A few years ago, every summer morning I would wake up to someone methodically beating a drum while singing/chanting on the bank of the North Saskatchewan River, across from my house.  Someone was trying to access a deeper part of themselves that only a sunrise on a fresh day while scrunching their toes in the lush green grass could give.  The first time I ever heard about someone meditating to find a deeper sense of self and faith was in the Bible when Jesus withdrew into the wilderness seeking solitude for 40 days and nights (see Matthew chapter 4 for more details).  And there are a lot of instances in the Bible that encourage the reader to seek meditation for better understanding of themselves and to also re-evaluate where they were on their own life course.  Lately, I’ve seen several people who offer vision quests to people as a part of a workshop focussed on building a better, more confident sense of self.  I’ve used vision boards as I set goals for myself and aimed to achieve them.  Some people have made a lot of money teaching meditation techniques… I think of the program entitled The Secret, which some people swear to be the only tried and true method of attaining goals through vision quests.  I’m not sure I’m willing to give one hundred percent of my backing to this program.  But I do know creating and using a vision board I’ve created does help me focus and centre my attention on my goals so that I stand a better chance of moving my goals from a dream to a reality.  Here’s why I think Vision Boards work.

This week I’ve been going  through the Métis Studies  curriculum  I teach  adult  learners in their education program.  Each learner  strives to earn their Saskatchewan Grade 12 diploma by taking  departmental exams and meeting the educational components required in each curriculum.  I have a major in Native Studies  with my teaching degree.  My minors  are in English and Drama.  I then  fulfilled a bucket list wish by continuing my education and I earned my Master’s of Education through the University of Regina.  And now I’m contemplating a doctorate. While this possibility rolls around in my head,  I’m considering what my thesis  would focus on.

I’ve had a headache since last Sunday.  All of the over-the-counter pain solutions available to me haven’t been able to touch the pain behind my eyes, going down my neck and into my shoulders.  With four children under eleven years of age, taking a “me” day is not an option.  I figured this headache was a part of the sinus infection that has been plaguing me for the last ten days or so.  Rather than the running nose and fever the children had, I was ‘gifted’ with the infection and headache.  As I searched for a remedy to ease my discomfort, I referred to the “tried and true” methods I’ve been told about by people who swear by the use of alternative medicines as a way of finding relief and maintaining a healthy balance in their lives.

When I think back to the nomadic lifestyle of my ancestors I have to admit I don’t envy the way they moved every couple of months, following the four legged animals they harvested or picking berries, gathering vegetation, or collecting fish before trapping over the winter months.  On the other hand, since they were always on the move, diseases that now plague us in our more sedentary lives were not even given a moment’s thought.  Sure, there may have been diseases however the “plague” that is cancer, diabetes and heart disease didn’t seem to really exist.  Now, we are completely dependent on buying our food, processed and otherwise, in a grocery store and most of us are no longer “hunter and gatherers” as my ancestors were.  And while I admit to enjoying a grilled juicy steak every once in a while, I prefer locally sourced food over that which has been transported across country or even imported from another country.  For some foods, especially exotic fruits, I really have no choice if I want to enjoy pineapple, bananas, star fruit, jicama or avocados.  

Several years ago, after I discovered the feature Weeping Willow I’d bought my house for was actually dead, I made the decision to allow the tree to naturally decompose and feed my garden.  Little did I know almost twenty years later my neighbour, who needs to stand on a fence to look over into my yard, would have such a problem with the tree decomposing they would actually phone Bylaw to investigate – but that’s another story and I’m not sure how it’s going to end.  All I know is I grew up in a time when supporting and giving back to Mother Nature through natural decomposition was as normal as automatically taking my next breath.  As a gardener, I never thought about it, I just did it.  Now a days it’s quite normal for gardeners to have several compost piles in their back yard, taking care of weeds has nothing to do with grabbing a harsh chemical and there is great pride in controlling undesirable vermin through natural and ‘green’ choices that don’t hurt the environment.  Needless to say, as the weekly garbage collection is now collected twice a month, it has me thinking about the choices I make to have less of an impact on the way me and my family affect the earth.  I am trying to leave a small footprint so I don’t hurt the earth.  But, more importantly, I don’t want to hurt me or my family by making careless choices with harsh chemicals either.