This message was given during our Decolonial Worship Hour Friday February 28th, 2025. We opened reflection time with this reading and closed with the song linked below.
Winter Count (by Lois Red Elk)
Now the days are dim, flakes drift down in place of light. A chill passes over my shoulders, sends me to find the knowledge of foxes asleep in quiet places where dried sweetgrass and sage lie hidden in dreams, keeping spirit alive throughout the long night.
My solitude is seen as a single stream of breath in morning air, the sole sign of my existence. Only the morning star has mercy, understands this need to reflect from a space so distant. Tonight I’ll drape my body with star quilts in honor of our endurance.
I watch that old fire journey lower across earth; listen to their whispers – secrets of retreat and renewal, their celestial bond. I assign myself to a pace of spirit and mind that surpasses the counted risings and settings, then put envy to sleep with my longing for flame.
As the ancient one settles, dress of swirling fog, breath of crystalized vapor and spreads his northern robe, my heart makes peace with resting, I’ll recall the nigh of foxes and stars, my eager reach for warmth, then watch for new grass rising through melting snow. This my winter count.
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During this Wintertime the sun is at its lowest point in the sky, traveling across the sky world above us in a short stride, resulting in the shorter days and the longer nights in the Northern Hemisphere. For Indigenous people across the world, the natural world is a source of teachings about natural and universal laws. In understanding the interconnectedness of all things, we recognize that the cosmos–the sun, moon, stars, and other planets– affect us and connect us in undeniable ways.
Living in a colonized world challenges us because the influence of this world has its foundations on creating a “new” reality based on commerce and convenience. In this world we need to “save” daylight and adjust what the creator of the universe envisioned for our lives. The impact on our “work” lives is most obvious. And the impact on our spiritual lives can be more subtle and more difficult to maintain. A Spiritual life is part of who we are. In our Native ways of knowing we are taught by our elders that we are all physical, mental, emotional and spiritual beings. These four attributes are not separate from each other but work together in brilliant and miraculous ways of wholeness or holiness as I often say.
A colonized perspective often suggests to us that the shifts and changes in the seasons, the plants, the air, and the light are things to have dominion over. But, when we see the world in the way that it was created we understand that there is a rhythm in place so powerful that when we are living into it, we are experiencing our most whole and holy selves.
Stillness – as this season began and continues the natural world has stilled. Where there was once the movement of air and creatures, a quieter, slow and calm space has been provided. It is a place of rest and reflection. Many of our Native relatives will talk about this as a time to engage in deep and meaningful conversations about things that are often challenging individual or corporate relationships. Many poems and songs have been written about the stillness and quiet of winter. The question for us might be about how we have stilled or become less active in this quiet and reflective time. Have we also used this time to sort out some of our challenges individually and together. It is not just the obvious physical stillness here that we are invited to settle into, we also know that this time warrants a stillness in our thinking and requires a pause in our responding giving us time to check in our emotions and making space for hearing/sensing/connecting with our spirit and the spirit of the author of this miracle of life.
Renewal—There can be no argument that rest renews us in every way. Physically we are much more ourselves when we have allowed the natural rhythms of activity to balance with rest. I often think of babies who need a nap – they are great communicators of this need. And once they have rested, the wake up with a renewed sense of balance, emotionally, physically, mentally and I would guess spiritually. Our questions for ourselves might be about recognizing our needs and the renewal that follows when they are met. Certainly, as a gardener, I can tell you that allowing and supporting the natural rest of the soil and the plants and weather around my garden has resulted in a renewal that cannot be denied.
Interconnectedness – or I would even use the term Interdependence here. The colonized world really emphasizes independence. In fact, it is celebrated as a sign of being “great.” But, in the natural world around us we are given example after example of how things work together. Whether we are talking about the plant, animal, insect, human or other worlds, they need each other and support each other because together they create and recreate and cocreate with that most awesome power known by so many names. The question for us might be to wonder where/how we are leaning towards independence rather than interdependence in our lives? Is our spiritual life strengthened when we meet in community (like this one) or do we think we could have the very same experience on our own?
Hope – There is no life without hope and hope is found most frequently when we are able to see the movement of the world around us. Trees lose their leaves but the hope of a renewed canopy of leaves comes after a period of rest and the tree being supported in this quiet time by the soil, the water, the insects and all that feeds and nourishes it until it is time to be active again. The question for us might be to wonder from where our hope comes? How deep is the well of hope in our lives and do we live so that it is fed regularly so that it does not run dry?
Preparation – Our lives do not have to be driven by rigidity in order to be prepared. In fact, we may have experienced that there is a toll on our emotional and spiritual lives when we are living too rigidly because there is not room for success to be experienced. I have made commitments to be mother and that has resulted in a commitment to be a grandmother. I was prepared for a role of nurturing by my community but we are not all given that same privilege. Some of us had to learn nurturing skills whether for parenthood or even friendship/companionship. The natural world gives us examples of preparation in many ways. Animals prepare for the winter by storing up food, their coats often become thicker. They are resting and renewing because in the spring they prepare for new life. The winter preparation is necessary and important for the hope of what is to come. Our question might be about how we are preparing for what is ahead? And is our preparation flexible enough, vulnerable enough to allow the natural rhythms to guide us?
Indigenous people across the world have celebrated the natural rhythms and even held ceremonies during celestial events. Teachings have been passed down by our elders so that the traditional knowledge would not be lost. There is a need for us to exercise resistance if we are to preserve the world as it was intended to be.
In what remains of this winter season, let’s commit to slowing down, resting, allowing ourselves to experience renewal. Let’s pay attention to how the world around us in guiding us and teaching us to live. Consult with elders and your own traditional teachings for guidance on the best ways to acknowledge this season and deepen your spiritual connection during this time. We know and our ancestors knew that in order to show up for our communities as good relatives and as energized agents of change, we have to be grounded and strong. Replenishing your spirit in a time of growing social unrest is also a revolutionary act.
We all have the power to create a world where we are better and more connected, and it all starts within – within self and within community – in carving out time and space to reflect, grow and always give back. Remember we must also show care and compassion to our relatives who are less fortunate, who are living in less than ideal situations, who are grieving or struggling with their most basic needs. Remember our Earth and our non-human relations. Remember those who are suffering injustice in different corners of the world. And remember that whatever you do or say, the seven generations that come after us will receive your words and actions.
Closing song: “Winter Count (Waniyetu Wowapi)” by Scott Simpson
Debbie Royals is Pascua Yaqui from Tucson, AZ, a sister, mother to two wonderful young men and grandmother to four. She is an Episcopal priest, author, retreat leader and educator. She serves as the Canon for Native American Ministry in the Diocese of Arizona and is developing a “new church community” called Four Winds serving Indigenous people. Debbie serves as the Coalition’s Chaplain. Her passion for restorative justice and binding community is evident in every aspect of her life.
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