O'siyo Oginalii. Tsilugi!
( Hello Friends. Welcome!)

~The Earth is our Mother, Care for her; honor all your relations.
Open your heart and soul the the Great Spirit.
All life is sacred; treat all beings with respect.
Take from the earth what is needed and nothing more.
Do what needs to be done for the good in others.
Give constant thanks to the Great Spirit for each new day.
Speak the truth, but only of the good in others.
Follow the rhythms of nature; rise and retire with the sun.
Enjoy life's journey, but leave no tracks.~

~The Native American Creed~

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Finding the Truth in What's Left of Nature




"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

The Web still exists to remind us if we take the time to notice.

These pictures were taken by me last summer in the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest in North Carolina.
It is a 3,000 acre virgin forest...one of the very few left in the U.S. Many of the trees here are well over 400 years old and tower over 100 feet high and over 20 feet in circumference.
It was a uncharted hunting ground for the Cherokee people and the energy this area produces is ancient and very sacred.
We ride a lot in good weather and just wander most of the time with no plans or intention of being anywhere.
That day we found this forest.
There is a long paved drive going into the heart of these trees, leading to the typical touristy picnic tables and camp sites. Riding in that day, having no clue where we were going, my breath was literally taken away. The feeling; ancient, wise, powerful but, truthfully, simply indescribable.

Take the time to look around you...remember that you *are* still a part of it all. There is beauty, wonder and power in everything. From a natural, untouched forest spring, a tree that's been allowed to grow taller than your eyes can see to even the tiniest little things, perhaps there only just to make you smile.

Get away from the picnic tables, camp sites and viewing decks.
Wander...after all, "Not all those who wander are lost."

Many Blessings to you,
~Cassandra


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