Going To Water in the 21st Century

I recently went to water. I did that in a way far different than and some 2500 miles from where my ancestors went to water.

“Going to water” can mean different things to different people. For me, it’s a simple act of spiritual renewal. It’s about trying to make things “right” again, for both me and my forebears. Echoes of resistance. I don’t do it enough. I could use the healing in every sense of the word. The accompanying video presents a beautiful day at the Icicle River in Leavenworth, Washington. I bathed my face seven times, in honor of the preceding seven generations and the seven that will follow among my sisters’ lines.

My Cherokee Nation ancestors lived next to the Chattahoochee River in what is now Johns Creek, Georgia. You can see a portion of the river, shot from Rogers Pedestrian Bridge, courtesy of my cousin, Gordon Shirley, a direct descendant of our common ancestor, Susannah Sonicooie, a Blind Savannah/Wild Potato clan matriarch. Those Cherokee offspring of the Chattahoochee folk who remained in the east utilized the Tuckasegee River. It flows through Bryson City, North Carolina, most of what was once Big Bear’s reservation. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife photo of the Tuckasegee reminds me of the tranquility I feel when I am on that river.

It was the same peacefulness that I enjoyed last Monday on the Icicle River. We continue in some of the most difficult societal circumstances of my lifetime. Water. The Creator saw to it that water is life-sustaining. Go to water in whatever way makes sense to you. Restore your balance.

Harmony and balance to you,

Bryan