and the responsibility to protect and preserve all life.
Each and every morning I get to walk my dogs in a beautiful country setting. A far cry from where we were living just a short time ago. Living in the City of San Leandro, with it’s constant threat of crime being perpetrated, the endless noise of automobiles, sirens and the guns shots that rang out in the night air. I hated that place and dreamed of the wilderness.
The country road we now walk is surrounded by oaks, sycamores and buckeyes, with pastures and rolling hills leading upward to the hillside ridges. Each morning we would take our first steps into nature, experiencing the beginning of a new day when the sun begins showing it’s presence, slowly rising above the crest of the foothills. The creek that once was flowing with water from the winter rains is now a dry creek bed that runs along side the road. The green velvety grasses that covered the pastures and hillsides are now a golden brown. Summer is here.
The season has changed from spring to summer before we knew it. We have been experiencing unusually hotter days so early in the season due to climate change. Something Americans seems not to want to really except fully and what it will mean for human kind and for all life on this planet we call Earth.
While I am writing this, I wondered where we came up with the name Earth for our planet and of course , I googled it and this is what I found:
“All of the planets, except for Earth, were named after Greek and Roman gods and godesses. The name Earth is an English/German name which simply means the ground. It comes from the Old English words ‘eor(th)e’ and ‘ertha’. In German it is ‘erde’. The name Earth is at least 1000 years old.”
Source by – Cool Cosmos
If we think of the name of our planet that represents dirt, it does not seem so romantic, but I think most like the name. At least I do. I don’t think we think of it as just a sphere of dirt, and in fact it is so much more. It is a world that is mostly seen as blue oceans covering the globe from distant space. We have been given a place to live that we call home with so much diversity it staggers the mind and imagination, if we think about it.
In our place in the country, new life has emerged, from the young ground squirrels scampering across the road to the many young fawns clinging to their mother’s protection. The wild turkey are active as are the many birds in our area. One being my friend, the Acorn Woodpecker. The many cows that grazed on the hillsides and pastures are mostly gone, but for a few stragglers that missed the truck ride to the slaughter house. My dogs were fascinated with them and the cows being the same. They would have loved to chase those cows. I saw a beauty seeing them scattered throughout the hillsides.
On these walks I am always grateful for these experiences – being out in nature with my dogs and at the same time, longing for the wilderness, a longing for a long lost love. Some day we will be in the wilderness once again.
I have been fortunate enough to feel a deep connection to nature. I have always loved being in nature, but never respected nature for much of my life. I used her for my own gratification. I now have a deep reverence for her and this respect grew from my learning and practicing survival skills and bush skills and learning the relationship traditional indigenous cultures had had with the natural world, the spirit world and the land.
On our walks into nature, I spend time honoring and giving thanks to what nature, what Mother Earth provides to us. It is something none of us should take lightly, but sadly we do.
She provides us with incredible, natural beauty and the essentials to sustain life as long as we respect her – and there is no charge. All she wants is a little respect. My walks are always with humility, and reverence for nature. I begin my walks with gratitude and thanks by giving thanks to:
I give thanks to the Sun who provides us with light, warmth and energy.
I give thanks to the Moon for keeping us firm on the ground and the beauty she gives us at night.
I give thanks to the Universe for her magnificent and awesome vastness.
I give thanks to the Earth for all she provides for us.
I give thanks to the Air we breathe, because without it we would not be alive. For also giving us the wonderful scents of nature we get to breathe in with each breath.
I give thanks for the Water that is the life’s blood for all life. Without her, life could not exist. She gives us the beauty of mountain lakes, the powerful oceans, the mighty rivers and the soothing streams. She quenches our thirst, she can refresh us on hot days and cleanse our body. The sounds of the oceans and streams can calm our soul.
I give thanks for Fire that keeps us warm, for light and the welcoming flame during the darkness of night, to help keep us dry and for cooking our food.
I give thanks to the Rocks that creates the magical beauty in the mountains and hillsides, and the beauty of the stones she creates.
I give thanks for all the incredible and beautiful Animals we share this planet with and for the food they provide to us. Providing us with tools, clothing and shelter. And the wonders of the very creation of life we get to see and experience. I give thanks to the mammals, the birds, the fish, the reptiles, the insects and the creatures that are unseen.
