My husband's mission this year was to purchase a camper and spend most of our summer as vagabonds. One day before we were about to leave on a trip to Vancouver Island he drove up with with a sweet house on wheels ! We immediately started nesting what would be, our cozy new home for the next 3 weeks.
Camper packed we headed out....
Due North.
As we escaped the city’s hustle and bustle, the Medicine Wheel teachings came to mind. North is the direction of the Elders, wisdom and teaching. It is place of the great mountain and sacred lake where the owl, and wolf reside. Ojibwe see the North as the place of rest and remembrance. A place where one reflects on how you were as a child and youth. A fitting direction to head as our plan was to spend time resting from our everyday life and gather with Elders: My parents, grandmother, and family friends. My husband even learned some valuable ‘teachings’ from my dad on how to operate an RV. After family visiting, we set out to camp on Quadra Island, where I spent summers as a child. This place holds so many wonderful memories for me : Beach exploration, driftwood raft building, hiking in the woods and swimming in the ocean. I fell deeply in love with Mother Earth here and it was a joy to share and re-create these experiences with my step-daughter.
When I have chances like these to commune with nature, I often feel inspired to create a circle, mandala, a Medicine Wheel with soil, plants, rocks, and sticks I find while sitting on the beach or in the woods. This practice is expressed through the Creation story of my ancestors the Iroquois or Haudensaunee.....
The Earth was created by Sky Woman, who came from another world to give birth to Mother Earth. Mother Earth was born on the back of a turtle. Dirt and plants were brought up from the ocean floor to give her life. Mother Earth then gave birth to the twins, the Day and the Night. It was a tumultuous birth and as a result her life was sacrificed. Sky Woman buried Mother Earth by taking the soil, plants and stones to cover her body in a circular mound.
While visiting with a friend’s young son on their Cortez Island homestead I was able to share with him this practice and the Medicine Wheel Teachings. On a dozy summer afternoon we all sat in the garden adding dandelions, sand and a crow feather to the earth mandala we created. He was delightfully fascinated by the process and how this was appreciating Mother Earth in an artful way; a way to thank her for all the gifts and bounty she gives us. I also explained that Mother Earth, in her own time, will take back these items and use them for other purposes.... The wind may blow away the sand, another bird could use the feather for her nest and the dandelion flower might be eaten by a chicken in the yard. I felt worried when his face looked crest-fallen, but he brightened when I reassured him that he could always make another Medicine Wheel anytime he wanted , as Mother Earth is graciously giving us her gifts daily.
Although he was contented that he would be able to make more Medicine Wheels in the future, his thoughts were: The one we had created that afternoon was especially beautiful, it would be best to take a picture so we can always keep it in our memory.