Tuesday, December 02, 2008

"On The Summit I Say Their Names..."




Having never shared this before, I pondered if I should... but it is my sense I am not the only one at all who practices this very private, very old tradition...
On the summit I say their names... I safely stand up among the clouds, face the sun or moon, often into the wind, close my eyes, and slowly say their names aloud...
I say the names of past fellows who have journeyed the path with me; the guides and wild place teachers who have shared their hard earned wisdom; the close family and friends who still walk the same trails today...
I say the names of those who are now gone from these particular elements; the ones who knew and accepted me for who I am with all my flaws and faults; especially the ones who have challenged me to become something more...
I say the names of those who made us laugh; each one who shared a tear with me; and those whose courage and resiliency I believe have been an example for us all...
On the summit I say their names... and practice an ages old quiet tradition of respect, of acknowledgement, of remembering, of bringing the past back to the present... An ages old tradition of becoming grateful...
And when we are each gone, when we are no longer among the wild places but have become a part of them instead, I hope to hear my name and yours carried out there among the winds when someone on a summit says them out loud.....
DSD


9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice!
And I really love that first picture, it's just beautiful.

Anonymous said...

Sometimes I take an unusual rock I find along the path I'm hiking, hold it in both hands while meditating on loved ones who are now gone, and then throw it back to the earth with thanks.

Unknown said...

Symbolism of respect and remebrance...
I like that practice while you are hiking...
I can't recall where that first image was from, although it is not my own.
DSD

Anonymous said...

This is a beautiful and very fitting tribute to all those important people who have passed through or are still with you..Beautiful...

Ruth said...

It is good to remember. We are usually to busy to do so. I do find that being outdoors is the best way to meditate and clear my mind of the present. Do you take the pictures in your posts? They are very poignant.

Anonymous said...

"Yet man dies not while the world, at once his mother and his monument remains. His name is forgotten indeed, but the breath he breathed yet stirs the pine-tops on the mountains, the sound of the words he spoke yet echoes on through space; the thoughts his brain gave birth to we have inherited today; his passions are our cause of life; the joys and sorrows that he felt are our familiar friends- the end from which he fled aghast will surely overtake us also.

Truly the universe is filled with ghosts: not sheeted, churchyard spectres, but the inextinguishable and immortal element of life, which having once been, can never die, though they blend and change and change again forever."- King Solomon's Mines

Unknown said...

Many of these images are not my own... I often wander digitally to also find just the right image that seems to blend with the musings...
DSD

Barbara said...

Just stumbled across this again after quite some time. It's been 23 weeks since my mom passed away, but in a way I feel like she's with me even more. Like she's there on my adventures. Sometimes I'll call out to her, believeing that she'll hear me. I've left some wonderful stones in spots that I'm sure she would have loved this summer ... Gibraltar Island, Clarke Island, Meares Island, Eiffel Peak, and this weekend at Upper Brazeau Canyon. Fond memories.

Unknown said...

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts Barbara. That is something I do for exactly the same reasons. It seems to make the memories more real and present... Your adventures this summer to wild places your mom would have also loved is a beautiful way to honour her memories too...