I give thanks to the Trees for their vast varieties, for their beauty, and for what the trees provide for us. I give thanks for the oxygen they give to life, the food and medicine they provide, for providing fuel for fire, to give us shelter, tools and clothing.
I give thanks for the Plants that provide us with food, medicines, tinder for fire starting, for cordage, for shelters and simply for the beauty and smells they give to us.
Now, for me, the things I give thanks to as I have listed above does focus on using nature for survival and living in nature. I also hope the reader realizes we cannot survive without nature and a healthy natural environment. Giving thanks to our natural world helps us have a deeper connection with all life, thus we will do everything to protect her and not to harm her.
When we sit in silence observing nature, she will magically open up to us and begin to teach us about truth – what is real and not real in our very distorted world today. You may see two whales breaching together, when those around you are oblivious to them; or you may observe a beautiful and vibrant flower and she bids you to come closer so she can teach you about life; or seeing a single droplet on the tip of a pine needle that shows us much more about our world; or you may look up towards the night sky in awe of the wonders of the universe. I truly believe nature can teach about life if we allow her to. These example I have listed above are just a few of the many experience I have been fortunate enough to experience in nature and has impacted my life in unbelievable ways. Nature is my church and my religion.
A person who I highly respect and admire is Ray Mears. Ray teaches bush craft skills and has had many programs on the BBC about Bush Craft. His love and respect for nature and for indigenous cultures are apparent. When Ray is in nature, his awareness is finely tuned to his surroundings. When he is in a canoe for example, he is one with the canoe and one with the water and one with everything around him. On one of his shows he was walking in some mud flats on the shore of the River Thames looking at dead trees over 6000 years old. He observed the types of trees (the species) and followed other signs he might find in his discovery. This exploration took him back to his ancestors some 6000 years ago and how they may have lived. How many people would get that excited walking in the mud with a bunch of dead matter and dead trees? Ray would. It says something about this man and his love for the natural world. He is a true naturalist.
As with Ray Mears, I feel very strongly about the importance of protecting traditional indigenous cultures and their traditional ways of life. We can learn from these cultures how we can once again connect and respect nature. And once you truly experience nature you will not want to come back to a life that is so disconnected with nature. You will truly experience real magic.
Come with me my child, come walk with me. I must tell you something that my generation and generations past have done. What we have done will effect your generation and future generations to come, well into the future and beyond. It will change your life as it will your children and their children’s lives. It will impact humankind as we see and know the world today in ways that will be unknown to us. It will change all life on this planet for that matter—in the plants, in the trees, in the animals, to the land, in the rising oceans, and to the weather patterns. It will have a very profound way in how we live, forever, if we continue on the path we have chosen for ourselves.
You are still very young my child and what I am about to tell you may seem like only a bad dream that once awake will disappear, or watching a science fiction movie that becomes a reality. Unfortunately, in my heart I believe this to be a true vision that will happen if we continue to do nothing about how we treat our planet and how we treat all life on the planet.
I can say for most of us living in the United States and elsewhere in the modern day world who believed our world would provide us with limitless resources, we lived our lives in a delusional world of everlasting abundance. We truly didn’t know nor think about what we were doing, what negative impacts we were having on our planet. No one really knew. And now that we do know for the most part, whether we want to believe it or not, we still choose to do nothing or very little to change our ways—our relationship with the earth—even if it means our very survival as a species. We continue to live in this illusion we cannot let go of—a make-believe reality that is doing reprehensible harm to what gives us life and leaving our future generations with a potentially bleak and harsh environment to survive in.
I will briefly share with you my time growing up. I hope it will help you understand a little about my life at your age. It was at a time after World War II had ended when America had renewed energy, hope for growth, prosperity and a new beginnings—it was of what dreams were made of. We focused on the future and forgot the past. We were taught in school, on the radio and on television, to be part of the machine of progress. We were taught that America was the best and strongest country in the world and no other country compared. We considered our country as the leaders of the free world. Americans loved the ideals and values of what we thought America was and would become—they were exciting times growing up. We loved everything about being American. We gained this arrogance that we were the best, that we were unstoppable. We never stopped to think what America would have been like if the winds had turned and Germany and Japan had won the war.
