Meandering Thoughts

Meandering Thoughts
Summer

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

My Tipi Lodge


I have the most beautiful tipi lodge sitting in my horse pasture. This is the 4Th summer it has been sitting in the the far corner of this field. People ask, "why here, in this spot, so far from the house?". The answer comes quickly. A week before the tipi came to me, I saw an immature Bald Eagle rise from the ground in that corner of the pasture. I was overwhelmed by the majestic size of the young eagle's wing span, it took my breath away. And so it was revealed to me at that moment, the tipi lodge would sit near that spot.

I remember how stunning the new lodge looked, so white against the green grass of the horse pasture. I couldn't take enough pictures, some at sunrise, some at sunset, outside and inside.....
We held drumming events at campfires near the lodge. Many people have come and shared this sacred space with me. I often have friends come and sleep the night with me in this beautiful tipi.

Knowing all of these things you must also know I have LEARNED many things. Many things involve putting the tipi lodge up and keeping it up during hurricane winds. Mostly I have learned what a sacred space this is, has been and always will be to the indigenous people that came before me. I honor that every time the lodge goes up, the history of it all overwhelms me.

This week I had a new lesson reveled to me. It was very unexpected and I realized the injustice that was done to my tipi lodge. Before I share that I will tell you how the lesson revealed it's self.

My dear friends were visiting from Missouri, they came to spend the weekend and to experience the Sunwatch Native American Flute Gathering in Dayton. This year we planned to spend one night in the tipi lodge. When we came home from the event, it was quite late and dark outside. Everyone was tired, but still wanted to be at the tipi. If a campfire is started outside the tipi, it gets very late by the time the fire dies down and we finally go inside to sleep. So it was decided to have the first fire inside my lodge. Even after many people told me I need to have a fire inside, I never understood until this night. As five of us gathered inside the lodge, a small fire was started......... then it happened, the flame gave the tipi the heart it needed to be alive. I never knew it needed and craved that fire to be complete, with a glowing heart. I will never sleep under my lodge poles again without a small fire!

It was so wonderful that the next night we went to the tipi lodge again. This time two more people joined the five of us from the night before. The fire was again started, stirring flute music sent prayers to the creator for people in need of healing, physically and spiritually. Only three slept under the lodge poles that night and the heart of my lodge glowed throughout the night.

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