Quest

I came to a place I have not been in a very long time for my vision quest, home. Time and life consumed me and I just did not go back for a long time. Once I arrived home I knew the spot I wanted immediately. It was all I was thinking about for the hour drive home. Home is surrounded by woods and when I was little my sister and I would play in this one particular area of the woods. I sat down right in the middle of one of the “rooms”. The woods had formed a perfect pathway through our play area and even seemed to separate “rooms” for us. We never had to cut anything limbs or make any adjustments; it was all naturally placed for our area. It was dense, but not so dense that you could become lost forever. The trees protected me from the wind and the sun with the exception of small rays that pushed through the ceiling of leaves and showed beautifully on the ground in random spots that looked like it was not at all random. Whenever a breeze came along I always heard it before I felt it. I heard rustling leaves in the distance, I saw dirt come up from the pathway outside my area like a mini tornado. As the breeze reached me, I was only given what I needed to stay comfortable. I was protected. I heard and saw birds soar away at a strong breeze and venture back again. Each bird was trying to find its home among my home. I heard the rustling of critters, but rarely saw any of them. Among all that was going on around me, I saw me, my sister and some friends playing when we were young. I never remember fighting with my sister here; this must have been the only place we did not fight. We lived as a village here. Each person responsible for a certain task and each task designated to the rooms nature had allowed us. One was the cook, one made weapons, one was in charge of collecting items of use and checking out surrounding land…etc. No one complained that I recall. We worked individually, but as one. We used only natural ingredients in our food, which no one actually ate for real. Mostly because it was comprised of leaves, sticks and whatever other plant material we could find. There was a nearby stream in which we got water from. The dogs were always running in and out of our village, but they never were a bother. Just part of everyday life; speaking of dogs, one of my mom’s dogs decided she needs to check on me. She comes running into my village, I pet her and she is gone again. That seems to have stayed the same. The air seems much cooler in here than it is outside. I’m sure it’s because limited sun is allowed to enter and limited breeze. The village was one of the times in my life when limited conflict existed. If an “outsider” decided to come in, which was always welcome, and create conflict the entire village had him promptly removed. Not here. This was a place of peace and harmony. This is a place of peace and harmony. I have never experienced what I felt in this village since the last time we were here. I have a sudden feeling of sadness. I sigh and take a good look around. My village has changed. Someone “cleaned” it up. The pathway is still here, but only some of the rooms still exist. I am sitting in a side room. I can’t remember exactly what this room was used for; I think I am on the side of weapons and protection. My village is much less dense now and the healthy coating of leaves and brush that padded each rooms floor is now gone. It looks barren. The only thing that is very familiar to me is the pathway right down the middle. There was only one real entrance and that was in the front, where I came in. If you knew how, you could enter through the back. I look to my right; the secret back entrance is no longer secret. I realize that I miss my village, I miss my sister, I miss my friends and I miss what we all had when we were the village. I am not sure what I should be taking away from this right now. Maybe I should visit home more, maybe I should call my sister. Perhaps I should work to make a village in my own life now; enough of all the conflict, emptiness and stress of being an “individual”. There was a time when I was an individual, but it meant something for me and everyone else. I was only a child then, but I knew the answer and somewhere along the way I lost it. I must find my village again.