Page 148 - Dark Matter:Women Witnessing Issue2

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.