Today, with the help of Janet Tokerud, my good friend and an experienced blogger, I entered this world of the weblog. My intention is establish this and my sister site, WGC Netkeeper, to stay in touch with friends and colleagues, and hopefully discover some new ones along the way. For me Winter Solstice is the beginning of the new year. I am only a little late. Beginnings may be conceived intentionally but they are not always born on time.
Some years ago I conceived the name "Becoming Sage" when I was in the initial formative stages of becoming a Vision Quest guide. I spent a few days in the high desert of California that year and encountered more than a fair share of big-leaf sagebrush. It is a rather ubiquitous plant in those parts, yet because it is so common, it is frequently overlooked like so much background noise. That year I spent literally hours hunkered down on my haunches gazing at twisted branches and gray-green leaves. I learned more than I could have ever imagined about an ordinary bush. Enough so that after a few days sagebrush appeared to me as anything but ordinary. These bushes with roots plunged deep into the dry desert soil are each like us, individual beings living in a thriving community. A sage plant is like an oasis of shade, preserving water and filling gravel bottoms with lucious organic matter. As a family they spread out over the land creating a maze of paths that slow down even the most rushed of travelers.
And so on and so forth... TO BE CONTINUED
A gorgeous beginning! Thanks for sharing your beautiful writing and spirit, Scout.
Posted by: Janet Tokerud | December 23, 2004 at 11:16 PM