Thursday, June 24, 2010

Solstice Celebration 2010


Richard and I were part of a Solstice celebration/silent peace walk organized by a few people from Awakening as One two days ago. Tuesday was not only Solstice (a time of renewal), but World Prayer and Peace Day, and Aboriginal Day - all highly meaningful for me.
It was my first time taking part in an organized Solstice event of any kind, but just before leaving the house I spotted the little plastic "worry stone" with a heart at its center that Richard gave to me two years ago, when life was particurlarly...challenging. I got a crazy idea into my head that I should take the stone with me and "charge" it with all the positive energy of the Solstice ceremony. I'm still not sure where this hippy-dippy, New Agey kind of impulse came from, but as you'll see I'm grateful it came.

The walk itself was simple. We congregated in Churchill Square, all wearing white shirts, then wrote our desires for the future on white balloons. In total silence we walked slowly in single file around the perimeter of the square, stopping to meditate at each side, facing an institution represented there (the media by CBC, learning by the library, government by City Hall, and the arts by the art gallery). This was followed by some lovely bowl music, drumming, dancing, and general joyous things. Throughout, I really did feel a sense of peace and purpose. I felt re-energized, and sensed I was helping to re-energize the others in their purposes as well.

At the very end of the ceremony, the man you'll see in the wheelchair in Richard's vid (below) explained that he is rolling across the country in his chair not only to raise money for MS, but for peace and to show others that we need to live each day fully while we have the chance. His name is Sonny Davis. He's on the first leg of his journey, having departed B.C. in the spring. He and his wife were selling calendars to raise funds, and I realized I hadn't brought a dime with me.

That's when I remembered the stone in my pocket. It's now on its way to the East Coast via wheelchair.

Here's some video Richard took of a few other participants, the walk, and the circle gathering at the end. You'll find a link to Sonny Davis's website on it. (I'm the chick with the braid, holding a "connection" balloon)
I'm not exactly sure what the "ant trap" thing at the end, which we filmed in Drumheller, means to Richard, but it made me think of the Tower of Babel. I've been reading Paul Auster's New York Trilogy (thanks to Z-Kid), which talks a lot about it. We usually think of the Tower of Babal as an example of mankind's hubris - trying to reach the heavens without the agency of God. But a more careful reading shows that the people of the world feared separation, and built the tower to avoid God's commandment to scatter across the earth. God was displeased because he knew that a united people could do anything they set out to accomplish, just as ants do. Now that the whole earth is populated, Auster's characters ask themselves, is it time to finally build that tower and reunite all the peoples of the earth, regain our collective strength and unity?
Metaphorically, I believe it is.



1 comment:

Barbara Bruederlin said...

Your solstice celebration sounds like it was a particularly meaningful event. How lovely that your stone is going on a cross country trip!

Off to watch the video and to look for the chick with the braid...