“The love of wilderness is more than a hunger for what is always beyond reach; it is also an expression of loyalty to the earth … the only home we shall ever know, the only paradise we ever need — if only we had the eyes to see.”
Tim Rains is a Ranger in Glacier National Park. He is also a talented writer and photographer who posts regularly on Glacier’s Facebook page. I love sharing his prose and the way he absorbs his personal experience of being in the wild places. You feel the love he shares with this wondrous environment… *if you’re not connected to the Glacier National Park page do it now, I know you’ll enjoy it!
There is certainly a timeless quality to this cedar forest. A boardwalk traverses the ancient woods and in peacefulness and quiet you walk. Beauty at every turn, at every angle, no matter where you look. In every season, sweetness. Long breaths. Shimmering sunshine splattered, trickling water, rushing big water, rocks of every color, rabbit, deer, bear… an full ecosystem breathing life in unison and thriving. In that abundance and balance there is solace.
In many native cultures the cedar symbolizes healing, cleansing, prosperity and protection and those qualities are deeply felt here.
“I care not what people say of me so long as I do right. I shall never be any man’s slave.”
-Pitamakan (Running Eagle)
Running Eagle was a Piegan Blackfoot woman warrior. The waterfall on this post was named in her honor as she holds a prestigious place in Blackfoot lore. Brave, smart, beautiful, kind, master horsewoman and bow and arrow shot, she was a leader, ahead of her time as a renaissance woman.
Given the name Brown Weasel Woman, by the time she was fifteen she was hunting buffalo with the men. While hunting, her Blackfeet were attached by the Flathead, and when her father went down, she went back for him, defended her position, took out a few of the attackers, and got her father home. She had become Running Eagle and a Warrior.
Not wanting to effect her warrior status she never married instead taking a widow into her home to take care of household duties. This freed her to continue the life she had chosen. According to the Blackfoot stories she led dozens of raids against rival tribes including the Crow and Flathead.
As her status as Warrior and leader expanded she was allowed to do a vision quest (only men did vision quests at this time).
The falls were named after her as she did her vision quest at the top of them. Energy around the falls is quite strong and magical.
“Wander here a whole summer, if you can. Thousands of God’s wild blessings will search you and soak you as if you were a sponge, and the big days will go uncounted.
If you are business-tangled, and so burdened with duty that only weeks can be got out of the heavy laden year, then go to the Flathead Reserve; for it easily and quickly reached by the Great Northern Railroad. Get off the track at Belton Station, and in a few minutes you will find yourself in the midst of what you are sure to say is the best care-killing scenery on the continent – beautiful lakes derived straight from glaciers, lofty mountains steeped in lovely nemophila-blue skies and clad with forests and glaciers, mossy ferny waterfalls in their hollows, nameless and numberless, and meadowy gardens abounding in the best of everything …. ” John Muir
Glacier National Park – just a few photos of the wonders there…
*Slideshow will load below. Hover in the black area below the photo to pause or go forward and back.
Is there anything more peaceful and powerful to the soul’s experience than the rhythm and power of surging, moving water? Torrents of water are falling from the sides of mountains everywhere now. Where the water narrows into smaller and smaller spaces the intensity builds to a crescendo of power and music.
Negatively charged ions are showering us when near this powerful movement of water. This is a good thing!!
From the article “Ions and Consciousness” in the magazine “Whole Self”:
Technically speaking: “Ions are charged particles in the air that are formed in nature when enough energy acts upon a molecule such as carbon dioxide, oxygen, water, or nitrogen to eject an electron from the molecule leaving a positively charged Ion. The displaced electron attaches itself to a nearby molecule, which then becomes a negatively charged Ion. It is the negative ion of oxygen that affects us the most.”
I also read from Comtech Research: “the normal ion count in fresh country air is 2,000 to 4,000 negative Ions per cubic centimeter (about the size of a sugar cube). At Yosemite Falls, you’ll experience over 100,000 negative Ions per cubic centimeter. On the other hand, the level is far below 100 per cubic centimeter on the Los Angeles freeways during rush hour.”
So, get out to the rushing, moving water! Feel the positive energy all ’round and Breathe!
“As many raindrops join to form a great river of water,
many souls join their highest intent to form
the river of evolved consciousness.”
– Jonathan Lockwood Huie
“The earth is the mother of all people, and all people should have equal rights upon it.”
-Chief Joseph
“Happy day to all those who mother- whether or not you have ever given birth. Some of the best mothering I have received has been from friends, some of whom do not have children. They have fed me, held me, listened to me (endlessly! ) & given me strength. I bow to all those who tend & befriend. And I bow to our shared Mother, the Earth- who supports & sustains us.”
“Breathing in I Feel Gratitude…
Breathing out I Give Thanks…
Breathing in I Feel Joyful…
Breathing out I Celebrate…
Breathing in I Know Compassion…
Breathing out I Am Compassion…
Breathing in I Feel Loved
Breathing out I Offer Love…
Breathing in I Am Still…
Breathing out I Am At Peace…
Breathing in I am Enough… “
-Aunty Nania, Molokai
Sweet breathing indeed!
*The photo at the top of this post is of Nanaistako, Chief Mountain, a most sacred place of the Blackfeet Nation. It radiates power and masculinity for miles and is quite beautiful in myriad ever changing light blessings and in every season. Love spending time with the Chief.
What a lovely way to start the new morning – Dan Fogelberg……..
(the photography in the video accompanying the song is just stunning, click below to hear the song and/or just look at the photos – it’s such an inspiring collection of images)
“To The Morning” (Lyrics, Dan Fogelberg)
Watching the sun…watching it come
Watching it come up over the rooftops
Cloudy and warm…maybe a storm
You can never quite tell from the morning
(Chorus)
And it’s going to be a day
There is really no way to say no to the morning
Yes it’s going to be a day
There is really nothing left to say but come on morning
Waiting for mail
Maybe a tale from an old friend or even a lover
Sometimes there’s none
But we have fun thinking of all who might have written
And maybe there are seasons
And maybe they change
And maybe to love is not so strange
The sounds of the day
Now they hurry away
Now they are gone until tomorrow
When day will break and you will wake
And you will rake your hands across your eyes and realize
That it’s going to be a day
There is really no way to say no to the morning
Yes it’s going to be a day
There is really nothing left to say but come on morning
And maybe there are seasons and maybe they change
And maybe to love is not so strange
water is life, water is life, water is life,
this is a place for the wild,
looking up, and out, and down,
“Breathing in I Feel Gratitude…
