Section 3 - The Journey Home

The Journey Home - Introduction

August 1 2014

Imagine yourself standing on top of a very high hill, above the tree line.  You are far from any source of light, or any sign of humanity.  It is the very darkest time of the night, and both the sun and moon have long sunk below the far distant but still visible western horizon.  The air is cool, but it is pleasant.  The fragrance of pine fills your nose, tinged with something wild that you cannot name.   Above you is an unbroken expanse filled with stars - an eternity of emptiness and power - a void filled with unimaginable greatness.  At your feet are the grains of soil that cover the solid mantle of the earth.  You are touching the soil, and the air, and you are an integral part of the universe.

Now sit back in your chair, your back straight and your body relaxed - balanced on the axis of your spine but not rigid.  Take several long, slow breaths in through your nose, and out through your mouth.  Feel your neck and shoulders begin to relax.  Now close your eyes and keep breathing until you can feel the night air on your skin, and hear the whisper of the wilderness that surrounds you. 

Now imagine yourself as one, tiny, quiet drop of water in a large, still pond.  You are not moving, and yet you are connected to all that surrounds you.  Gently, slowly, the sun rises and begins to warm you, charging the hidden strength within.  The air above you begins to flow, and inexorably you are awakened, and begin to stir with life, in perfect harmony with all that surrounds you, a wave of perfect energy that flows through you, and beyond you, until the sun goes down, the waves diminish, and you are left silent and still, waiting for the next cycle of life to begin.

The sun rises because it is the nature of the sun to rise.  Water flows, and dances with the wind, because that is how it must be, and always will be.  The way things are is the way they have always been.  Time is like the energy that flows through the waves in open water.  One can measure the height and length of the waves, and ships may pass, but after time has passed by, water is still water.  Nothing has changed.

I am just beginning to grasp the concept of non-linear time.  It is that concept that enables me to stand in front of a tree and feel connected with all the events that have occurred since seed became leaf and branch.  It is that concept that helps me to understand that if I am connected with the earth and the sky, I am a part of everything that has ever happened, and everything that ever will happen.  It is that concept that leads me to walk in the footsteps of another, and give comfort where there is pain; to offer understanding where there is confusion; to offer love where there is only hatred.  It is that concept that convinces me it is never too late to do the right thing for a person, or a people. 

I didn't know what I was seeking when I started my journey.  In that way, I suppose, my mind was open for whatever gifts or wisdom awaited me, without expectation for the form they would take.  Along the way I have listened to the wind, and touched the stars.  I have dreamed of both past and future, and I have tasted both the sweetness and bitter agony that life has to offer.  As I write these last few posts, I will try to share some of what I have learned.  My first lesson is that it matters.  It matters what happened 200 years ago.  It matters because the ripples of those events linger today in the hearts and minds of the descendants of those who were involved.  It matters how I react to those events, because whatever I do is felt by those around me, like birds in a flock or drops in the ocean.  I cannot act or even think without affecting those around me.  And the things I do and say will go on forever, echoing in the corners of our universe.

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(Key Terms: Ma-Ka-Tai-Me-She-Kia-Kiak, Black Sparrow Hawk, Black Hawk, 1767, Saukenuk, Pyesa, Rock Island, Black Hawk’s Watch Tower, Black Hawk State Historic Site, Hauberg Museum, Sauk, Sac, Meskwaki, Fox, Rock River, Sinnissippi River, Mississippi River, War of 1812, British Band, Great Britain, Treaty of 1804, Treaties, Ceded Land, William Henry Harrison, Quashquame, Keokuk, Fort Armstrong, Samuel Whiteside, Black Hawk War of 1832, Black Hawk Conflict, Scalp, Great Sauk Trail, Black Hawk Trail, Prophetstown, Wabokieshiek, White Cloud, The Winnebago Prophet, Ne-o-po-pe, Dixon’s Ferry, Isaiah Stillman, The Battle of Stillman’s Run, Old Man’s Creek, Sycamore Creek, Abraham Lincoln, Chief Shabbona, Felix St. Vrain, Lake Koshkonong, Fort Koshkonong, Fort Atkinson, Henry Atkinson, Andrew Jackson, Lewis Cass, Winfield Scott, Chief Black Wolf, Henry Dodge, James Henry, White Crow, Rock River Rapids, The Four Lakes, Battle of Wisconsin Heights, Benjamin Franklin Smith, Wisconsin River, Kickapoo River, Soldier’s Grove, Steamboat Warrior, Steamship Warrior, Fort Crawford, Battle of Bad Axe, Bad Axe Massacre, Joseph M. Street, Antoine LeClaire, Native American, Indian, Michigan Territory, Indiana Territory, Louisiana Territory, Osage, Souix, Potawatomi, Ojibwe, Ottawa, Ho-Chunk)