The Journey
I have traveled to the imaginal realms and back
I have seen the sky kissing the Earth with sheets of rain
I have walked beneath a thin crescent moon and offered tobacco to the land in heartfelt gratitude for miracles
I have poured out my tears to receive messages from my ancestors who passed long ago.
I have spoken with mountains and forests
I have infused a stone with my joy
I have learned of my origins from a sparkling dream
I have been carried along on ice-cold river currents into the welcoming arms of a hot spring.
And now, I have returned home.
I hold my sweet daughter, almost four years old.
Tomorrow she will begin preschool.
But for now, she is my baby, asleep in my arms, her heart beating steadily against mine.
I remember when she was two years old, just learning to talk.
“Do you remember,” she would say,
“When I was your mommy and you were my baby?”
“Yes,” I would say, smiling softly, “Tell me more about that.”
She is deeply connected to birds.
She watches them when we’re outside
And tells me what the birds are doing, and why they land in certain trees.
“I think Lily used to be a bird,” I said earlier this evening.
“Yes! I did!” she exclaimed. “And I am still a bird now.”
She held a Birds of the Mid-Atlantic field guide in her hands.
“Tell me,” I asked her, “What kind of bird are you now?”
She flipped through the book.
She stopped on the page with a light-gray dove.
“I am this bird,” she said.
Once, when she was less than 6 months old, I was holding her while she slept.
I fell asleep too,
And my dream merged with hers.
She was dreaming of the purest bliss.
I have never felt such peace and brightness and love.
I awoke with a start,
And wanted to go back into that precious dream.
I looked at her little face and knew then
Why babies smile while they sleep.
All of these are the miracles that I know.
Our world is so alive.
Every element is talking to us
At every moment.
When we can each fully embody this truth,
We will never feel alone again.
We will not need power, or money …
We will not need to doubt or question the true self-expression longing to flow through us.
We will live in profound connection
To all that is.
This is what the ancient people knew.
This is our birthright
As children of the Earth and Cosmos.
Long ago, our Mother (the Earth) and Father (the Sky)
Made love like rain kissing the mountains,
And life sprung forth,
Joyous and blissful,
Ever-changing, ever-evolving,
Each element and every living being perfectly designed to bring its special gifts.
This is, even today, our natural & innate state of being.
We can feel this way again.
We can remember.
We need only
To hold a young child while they are sleeping
To jump into icy cold river currents
To speak with a mountain or a stone
To sleep beneath the vastness of the Milky Way
To stand awestruck in the mounting winds while a thunderstorm rolls in
To give unconditional love to a friend.
It is not far away,
This new (ancient) way of living.
It is right in front of you.
You can reach out and touch it. It is available to you, always …
Have faith, have trust, and seek it … Find it …
Make a point to spend more time each day connecting with it ...
And live the rest of your life in the way you have always dreamed.
By Jocelyn Star Feather
P.S. I love this image of the rain caressing the mountains:
