Page 148 - Dark Matter:Women Witnessing Issue2
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gray houses you shall starve.21 They say he went back to Mother Earth soon after he saw this vision,
and it was sorrow that killed him. You can look about you now and see that he meant these dirt-‐roofed
houses we are living in, and that all the rest was true. Sometimes dreams are wiser than waking.
Sadly, the animals are leaving the earth; more than fifty percent of the population has been devastated
by destructive human activities in the last forty years alone. The waters are poisoned, as the griffin
foretold on the mountain, as the leak at Fukushima guaranteed would happen. Looking around now,
we must bear witness to the harm humans have done to so many beings, and to one another. Drinks
Water was killed by the sorrow of his vision, and I sometimes wonder if I developed rheumatoid
arthritis in part because of the grief at what I witnessed of our broken human future. But I have not
given up hope, because of the many dreams and visions that are still coming, that have encouraged me
and others to learn to live in healthier and more balanced ways.
In the high desert of Joshua Tree a few months ago, I quested once more upon the land, this time only
briefly, as that is all my health allowed. I asked the griffin to come once more and offer guidance for
humans. I smoked the peace pipe I have used for many years as I prayed for help. And then he
appeared before me.
The griffin floats in the air, hovering over the huge golden boulders of Joshua Tree. “Clean up your
mess.” he says curtly. “Then learn to take care of the earth. That is what you are primarily here for, you
see.”
I was so grateful that the griffin had returned, and for his words. His response made me believe that
healing the earth and our own broken hearts and minds is still possible. But only if we open once more
to the spirits and the ancestors, to the Mystery itself, and return to their sane and thoughtful ways.
The plants have been on this planet more than 450 million years, the animals have lived here more
than 350 million years. Humans, in their current form as homo sapiens, have only dwelt here for 220
thousand years. Who should know more about what works here? The plants and animals are our
21 Neihardt, John G. Black Elk Speaks. Lincoln:University of Nebraska,1932. Print.