She Fades

 

 

 

She Fades

She treads the line every day
Bags under her arms
She balances weight
Using her charm
She keeps the bad luck away

Out in the rain with something to sell
Bags under her eyes
But she carries them well
She'll tell you the truth
While she lies to herself

I try to brighten her day
But she fades
I try to show her the way
But she fades
So I watch and I wait
And she fades

Faded skin under fading tattoo
Leads onto scar
Which leads onto bruise
A bed meant for one
Becomes a bed made for two

She's lost, don't know where I'll find her
She's lost, this is a reminder
She's lost, don't know where I'll find her at all

I try to brighten her day
But she fades
I try to show her the way
But she fades
So I watch and I wait
As she fades
What more can I do?

I try to brighten her day
But she fades
I try to show her the way
But she fades
So I watch and I wait
As she fades
What more can I do now?

I tried to show her the way
I tried to show her the way
Before it's too late
I'm trying to show her the way

I try to brighten her day
But she fades
I try to show her the way
But she fades
So I watch and I wait
As she fades
What more can I do now?

I try to brighten her day
But she fades
I try to show her the way
But she fades
So I watch and I wait
As she fades
What more?

She fades (don't know where I'll find her)
She fades (this is a reminder)
She fades (don't know where I'll find her at all)
She fades, she's fading away
She fades (don't know where I'll find her)
She fades (fades) (this is a reminder)
She fades (don't know where I'll find her at all)
She fades, she's fading away

-        Song by Daley

 

American National Native American Heritage Month - Standing Bear’s Plea

 

Can you spare a few minutes?

 

What is it going to take for other cultures to recognize the people’s who loved and lived on this land and made it the garden that others would envy and finally overtake?  When do we recognize and give truth and light to the history of a great peoples who were unjustly forced out into the outback, the deserts, the barren lands that almost extinguished The Peoples ?  What worse could be done to a culture?  Yet, we are forgetting, on purpose, because our history with The People ios so dark and we are numb to the trickle-down repercussions and evidences of a people nearly extinguished.  What does it take for others to give favor to those generations who still experience those very repercussions?  What does it take for us to treat The People with dignity, respect, and make sure they have a safe space where their women and girls do not turn up missing and/or murdered without justice prevailing?

If only you could all know and experience living with, getting to know The People around your area, intimately; spending quality lengths of time with, eating with, sitting around a fire with, giving service to, being true learners about, The People, having an honest heart and truthfully wanting to know The People;  then, there is hope that you can even begin to understand what a beautiful culture they have, what simplicity their souls are, how truly accepting, forgiving, teaching they can be. Their culture is rich, full of knowledge and beautiful traditions and ways of being spiritual beings down here on Mother Earth.  Competition Pow wows are not even a smidge of what their culture is about.  You need to take time to be with them, their families, and sit at their knees, partake of their ceremonies, to begin to know even a little of how beautiful their culture is.   To do so is to begin to understand, in a small way, how devastating, how wounded families are, how much damage has been wrought by Colonialism.  I hear many thinking, “Well, it wasn’t me!”  What you might not understand is that we perpetrate it all, generation after generation, by our misunderstandings.  “Ge over it!” is another one I hear.  It has taken how many hundreds of years, with the trickle-down effects, of our elitest mentality, and our own conditioning as Colonial heirs, and it will take many lifetimes and much love and compassion, and understanding for us to change our views so that some healing can take place. 

There have been centuries of oppression, yet, here they are; strong, brave, proud and resilient.  They continue to be stewards of Mother Earth as was asked by Creator.  (Take care of Mother Earth and take care of each other, were the two requests of Creator when he created man.) 

They have brought contributions to the arts, the humanities, to public services, that we may have been overlooking.  They have so very much to offer and will offer, have offered, and yet, her we are; still misunderstanding, still knowing so little of their culture, still not seeking the WHY of things, still believing the stories we have been told, still refusing to take the time to know our neighbors, still not loving one another. 

“Standing Bear rose, extending his hand toward the judge’s bench:

"That hand is not the color of yours, but if I pierce it, I shall feel pain. If you pierce your hand, you also feel pain. The blood that will flow from mine will be the same color as yours. I am a man. God made us both."”

Systemic racism, economic inequity, poverty, poor health, dispossession, over-incarceration, violence, loss of language, loss of culture, family disintegration, are but a few of the serious setbacks for The People.  We see the projections of all this, but we have not gone to really know our neighbors in their homes, in their communities, in the sacred ceremonies.  Until we do, we can never know The People and the greats gifts they have for us.

 

 

Taking Back More Than The Night

 

 

here is a way of living, that is appropriate for a Goddess.
Never degrading our self-value in any circumstances.
Always trying our best to behave with beauty and grace.
Never be afraid to express our inner Goddess!

And we should live this way for ourselves first, not for others.

= EIKO

Once upon a time, women had an important role, in fact, were head religious persons; high priestesses of sorts.  For the most part, societies were matrilineal, the cultures were mostly peaceful until warrior groups came into being.  Mother was Mother Earth, the highest Mother role.  Many icons and archeological digs have uncovered many icons of the Divine Mother in many cultures around the world. The problem came when Patriarchy stepped in with their male God and rules that subjugated women.   Today, we have old stories, some cultures, who maintain the divinity of women.  We have taken back the night.  We have taken back the streets.  We have taken back our Creation’s divinity of a goft no man can experience.  We are co-creators.  We have to remember our divinity.  We have to start at a deep down level of self-identification.  We have questioned our self-worth according to Patriarchy.  We need to search, to research, to absorb the original idea that we were choice beings, far different from the masculine.  We need to stop trying to be today’s societies’ idea of what is good, what is beautiful, what is right, what is choice that has nothing to do with man’s idea of what we should be.  Sometimes I wonder if we, ourselves, have not added to the degradation of womanhood. 

  We need the courage and strength to dig deep inside ourselves and stop the negative self-talk where we subjugate ourselves to Patriarchy.  We need to give orur hurt selves all the tender loving, compassionate, care we can.  We need to stop degrading ourselves with critical inner talk.  How much of who we are, what we do, is compound the Patriarchal view of women.  Every time we try to beautify ourselves, are we doing for ourselves, or does it lead back to being appropriate for men?  We can say we like having our new hairdo and it makes us feel good, but if you look at it, we feel good because why? 

Because we are goddesses, innately, it does not mean that we are not grounded in reality.  I am sure there have always been males to try to bring a woman down.  We are unique and we must be committed to living in grace and dignity.

I am not saying men are not divine.  They have their role to play.  Men and women were made different because women have needed protection, have needed providers as we carry and give birth to new nations.  They are our helpmates. 

E very goddess we have myths about has a light side and a dark side, as do we all.  We are not too good for anything.  We are resilient and strong, willing to perish to give birth to these new nations. We are creators in every area of our lives.  We have forgotten how much power we have access to.   We have hidden, forgotten, our true divine nature.:  Been conditioned to do so.  We have the sixth sense that is part of our giftedness. 

Somehow we need to break the bounds of our misappropriated giftedness and the wisdom we carry.  The Elders have always said that when the world comes to its greatest chaos and woundedness that it will be the women who heal the world.  Are we ready?  How can we get ready?

We need to learn to take our places as divine creatures, much beloved by Creator...so loved he gave us the gift of co-creation.  We have deep spiritual power.  So many have have stopped being spiritually conscious.  We are living gifted and unconscious of how we could be affecting the world.  All we do has been in servitude of our own ego that has been conscripted into Patriarchal beliefs.  How are we going to take back our divine status? Can we discuss this in the group?

©Carol Desjarlais 11.1.23