I Vow to Develop Compassion
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Story & Experience
Wounded place: Columbia River
On the morning of June 22 thirteen people gathered at Portuguese Point, a fishing place near the Hugh Keenleyside Dam, on the Columbia River upstream from Castlegar, B.C. We chose this place because it is the closest dam on the main stem of the Columbia River system, which has 274 dams in the Columbia River Basin today, 19 of which are in British Columbia. The area we live in is considered the Lower Columbia headwaters, and we are on the western side of the upper drainage. The dam has radically changed what is downstream and is so in need of love and connection. It has also changed what was there above the dam before it was flooded, and it is a tragic story for most of the settlers, forests, original people, and fish who were flooded out, erasing 10,000 years of growth in a few months.
Our first activity was for each of us to familiarize ourselves with the place by wandering and meandering, finding the objects who would like to be a part of an altar; the thing of beauty we intend to leave behind. The drum called us all back and we then formed a circle. Our intention was to smudge with sage, but the wind gusted and repeatedly blew out our matches. So, we used the wind to cleanse our minds and remind us to be in the moment. After calling in the directions, we sang , “I vow to develop compassion in order to protect the lives of people, animals and plants” (by Betsy Rose) long enough to feel our energy as one with the Earth beneath our feet and our surroundings. A meditative silence followed when people could look to the ridges and sky, watch the birds and clouds, and experience the reciprocity of the elements. We had a time of singing more songs and sharing our thoughts and feelings, creating a sense of community and commitment among us. After we opened the circle, we found a shady spot to share food and socialize. Most of us look forward to the next ceremony and have a strong sense that this practice can give us strength and optimism for the hard times we are moving through. That afternoon we had a beautiful rain with a thunderstorm that started many fires. It rained most of Sunday, so that by evening the smoke had been beaten to the ground and the evening sun shone in a clear blue sky!
Wounded place: Columbia River
On the morning of June 22 thirteen people gathered at Portuguese Point, a fishing place near the Hugh Keenleyside Dam, on the Columbia River upstream from Castlegar, B.C. We chose this place because it is the closest dam on the main stem of the Columbia River system, which has 274 dams in the Columbia River Basin today, 19 of which are in British Columbia. The area we live in is considered the Lower Columbia headwaters, and we are on the western side of the upper drainage. The dam has radically changed what is downstream and is so in need of love and connection. It has also changed what was there above the dam before it was flooded, and it is a tragic story for most of the settlers, forests, original people, and fish who were flooded out, erasing 10,000 years of growth in a few months.
Our first activity was for each of us to familiarize ourselves with the place by wandering and meandering, finding the objects who would like to be a part of an altar; the thing of beauty we intend to leave behind. The drum called us all back and we then formed a circle. Our intention was to smudge with sage, but the wind gusted and repeatedly blew out our matches. So, we used the wind to cleanse our minds and remind us to be in the moment. After calling in the directions, we sang , “I vow to develop compassion in order to protect the lives of people, animals and plants” (by Betsy Rose) long enough to feel our energy as one with the Earth beneath our feet and our surroundings. A meditative silence followed when people could look to the ridges and sky, watch the birds and clouds, and experience the reciprocity of the elements. We had a time of singing more songs and sharing our thoughts and feelings, creating a sense of community and commitment among us. After we opened the circle, we found a shady spot to share food and socialize. Most of us look forward to the next ceremony and have a strong sense that this practice can give us strength and optimism for the hard times we are moving through. That afternoon we had a beautiful rain with a thunderstorm that started many fires. It rained most of Sunday, so that by evening the smoke had been beaten to the ground and the evening sun shone in a clear blue sky!
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