Teachings

leahdorion.ca

Went over to the Kumik Lodge today.  It had been a long time and it was good to be there.  Just sitting here later, smelling like sage makes me happy.  I even asked for a stool for my short legs so I would not need to squirm quite so much.  The Elder shared his gratitude for the things he had and did not have.  That was a good reminder to remain thankful for those burdens/challenges that aren't in our lives.  He talked about the flags and the medicines.  He closed by bringing it back to the circle and the role we play at different times of our lives in the circle.  This has really come home to me lately as I have a number of friends who are transitioning from adult into older adult and struggling with what that role looks like and how to live when the return to the earth is coming closer.

I too feel a shift in my place in the circle, from a focus on the home and caring for small children towards a more outwards community focus.  I am thinking about what I need to do and how that might look for me.  This was the focus of my question to the Elder.  He told me that I know what I have to do and I just need to make the decision.  But that is the hard scary part.


I asked him about using hai hai (thank you) he said that you would use that in less formal speech outside of ceremony, but that in ceremony you should use nanaskomowin (gratitude).  I had been wondering about that one for a while.