I still find myself on occasion, going back in the past seeing and feeling those things that gave me so much joy and happiness. It spurred my imagination with endless possibilities of my future and what was to come. It seemed this could be found in America.
There were a few peoples back then who had the insight, the knowledge and wisdom to see the future. These people were the First People of this land and had occupied America for thousands of years prior to the colonization of America by the Europeans. We saw these indigenous peoples as primitive, salvages, and uneducated pagans. During my time they were a people of the past. One of these cultures, the Hopi, warned its people through the Hopi Prophecies to travel on the right road, the good road, rather than taking a road or way of life that only will lead to a life of deep misery in the end. These prophecies were not just for the Hopi People, they actually were for all of us—every man, woman and child who walks on this planet. These teachings were about respecting the earth and respecting all life.
As you and I are walking on this dirt path together, among the trees, listening to the voices of the birds singing, we have forgotten in our modern world that every step we take we make an imprint on the land. If we choose to walk with no direction, walking with a heavy foot, our footprints will begin to disrupt life around us. It will begin to scar and never return to what it once was. If we are careful where we walk, being considerate of other life, of what we may disturb on our path, our footprints will lay softly upon the earth in respect and reverence to all that is.
My child, I must tell you, I am very saddened to say, we have chosen the wrong path. We refused to listen to a growing voice of people telling us we must change our ways, but we continued walking on the wrong path. We refuse to hear the earth’s cries and the animal’s death songs. They too, were telling us, but we did not listen. We had become blinded by progress and wanting more.
I must tell you my child, I am very sorry for what we have done to your generation and to the future generations to come.
I am deeply sorry.
“While we may remember the sacredness of human beings, we have forgotten that the Earth is also sacred, and that its soul can speak to ours. If we were to understand this dimension of creation, we would realize that our guardianship of the planet means taking responsibility for its physical and its sacred nature, and their interrelationship. This responsibility was always understood by indigenous peoples and their spiritual leaders or shamans. Many of the rituals of daily life as well as their ceremonies, prayers, dances and songs were enacted for the purpose of looking after the sacred nature of creation, keeping the balance between the worlds. For example when the Pomo Indian people of Northern California wove baskets, the women would go out and pray over the grasses before they cut them. As they wovetheir baskets they would put the reeds or grasses through their mouths to moisten them, praying over them. The basket thus wove together the physical and the spiritual parts of life. All aspects of life were approached in this way, the warp and woof of the physical and spiritual woven together into the single fabric of life that was never anything other than sacred. Indigenous peoples saw their life as a communion with earth and spirit that nourished them and at the same time nourished creation, the two being so interwoven it would not have been possible even to think of nourishing the one without nourishing the other.”
~Author unknown
I wanted to republish this writing making some revisions to the original and to add to this writing. I also modified the title of the article. I wrote the original article in November 2013. It was published in July 2015.
Very little has been done to deal with the impact climate change will have on our planet in America because of the divisions we have created in our country as with our beliefs pertaining to this issue. More and more young people are becoming increasingly aware of what their future might be due to climate change and they are doing something about it—they are organizing and speaking out on this injustice to their future and the future of the planet, unlike most of the grown-ups who are not doing enough.
The reason I wrote this is again to bring awareness to the importance of the impact climate change will have on our planet and to all life. I asked the question, if I had children what would I tell them if the inevitable were to happen where we reached the point of no-return on Global Warming? And I began to write. I hope you will consider this same question and better yet, ask them what they think of what their future will be like if we continue doing nothing about Global Warming?
Yesterday, a friend of mine on Facebook made a post and wrote, “In honor of Mother Earth…” to a link she shared. I have written a lot about Mother Earth in my posts on Facebook, but when I read those few words, “Honor Mother Earth” they resonated with me on a different level and I wanted to see where my writing would take me focused on these powerful words.
I had never heard of these words before until I began reading about Native Americans back in the nineties. This obscure concept of honoring our planet never was taught to me in school, or by my parents or by anyone else for that matter. We were taught how we can take from the planet, strip the earth of valued natural resources that would improve our lives, but never honor or respect Earth, our home. In school we were filled with supposed facts in our science classes about Earth, but never the ideas of honoring her or respecting her. Back then, I could not imagine anyone even being able to comprehend such an idea. Many misconstrued this idea to worshipping or idolizing animals or the Sun or Moon as Gods by the misguided heathens still believing in primitive and uncivilized behavior.
