I am back from being On The Hill. wow.
It was of course an intense experience, being out under the sun & moon & stars for 4 days and 4 nights. I thought this time would be easy - I mean I have done it 3 times now! - but it was actually the hardest. Literally too, as I was encamped on a beautiful, beautiful spot which had secretly submerged rocks which I had not realized were there just under the dirt and grasses until I was trying to get comfortable some place in my circle. LOL. Suffice it to say I got to know rock energy pretty well by the time I was done.
It was however an idyllic spot - wildflowers, a creek, beautiful trees - every color of the rainbow, every symphonic sound of nature - water, bees, wind rustling the leaves, amazing numbers of birds singing, frogs chorusing, owls hooting, crickets chirping. I saw many creatures: ladybugs, bumblebees, colorful beetles and ants, grasshoppers, a million (or so it seemed) butterflies, hummingbirds, doves, jays (both scrub and stellar), hawks, vultures, eagles, woodpeckers, little brown jobs, blackbirds, a mud turtle, a small snake, heard a mouse rustling the grass, and a doe, with a couple of dogs thrown in for comedic relief. There were challenges, but so much Beauty overall. The full moon was exquisite, large and so bright and when the moon set there were many dazzling stars and one night the Milky Way was clearly visible. I saw shooting stars nightly was well.
I offered prayers per all the requests I received, and I offered hundreds of prayers for earth restoration, the world's waters, all the taxonomies of plants, animals, beings, places, peoples, languages and wisdom that I could think of. I offered many prayers for peace in general and in specific conflicts as well. I prayed for all my loved ones, my friends, my clients and many more besides. I prayed for a number of people who just recently departed, including Mark's favorite Aunt Bet, who died the day before I left. I prayed for our collective health, wealth, happiness and wisdom. It was a lot of prayers and pondering.
Many special things happened, but Vision Quest is by its nature a private event and I have already said a lot - so I will share one detail which seemed to be a message not only for me but for the community as whole: I was watching one particular swallowtail dance around its world tour of the flowers when it took a turn and lingered in front of a No Trespassing sign I could see obliquely from my spot. I burst into laughter at this sincere looking effort by the butterfly to apparently read this stern warning about breaking the rules. Then I burst into tears because I knew that I was the butterfly and that all those stern rules were just as absurd when applied to me as well. And I realized we are all the butterfly, trying to please heaven knows whose idea of rules that have no bearing on our condition as free beautiful creatures.
So I say to you: be the butterfly, and forget the rule book. It's not written in a language that speaks to you at all.
xoxoxoxo,
Tobey
