Song for a Wolf - Our Guardian Spirit

 

I've been here by myself, quietly studying and relearning Adobe Dreamweaver (software for building web sites). The version I have been using on my old G4 Apple computer for many years is so ancient, I decided it was time to "bite the bullet" and cough up the $$$ needed to buy new software, compatible with my new OS and machine. The first step was retrieving nearly 8,000 files from my hosting site and finding them a new local home on my iMac. Going through some of my old Spirit Art Paintings and files truly rekindled my enthusiasm for Native American spiritual beliefs. As often happens to me while on the computer, one thing led me to another.  Before long, I was searching the web for spiritual inspiration and guidance.

Among many others, I came across some great words of wisdom from Chief Dan George, "(July 24, 1899 – September 23, 1981). He was a chief of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, a Coast Salish band located on Burrard Inlet in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He was also an author, poet, and an Academy Award-nominated actor." I found this story here.

Song For A Wolf ~ Chief Dan George

"I wanted to give something of my past to my grandson. So I took him into the woods, to a quiet spot. Seated at my feet he listened as I told him of the powers that were given to each creature. He moved not a muscle as I explained how the woods had always provided us with food, homes, comfort, and religion.
He was awed when I related to him how the wolf became our guardian, and when I told him that I would sing the sacred wolf song over him, he was overjoyed.

In my song, I appealed to the wolf to come and preside over us while I would perform the wolf ceremony so that the bondage between my grandson and the wolf would be lifelong.
I sang.
 In my voice was the hope that clings to every heartbeat.
I sang.
 In my words were the powers I inherited from my forefathers.
I sang.
 In my cupped hands lay a spruce seed-- the link to creation.
I sang.
 In my eyes sparkled love. I sang.
And the song floated on the sun's rays from tree to tree.
When I had ended, it was if the whole world listened with us to hear the wolf's reply. We waited a long time but none came. Again I sang, humbly but as invitingly as I could, until my throat ached and my voice gave out.

All of a sudden I realized why no wolves had heard my sacred song. There were none left! My heart filled with tears. I could no longer give my grandson faith in the past, our past.
At last I could whisper to him: "It is finished!" "Can I go home now?" He asked, checking his watch to see if he would still be in time to catch his favorite program on TV. I watched him disappear and wept in silence. All is finished!"

 ~ Chief Dan George
Chief of the Salish Band in Burrard Inlet, B.C.

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 "Wolf is the embodiment of protection and wisdom and according to some native legends, the tribe's greatest teacher. Being the most intelligent and expressive of all the canines, it lives in a close-knit family group where every member knows their place. Because of this, wolf is often seen as kin to man in that our priorities of family and cooperation are similar. When a wolf howls, its ancient melodies can connect us to a primal power and spiritual energy, also known as original memory. Helping others to understand life better and to find their calling, wolf will bring you the strength to become the teacher as well as the student. As you establish a connection with your own inner leadership, wolf medicine can help cultivate healthy bonds with friends and family." ~ Sandy Sandy Spiritartist ~ Animal Spirits book

 

"If you talk to the animals they will talk with you and you will know each other. If you do not talk to them you will not know them, and what you do not know you will fear. What one fears one destroys." ~ Chief Dan George

Time Spent With Cats Is Never Wasted

 "Time spent with cats is never wasted."  ~ May Sarton

I'd like to thank everyone for their condolences on the unexpected passing of our fur baby, Tommy. My sister, Denise, brought me a CD of photos she took of Tom as a kitten. Wasn't he the cutest?

 

"Kittens can happen to anyone."  ~ Paul Gallico

 

"It is impossible to keep a straight face in the presence of one or more kittens."
  ~ Cynthia E. Varnado

 

  

"Kittens are angels with whiskers."  ~ Author Unknown

 

"I love cats because I love my home and after a while they become its visible soul."  

~ Jean Cocteau

"When I play with my cat, who knows if I am not a pastime to her more than she is to me?" ~Michel de Montaigne, Essays, 1580

 No heaven will ever heaven be

Unless my cats are there to welcome me.
~ Author Unknown

R. I. P. Tommy Two Step

Tommy The Terror

July 4, 2004 - February 13, 2012

 

We woke this morning to the shock of finding our 7 year old silver tabby, Tommy, dead on the living room floor. We got him as a kitten at an art show in the fall of 2004. We were told he was a feral and had been hand raised as the litter had been taken from the mother at a couple of days old.

Although he was a biter and not always the nicest cat, we are very shocked and saddened.  When he was a kitten, we called him Tommy Two Step, because he loved to knead you when you held him. As he got older, his named changed to Tommy the Terror because he got  destructive and would rip up papers. That's when I had to ban him from the studio, which fueled his bad temper even more.

Last night Tommy played with his favorite toy for the last time with Jerry. They played for a good fifteen minutes while I was in the shower.  When I got out, Jerry said Tom was really getting into it; jumping and playing just like he did when he was a kitten. He sat on Jerry's lap the rest of the night as we watched a movie, very content and happy.

We can only guess that he must have had some kind of congenital defect. He must have had a stroke or a heart attack in the early morning. He had not been showing any signs of illness and he was certainly feeling very perky last night.

 We buried him in the yard under a big pine with all out other deceased fur babies. 

Even though he was a bad boy, my heart is still aching.

It seems so quiet without him running around, getting into trouble and causing commotion around here.

Our Friends and Ancestors

"Take nothing but pictures.
Leave nothing but footprints.
Kill nothing but time."
~ Motto of the Baltimore Grotto, a caving society
 

"Every creature is better alive than dead, men and moose and pine trees, and he who understands it aright will rather preserve its life than destroy it."  ~ Henry David Thoreau

"Humankind has not woven the web of life.  We are but one thread within it.  Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.  All things are bound together.  All things connect."  ~ Chief Seattle, 1855

"I realized that Eastern thought had somewhat more compassion for all living things.  Man was a form of life that in another reincarnation might possibly be a horsefly or a bird of paradise or a deer.  So a man of such a faith, looking at animals, might be looking at old friends or ancestors.  In the East the wilderness has no evil connotation; it is thought of as an expression of the unity and harmony of the universe."  ~ William O. Douglas, Go East, Young Man, 1974

The Spirit Of Trees

I went out to take down my "Art Spirit Show" yesterday. It was another delightful spring-like day right here in the middle of winter. Although nature's palette is mostly somber now, graceful and enchanting tree skeletons dot the countryside everywhere. I believe there is true glory in every season and naked trees are one of winter's crowning jewels, if only we would take a few moments to really see them. 

"I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape - the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter.  Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn't show."  ~ Andrew Wyeth

Of winter's lifeless world each tree

Now seems a perfect part;

Yet each one holds summer's secret

Deep down within its heart.

~ Charles G. Stater