The meaning of honor in the dictionary is to have public esteem; good name; privilege; fame; glory; sense of moral standards; respect and salute, to name a few. Pretty much all of these are relating to man. In our modern society, honoring something that is not human or relating to God would be considered blaspheme. I remember not long ago I was camping with a friend and I suggested we give thanks to the fish we ate for giving of their lives to feed us. He exploded in outrage, “we should only give thanks to almighty God, not a fish.” I gave thanks to the fish anyway.
How many of us can say, “I honor Mother Earth.” Planet Earth is our home, the only home we have – a place that gives us what we need to survive as a species. A place with amazing diversity in the animal world and within the many diverse ecosystems on earth. A place with incredible beauty and magical wonder. When we are in the mountains, or in the forests, or in the country side or next to the ocean, in nature we feel a sense of connection with our surrounding environment. But honoring, I don’t think so!
We honor God, but we will not honor what we believe She has created for us. I believe, if we honor our God or Creator, we should also honor all life if we believe the Creator has created all life. We even honor our fellow man who may or may not be deserving of such an honor. I personally feel very honored that so many of my friends on Fb who are Native Americans or First Nations have accepted me into their family.
With all this honoring we do as humans and the belief that the Creator has created all life (assuming you do have this belief), we openly except the dishonoring, disrespect, the abuse, the trashing, the destruction, the raping and the poisoning we continue to do to our home that sustains and gives us life – all life. We have reached such a point of total denial with our relationship with all living things and with ourselves, we are willing to ignore the most emanate threat that faces mankind and all life on this planet today – and that is Global Warming and yet we seem not to care.
In honoring something, we usually feel a deep connection with that thing, usually a person or a deed taken by someone. We cannot comprehend in our disconnected reality to nature, the possibility of even the thought of honoring a thing like our planet or other life forms other than ourselves. Our mind-set of the human species being supreme beings and separate from nature is a delusional idea that has obviously not done well for the planet or other life we share our home with or with us. It indicates in our modern society, we place more of our value on things, material things man has created then we do to life itself, to nature and the health of our planet. We continue to consume and consume more stuff then we can possibly use with little concern for the negative impact it has on our planet. The natural world never seems to play into how we live in modern society except for the endlessly consuming of its natural resources, occasionally looking at it, sometimes appreciating it and of course using it to pleasure our superficial needs to be and feel in control over nature that in itself is an illusion we have created. We can manipulate nature, we can use nature for our own personal needs, we can kill life in nature or poison nature, but nature, Mother Earth will have the last laugh with our arrogant attitude that we can dominate nature.
With our disconnect to nature, to the natural world, we complain when the weather is not to our liking with no understanding or appreciation that weather is an important part of our planet, to all life. We have been brainwashed by the weather reports on the news into believing that the weather is evil and it is out to destroy us and our property. It is out of control with a vicious temper man has not yet been able to control. The exceptions are when the weather suits our needs and plays by our rules. We see nature at times as a threat to our very existence that can cause horrific devastation in our lives and to property by what we refer to as natural disasters which obviously does happen. What we don’t see is that this is what nature does and it is up to us to take the responsibility to limit the impact these things have on us by our understanding that these things will happen and take the necessary precautions to minimize the impact.
Indigenous cultures all around the world have warned us repeatedly what will come if we don’t honor and respect Mother Earth and everything she provides for us and to all life. The Native Americans and the First Nations have share with us their teachings and wisdom, and have reminded us to honor Mother Earth. Their teachings and cultures are based on honoring Mother Earth and to all life. Their story telling, their songs, their dances, their ceremonies, their language and traditions are all related to honoring Mother Earth, honoring all life, and honoring the Creator.
We have chosen to live in a synthetic world with an unnatural connection which conflicts with the natural world. We have completely abandoned the natural world we have been part of for tens of thousands of years and have become accustom to and have accepted eating foods that are unnatural and unhealthy and foods that are genetically modified and foods laced with toxic chemicals. We turn to synthetic medicines that cause more harm to us than natural medicines. We choose unnatural things over what nature can provide for us for free.
