Today we celebrate the gift of indigenous people. I attended undergraduate school in Northern New Mexico where many Native Americans attended. I was often invited to the pow-wows and gatherings because I had many features of Native Americans. I recall standing in line at the registrar’s office and I kept being invited to join the Native American club. One person spoke to me in his native language, and I spoke to him back in Spanish. But then I realized it was another culture. I was being invited because of my skin color and facial features along with my longer hair. At first, I was frustrated because I did not understand who this person was. It was my first time meeting a Native American. I looked like him, but I was from another culture. I became curious and wanted to learn more about Native American culture. So, I went to visit Johnny and we eventually became friends.
Johnny shared with me a special ritual that I found very helpful. At the time, I was confused and missing home and trying to balance my life, work, and schedule during my time in college. Johnny invited me to go with him to a river and we walked and gathered a few rocks. He then invited me to pick up a rock we collected, name it by a feeling or concern I had, and toss the rock in the river. He told me to see the ripples of water as the rock went down to the bottom of the river, as a symbol of letting go of this feeling or concern. I watched the ripples slowly disappear as my feeling or concern disappeared with them. Johnny told me sometimes I might need to throw a big rock or a pebble or more than one rock to let the river flow with what I was dealing with inside.
Over the years, this practice has helped me to focus on the importance of life. Feelings come and go as they are part of our humanity. This aspect of Native American spiritually is deep and a gift to all of us when we take time to reflect. This week, I invite you to go to a bayou, river, pond, lake, ocean, or any body of water to focus on the important things in your life. St. Francis of Assisi, whose feast day we recently celebrated, encounters God’s presence in nature. We can do the same, as I learned from my friend Johnn