My Medicine Place in Jones Gap

Here, I listen to the rocks and the trees. Here, Raven calls my name into the spirit world, and I worship Creator in a Temple His hands have made. I have only to touch the rocks and the trees to hear His words of love spoken over me. The waters of the Saluda bathe my spirit in His goodness. The ancient ones come to me here and offer me visions of the past, the present and the future. They are all one. There is oneness. It is here where I have witnessed the tragedy of the Cherokee people and the richness of their lives before they were cut down by Lt. Colonel Archibald Montgomery and his men. I saw the time when their children played with complete abandon among the hollows that run along the river.

It is here where Little Deer said to take my place among my people where I belong, and to “see as we see.” It is in this place where I am learning of my role as both patriarch and healer. This is my Medicine Place, where my spirit grows and has been nurtured by the Great One, the Great Mystery of the universe, the Spirit that moves in all things. He is both gentle and wilder than a raging storm. He can not be tamed by human kind. He will not be manipulated behind closed doors. This is my religion, my life, and within, my purpose for living.

In my Medicine Place, I have learned to shed notions of separateness, dominion and superiority, preferring to call Earth my mother, and all of creation, my sisters and my brothers. Nearly nine years ago, as I looked upon the hills and mountains that surrounded my new home, Creator spoke two very clear words: "Paradigm Shift." Nothing has been the same since then. Now the journey begins to find my way back to the land of my people. They are of the Algonquin family of tribes and languages. They are the Metis' (Cree and Ojibwe). Perhaps, I'll never have to travel further than my Medicine Place, because I have come to feel so akin to the Cherokee, and they are here. This has yet to be revealed to me. I can hardly wait to see how Creator pulls this one off.