We have a simple choice, choose to respect, protect and honor Mother Earth, or Mother Earth will have no choice but to eliminate the human parasite. We have all the knowledge and information to do the right things, but we have to make the decisions and take the responsibilities in doing so. Our planet is sacred, all life is sacred, we are sacred.
I have included a comment a Native American friend made to one of my writings that I wanted to share.
“ Rick, hi and thanks for painting that collage. Nice. Real. Truthful. Worried. Americans are unconscious of nature on this continent because they have no starting point here and they carelessly left any “origin” somewhere between Europe and here. You are so very correct about earth’s condition that, because of rampant overpopulation and limited resources may never regain livable balance. Too many indigenous follow the crooked white man path which leads to earth’s demise. After this earth perishes where do we go? In our ancient history and legend we are pointed towards the full moon upon the horizon. The Elder asks, “What do you call that? We answer, “Moon, of course.” The Elder shakes his head, “No. That is First Earth.” He then tells us what happened to First Earth to cause it to turn into a dead planet when it had all of the life our current earth has. Two thoughts came. From where nobody knows. One thought looked upon First Earth and said, “This is mine. I’ll use it for myself. The other thought said, “No! You must save First Earth for generations of children coming. “There was big arguments. There was big war. The side wanting to use earth used up half of First Earth assaulting the side that wanted to save First Earth for children coming. The side wanting to save First Earth used up half of earth’s resources defending against assault. First Earth was all used up. One day First Earth caught on fire. There was not enough water to put fire out. First Earth burned into the moon.” The Elder then compared the “thoughts” and intents of humanity today with humanity then. In those days earth lacked love, appreciation and protection (like all mothers). The imbalance is apparent. Too many people are consuming earth and earth’s limited resources. Because of our habits, entire sections of the vast ocean die by poison and pesticide. Rivers burn like gasoline. Love and respect for earth simply does not exist. Earth is ragged and worn yet we continue to pour waste into the water and oil and jet fuel into the ocean. We have a choice, either cease our wrong habits and amend our lives accordingly, Love Mother Earth cease pollution and protect earth with our hearts or stand somewhere in the vast darkness watching two moons silently move across the night sky.
We are instructed to use DANZA and YE’JA to bring abundant love to Mother Earth, which is a story for tomorrow.” Babe
I am sorry to say, Babe is no longer with us. I felt honored in his sharing with me his thoughts as a Native American.
I just picked up a book I have had for a while on Mushrooms and the author writes about the bad rap mushrooms have gotten throughout time. A quote from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, by gone creator of Sherlock Holmes on his perception of nature and of the fungi:
…A sickly autumn shone upon the land. Wet and rotten leaves reeked and festered under the foul haze. The fields were spotted with monstrous fungi of a size and colour never matched before – scarlet and mauve and liver and black – it was as though the sick earth had burst into foul pustules. Mildew and lichen mottled the walls and with that filthy crop, death sprang also from the watersoaked earth.
Or that of the American poet Emily Dickinson:
Had nature any outcast face Could she a son condemn Had nature an Iscariot That mushroom – it is him.
Beauty is truly in the eyes of the beholder. In nature, many of us choose what deems beautiful or not. A mountain lake, cascading waterfalls, a tropical beach with palm trees swaying in the gentle breeze and the infinite expanse of the beautiful blue waters of the ocean. Or, a group of copper colored mushrooms on a rotting downed log, or as Doyle put it, “wet and rotten leaves reeked and festering under foul haze, or a grass hopper swaying back and forth on a single blade of grass.” For those who truly love nature, everything in nature is beautiful and worth the present moment in observation.
If we select and isolate from the all to what we only perceive as beautiful, we lose so much of what nature is. The wet and rotten leaves that reek and fester are the nutrients that gives trees and plants life. Looking into the looking glass of insects, opens up a whole new world of amazing creatures we can observe and learn from. Those slimy, biting, sucking creatures offers us many more pages in studying and knowing natures intricacies.
By looking deeply, and in silence at everything nature offers with awe and respect, our minds will gain a better understanding, love and respect for all living creation on our planet.
The next time you walk into the woods or in a nature setting, look beyond what you usually see and begin to look at what you have ignored in the past and walk gently on the ground beneath your feet.
Blogs In Nature 