The Message

At the beginning of my visit to Mesa Verde, I was not sure why the ancient ruins of the Pueblo Indians affected me the way it did. However, it became quite clear as my time there progressed. To be honest, I didn’t even know there was a ruin at that site until a friend mentioned it to me. I was really only expecting to see an interesting geological site. You know, a mesa and maybe a canyon.  Instead, I received a whole lot more that day than I ever could have imagined.

            Originally I thought maybe the ruins affected me the way they did because I’m always talking about being one with the earth. You know, waxing poetic about not just being on the earth but being a part of it. And that oneness is what I saw, it is what I felt, as I stood looking across the gorge at the

ancient ruins that appeared to rise up out of Mother Earth herself. The earth and the soil, the Mesa provided…life. It is what sustained them and it is what sustains us 1500 years later. 

            Although I saw several cars along my journey in and out of the mesa, I never actually came in contact with any people. Except, of course, the souls of the cliff dwellers which I could feel swirling around me in the distant hills. I cannot tell you how long I stood there. It felt as if time did not exist. But, It was in those precious, glorious moments I encountered what I instantly knew to be my spirit animal. Circling overhead in the canyon, a gigantic, black crow that I had been watching came swooping down out of the cold, icy air and landed in a snow-covered tree branch mere feet from where I stood. I was mesmerized. We looked into each other's eyes and I knew he knew me. He knew my thoughts, my heart, and my desire to feel connected to this place and this planet. I knew he was there…for me.

He came bearing a message. I could feel it. It was time for me to let go of the old. Time for me to step into my authentic self; my true self. The time for change was now, it was here. And then I knew. It flowed across my entire being like a wave from the ocean. The message was clear. It will be this journey that opens up the door to my desire to truly be an integral part of this earth that I love so well. It will be this journey that will define the rest of my life. I knew it then...as the crow knew me. 

          My spirit animal and his infinite wisdom eventually took flight. He circled once more overhead, cawed in my direction, and flew off into the great expanse beyond the ancient village. I watched silently as he became a small, seemingly insignificant black dot in the overcast sky. I took one last look at the village which rose up from the earth and as I turned to walk away, I knew that I would carry this experience in my heart forever.