In Rhythm with Wolves

Earth Vision uses the discipline of spiritual ecology to observe the natural world and its parallel in the human soul. The process induces self-awakening, in that the deeper readers delve into the inward ecology of Earth Vision, the more they arrive at t

 

Northern Native people tell of a long ago event in the depth of winter, wherein a starving hunter is given the first pair of snowshoes by a mysterious man who turns out to be the Spirit of the wolf.  From that day, powers of transport and provision are enhanced for the people. 

 

Now, through mid-life gauntlet, as the story comes to mind, I sense the spirit of the wolf ranging by my side, lending fortitude, golden eyes contending with winter darkness, leathery paws forbearing icy traverse, and luxurious fur an ample robe against the cold.  Ranging the austerity of the season, no matter how fraught with tempest, nor dark winter falls, the wolf is in its element.

 

Many years past, floundering in the darkness of an insubstantial marriage, I experienced the loneliness that attends not being met by a mate.  And in the travail of my descent, I discovered in the central theme of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony an adagio movement consonant with my soul mood, as it modulated between deep melancholy and a sweet bridge to the love I longed for.

 

Within this orchestration I encountered a star shining in the black waste of an interior heaven.  And the soul, struggling to rise from the numbing snowdrift sweeping over it, cold, dark, silent, alone, reached out to its beacon of redemption.

 

The vision had a warm healing effect on my loneliness, and helped sustain me during a time in which my destiny called for lengthy passage across a romantic desert. 

 

 

Through the week, I'm teaching a Grade Two class in a Waldorf school.  In Waldorf Education, the stories are the heart of the lesson and, lucky me, I get to convey Native legends.  Evoking a mood with a hoop drum, Raven, the trickster, flies in primordial skies, bringing light to the world.  He also meets hard lessons due to his mischievous nature.  The children get to live through Raven’s consequences without needing to be transgressors in an overt manner.

 

From the story of The Wolf Who Brought Snowshoes, a snowshoe trail becomes a form drawing.  From Raven Steals the Sun, I bring an art lesson exploring light and dark interactions. 

 

Following solstice there arises a feeling of spaciousness, as Chronos lingers, holding the sweep of time’s passage in abeyance.  Now, sense perception of nature diminishes.  Light dims, colors fade to earthen shades.  Birds are absent or subdued.  Fewer aromas pervade the air, a faint whiff of frozen cedar, perhaps, or a metallic hint of snow.  And feeling, by cold, falls numb.

 

Snow-shoeing the meander of a valley bottom, grounding aspiration, inner sensate forces venture through a vivid landscape.  Beneath the auspices of Sirius, the Dog Star, Beethoven’s Ninth rises from the foundation of creation, and unlimited vigor counters the cold drifts and parades across the frozen field.  And under the star’s brilliant beams flashing now against the black night, the wolf ranges far and wide, traversing horizons of the undiscovered.

 

Provision is held in abeyance for animals and birds, sustenance sparse, but adequate, in this stretch of the calendar that lies far from summer dreaming.  Here, a part of the human experience peers off into the year ahead and envisions potential for a time of fulfillment.  And, though another part looks and lacks faith, exaltation can be won.  Life provides what is needed now.  And the last word is key.  Now is dependable.  And, in fact, now is ever a fulcrum of true power.

 

 

Author's Note

Excerpted from A Calendar of Nature and Soul, by Josef Graf
For more information, contact:
Josef Graf
Earth Vision
[email protected]
http://www.evsite.net

Reviews

[W1STER1A]

This writing is excellent. The diction is varied and advanced, the language creates detailed imagery, and the stories' style allows it to flow well.

[W1STER1A]

Is the legend mentioned at the beginning of the story an actual legend, or did you make it up?