I'm standing in our backyard, bathing in the early morning sunshine, with the sheer beauty of nature blossoming all around, and the grounding energy of Easter/Passover flowing through me. Once again, I'm experiencing the sensation I wrote about in the following poem while hiking through the Ozark Mountains many years ago:
The cold clear creek
mumbles an ancient song
as it tumbles headlong through the mountains
I try to sing along, but my tiny human voice is swept aside
by the strong breeze stirring through the trees
by the sheer size of this majestic forest, stretching far past the horizon
by the strident cries of a zealous blue jay
guarding his wooded domain
There is nothing to do but remain silent
in the face of such a display of royalty
kneel on the spongy, green woodland floor
and swear a personal oath of loyalty, spilling up and out of me:
"I pledge allegiance to Mother Earth
and to all Beings which walk, fly, swim or stand
One Strand, indivisible,
With love and compassion for All"
THE POWER OF PLACE
At the time, the feelings which this creek fostered and the solemn oath which it imprinted on my soul seemed unique to that particular "power spot" and its breathtaking vista. Since then, however, I've had similar experiences in a variety of locations: from the top of the Rockies to the bottom of the Grand Canyon; from the heart of the Yucatan jungle to the edge of the Bavarian Black Forest; floating on the Dead Sea, and wading in the river that flows through our neighborhood -- and right now, just standing in the back yard. Each is a sacred space in its own way, engendering a sense of awe and wonder. Each one forced me to release my tenuous grasp on the top rung of the "food chain" for a while, and remember that every creature is my relative, every spot is Holy Ground, and that our Oneness is not just a good idea, it is the very ground of our being.
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