Seed

Being that this blog* was written under the influence of a mojito (shot of rum, club soda, squirt of lime, twig of mint) which I made myself after coming home from the gas of the dentist's office, I was going to delete this blog. Yet, recognizing where it arrived from, a past experience, which truly has more to tell than this tale itself. It is about the tea ceremony, which I will elaborate more later, for now, I am at work so this will have to wait until I get home....

Now, one of my earlier conversations, while I was still attending the church, back in early 2005, if my memory serves me, I was searching for a place to get away from all which was going on in my life. I was in total confusion. Dan told me about the "tea ceremony". He said all I needed was a "little space". He suggested I pick up an object which comforted me, and clear just a little room to myself. The above photo of the "eagle", was the first object I picked up. It is a crystal paperweight someone had given me as a gift. I then went down to my living room, cleared a little space on my coffee table, placed the eagle next to a small running waterfall, with a candle on top of it, and lit the candle. The waterfall had pebbles around it. I sat focusing on that eagle, trying to clear my thoughts. Soon after, the waterfall itself, which made a "humming" noise was distracting me. It was the electronics itself, not the actual sound of the water. I turned it off. I began practicing this for a very long time.

Ok, I came back again to address this. "Proof" - don't know much about "proof", but I do know that Dan shared some wonderous stories with me. So, it seems to me, with "proof" aside, that stories need to be shared.

In one of our emails, I said to him, after him sharing so many amazing stories with me, "I wish I could tell stories like you." His response, "Your wish is granted. I never know when this is going to happen, but, (yea, that but, yet again-another story), you have the ability to be a storyteller." So, there you have it for now. It appears as if I will continue sharing these stories. The quote was not exact. It was said more beautifully than I was able to quote it. Which takes me to his Walter Calhoun story. James Mooney, (not sure of spelling), he was Walter Calhoun's uncle. James Mooney was allowed to visit with the Cherokee's. Tsalagi ? (something to that effect...the correct name for Cherokee). Anyway, Dan spent an afternoon with Mr. Calhoun. He spent a few hours with Mr. Calhoun as he was told a story about "the eagle". Dan told me that there is a song "Eagle's Song" in which the eagle will stop in flight just to listen to the sweet melody of this song. Moving on, Dan told me he asked Mr. Calhoun if it was ok for a white man to share this story, not being Cherokee. Mr. Calhoun replied, "you can do it". Yes, it is hard to repeat a story which has been told to one, in your own words. For it seems, we all hear things differently and to try to repeat in "our own words" ... sometimes the translation gets lost. Hopefully, the meaning, such as it is meant to be, will remain. Dan also told me that when he first heard Mr. Calhoun's story regarding the eagle, he thought it was just that, a story. Yet, when he sung that song in Washington, an eagle, actually stopped, in the midst of air, to listen. Did I do this story justice??? Don't feel like I truly did. Will return to try again later.

History and life. Making it a better place for the generations to come.