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Listening to the Heavens

Paul Hampton Crockett

In those days there lived in peace and abundance a tribe whose very name is nowlong forgotten. They were a people of the far North, whose legend and tribalknowledge (ancient even then) reminded that they were both born ofandbelonged to both Earth and Sky. In this respect they viewed themselves not somuch essentiallydifferentfrom the other tribes and their peoples, as perhapsclearer in their memory.

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And howcouldthey forget their celestial heritage, and source, when at timesmajestic lights in every color of the rainbow shimmered directly above, inunearthly and elegant motion? Their ancient forefathers had chosen for their owna homeland quite obviously situated at the very threshold of the Heavens.

Nor, for that matter, could these people see any horizon, anywhere, as remotelyordinary or mundane. Was not each a point of meeting ofEarth andSky, atrysting place in which each might embrace and caress the other, and agrounding point for both?

Theyobserved the passion with which the ever-changing hues of the sky rushedalways to embrace and hold the solid forests, waters, and meadows the People

knew as their Earth Home,and how sweetly both lingered in their timelessdance. They observed the lights reluctance to return home until darkness had atlast again gathered thick within the forest branches, and shadow unbroken oncemore claimed the ground. Only when curtain of graceful Night had finally fallenwould the Heavens return home to itself.

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Yet even in the deepest darkness of the interval to follow, the People saw in the

bejeweled stars scattered in such profligate glory against black sky, and theeternal, elegant return of Mother Moon, in all of her serene and silvered phases,clear messages of comfort left for the heartbroken lovers, and a sure Promise thatthat they would once again soon be together.

In the eyes of these people most ancient, the tops of the ancient trees soaringhigh above and the stars of night were all part of one embracing fabric. Andperhaps because they were also ofthe Heavens, the stars overhead wereunderstood as closer, if anything, than the tree tops.

All they needed do to hold one (a practice apparently viewed as important, fromtime to time, for reasons no longer remembered) was kiss gently their fingers,close their eyes, and reach slightly upwards, without struggle or effort, to pluckone tenderly from its appointed place in the sky. In deepest joy and gratitude,they would then hold its beating heart in the cupped palm of grateful hand.

Stars could be held only for so long as ones eyes remained closed, and even thenjust for a while, allowing for a few good, deep breaths on either end of a prayer

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most sacred. It is difficult to say, exactly, because time simply did not matter tothem as it does to us. They lived out their days without need for ticking clock,numbers, or hands relentlessly in motion, and would almost certainly have foundsuch a notion surpassingly strange. The shadows falling all around them, and theever-changing quality of light, told them easily all they needed know.

So holding a star was easy, whereas reaching the tops of some of the trees wascertainlynot. Since we have no record today of the forest known and loved bythem as home, even in faded photographs, we will have to imagine how verymagnificent, soaring, and thick of limb were the oldest and largest oftheancients, as they were known.

Some had never been scaled, even in the vast tribal memory of the people. Andmany others were not easy! To reach their heights one had to climb andclimb,sometimes at terrifying risk. And even when a courageous climber hadtriumphed, prevailing at last sweaty, breathless and blood-smeared from theinevitable scratches, there remained always the queasy matter of safely returningto the Earth, far below!

One walked among them known by all as Heart-Mother. (Quite probably thathad not been her first name, although we cannot know with certainty. It isknown, however, that the People thought of names as both greatly important andnecessarily flexible. They saw little point in having aperson fit a name, instead ofthe other way around.

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It should also be noted, by the way, that she had come to be known by nearly allof the little ones, with greatest affection, as Grandmother. A goodly number ofthe younger women and men, who had apparently also once been little, also stillused the name.)

They children loved her especially, because she first loved them. Their elders,meanwhile, held Heart-Mother in a place of highest respect and esteem, for theyknew that the many seasons of her life had been marked by remarkable anddaunting challenge. They could not forget that her poor heart had been brokentime and again by the unkind action and word of those who certainly should haveknown better. And yet they marveled at the wholewoman she had become! Eachsaw in her, in a multitude of forms, a quiet and private promise of personalvictory.

How could one whose own most sacred dreams had for so long been treated sovery shabbily, often even cruelly, become so very fine, masterful, and persistent asteward of that most fragile and closely held by others? No one could know. Butthey wondered!

She was ingenious, this woman, and her heart was good. She could barely abideto witness suffering, wherever it might be found. She lost no opportunity to feedone hungry, or stand vigilant guard throughout the endless night of anothersburning fever. And, perhaps most of all, she simplylistened. And: it was wellknown that whatever might be shared with this one, would go no further. Thatalone made her something of a rarity within the tribe!

Yet for all of her talents, there was one truly singular gift that she alone had to

offer. It had always been so, and was truly a remarkable thing, especially bearingin mind that hers were a People born of both Earth and Sky: onlyshe could hearthe Music of the Heavens! From time to time she would simply stop where shestood to savor the shimmering celestial symphony of the Great Northern Lights,standing enraptured as the young ones gathered around her.

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Though the beloved elder could not have known it, many a hurting soul who

lacked words to speak of their pain, or means to otherwise reach out, simplyknew to gather close around her during these moments of silent rapture. Theylooked up into her face, eyes closed and glowing as from within, and then up tothe Great Lights above, and then back to her beautiful face. And for reasons thatsimply cannot be explained, sometimes it seemed as if the clouds would partinside, and that Peace, Glory, and Harmony indeed remained a promise always,even and especiallyhere and now.

And it is here exactly that we shall leave these people to their peace, and ancientquietude. She called Heart-Mother stands even now upright and absolutely still,

in silhouette against a sky of ever deepening blue. Though it cannot possibly beso, the shadowed figures of those who love and surround her seem as numberlessas the shining stars just overhead!

Many small brown hands clutch each of hers, warm and time-smoothed. Theyhold tight to her long buckskin dress and to one another, as if they might at anymoment find themselves afloat, giddily ascending. Meanwhile the childrensparents, and theirs in turn, pause to look on and simply smile, remembering.They have always cherished Heart Mother.

The truly remarkable thing about the timeless moment we are now privileged to

witness is the silence. Only very rarely is an earnest ssshh!needed from onechild to another, because they all know that she is listening to the Sky! Manygaze heavenward in utter awe, seeing as if for the first time. In the chill ofdeepening night they feel held and warmed by one another and by the sense ofserenity that seems to radiate from the gentle soul standing above them. For atime, they imagine that the doors of Heaven are also flung wide for them!

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And after many, many years have passed, when even the very youngest presenton the night spoken of above have come to love grandchildren of their own, somewill swear that as sure as they are, or have ever heard anything at all, that onjustsuch nights and in the presence of Heart-Mother,

they heard music, ever so faint.

And though they cannot explain, they know in their hearts that nothing has everbeen quite the same, since. Life is never lacking in challenges, and its blows cansometimes come hard, nearly unbearable in their impact. But they have learnedthat all of itis that much the sweeter, and easier, when one need not face its testsalone.

Here,says the Grandfather, smiling as he reaches out his hand to youngestgrandchild. Despite all efforts, the boy cannot hide that his eyes have been filledwith tears, and he cannot explain. Lets go listen,he whispers conspiratoriallyinto the boys ear before ever so gently kissing the top of his head. And together,hand in hand, they head out into the night.

In Celebration of our Beloved Janet Liedeker,Heart-Mother to Many.

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