Sit Spot Day 84

It wasn't my intention to write today.  Naturally, I have about a billion things left to do before Kalib and I leave for Nashville, so inspiration hits and I have to put it off a little longer... go figure...

Today was my 84th day of getting up in the morning and going to sit in the woods and watch the birds and animals.  Jason says at this point, I'm a goof ball for keeping up with my days, but somehow keeping up with it seems to keep me motivated. 

As one might suspect, there are days that are amazing and there are days that are not so amazing.  Oddly enough rainy days are often my favorite and especially the day after a good rain shower.  Today, was one of those amazingly beautiful days in the woods.

When I sat down at 7:05 this morning (yes, I also keep up with the time I am there so I can track the birds as they come and go) the fog was heavy on the forest floor and the birds were giving up their morning songs to the sun. 

I sat there for an hour and half and the birds came and they went and they came and they went and three different squirrels passed right in front of me and many more ran behind me. 

I watched the sun peak from behind the trees as it pushed the clouds apart.  It lifted the fog as it began its journey across the sky today. 

The drops of rain splashed to the floor as the birds perched upon them and began singing their songs to one another. 

 It was a beautiful morning.

  



http://www.123rf.com/photo_2677048_sunrise-on-a-foggy-morning-in-the-grampians-forest.html

As I was heading down the path home, I had this thought...

"Mornings like this morning make going out worth everything it is.  There was no more than there always is.  Some days I become more than I normally am and it seeps in deeper.  I breathe."

I looked to the sun as it shown on my face and then down to the ground and at my feet was a tiny snail. 

http://www.naturephoto-cz.com/roman-snail:helix-pomatia-photo-1159.html



My first day at Grey Fox the kids found a snail and we named it "Snooky."  We made up a song about it, we checked into facts about it and shared them with one another the next week.  It was a happy day.  I was reminded of that day and the mystery of the snail and how little I knew about it.  How little I know about life.

I had the above thought return to my mind and I felt appreciation and gratitude and my heart felt full.

Life IS the miracle.

Be well.

Sarah

Tree of Peace

The initial idea for this quilt was to focus on forgiveness and with forgiveness - true forgiveness comes peace.  We are all doing the best we can at any moment and harboring resentment has lead to unhappiness over and over in my own life. 

This past weekend was the weekend of the coyote that I am doing where I am learning to be a mentor and community builder under the model of the 8 shields - a concept from the 8 shields institute.  Evan brought in an Odawa Elder, Paul Raphael, to come and speak to us about how community works on his reservation. My heart is still overflowing from the wisdom he shared with us about rebuilding the community to bring about peace. With this wisdom comes a lot of forgiveness and a letting go within ourselves of how attached we are to how people should act or how people shound have acted in the past.  In his community, they focus less on the me and more on the we.  I find myself returning over and over to that statement trying to see it becoming a reality in my own life.  Are my actions and thoughts good for the whole and not just myself?  This feels so contrary to our culture.

In his culture there is the Tree of Peace.  Oh... how I love the sound of that..  In his culture that tree is the cedar tree - not the red cedars that we have in Georgia, but the "real cedar tree" as he says.  (The red cedars we have in Georgia are actually in the juniper family.) 

I love the sound of Tree of Peace and how it rolls off my tongue.  I am making an apple tree and not a cedar tree, and I am still deciding to call this new quilt Tree of Peace.

I'm seeking forgiveness both for myself and my own actions as well as offering forgiveness to all those who in my mind have wronged me over my lifetime. I am re-writing my life story to see peace in all my nooks and crannys. I am letting my heart song shine so I can continue to be a strong voice in my community and truly serve my community in the best capacity I can.  I am seeking peace in my heart, peace in my life, peace in my community.

Thank you so much Paul for all that you shared with us this weekend (in spite of the wind and the smoke and the cold) and thank you Evan for bringing all this goodness to my home town and guiding us towards the true gift of peace.

Until next time,

Sarah