“The people who walk in darkness have seen a great light, and on those living in a land of deep darkness, a light has dawned.” —Isaiah 9:2
photo by Kirsten Corrigan
At Prairiewoods, our other-than-human kin often stop us in our tracks. The leafless trees are moaning all around us, and the dried prairie grasses are whispering their ancient secrets. We strain to listen. Red-wing blackbirds and blue jays call out to us, cardinals and finches are keeping watch as we trundle through the crunchy under-growth. On the trails, we encounter graceful deer peering at us with such intensity it takes our breath away. There are gamboling turkeys plucking and stalking, plucking and stalking, and we marvel at their tenacity. We see the magnificent hawks swoop with purpose from the tree canopy and the omnipresent squirrels—our resident scatter-hoarders—who seem happy just to be alive! Our plant and animal kin are somehow reflecting back to us our own inherent vivacity and luminescence. The energy we share is a palpable glow of “hearts speaking to hearts” in that sacred moment of wordless encounter. In those moments of profound connection, we are all one, bound by the same primordial Breath that continues to create and sustain the universe.
What makes Prairiewoods so special is that its whole purpose is to provide a welcoming space for luminescent beings to come and connect, to nurture their relationships, to drop down deep within their souls and to reach out into the far reaches of creation. Prairiewoods helps us to remember who we are at the core of our being—sacred, full of life, one with all creation—nurturers of all our Earth-kin and lovers of beauty and peace. As we march toward the shortest day and the longest night of the year in December, we remember the deep wisdom of the prairie grasses that are dormant and wintering, waiting in their beds, longing for warmth and light and refreshing rains. We remember the deep wisdom of the woods whose stillness teaches lessons of patient trust and slow growth, communicating constantly among the mycelial networks alive in their root systems. We remember who we are in the midst of such splendor. We are beings of light, of luminescent energy that abounds in works of goodness and in words of blessing and gratitude. We are aglow with the love that is inter-connection. We are reminded of what the Ubuntu name as the foundation of all life and being: “I am because we are.” Without the web of life that dances us into being, we would lack that inner glow that makes the shivering darkness of winter recede whenever we are near the hearth of this beautiful terran home. Just like the fiery sunset itself, we celebrate the Light that is yet to come and we reside in the hope that sunrise will follow. We are people of Light.
—Laura A. Weber, Prairiewoods associate director & retreats coordinator
Posted Dec. 11, 2018