On this Juneteenth… words from a very conscious tree & a deeply wise bird!

Dear hearts…

I grew up in a family where holidays were all about the way we’d always done it “We,” in this case, being mostly my mom’s family. The rules had a lot to do with food! And, frankly, today doesn’t feel much like a holiday.

The Legendary Husband is making his way home from a massive gathering of tech-y friends.

I have no recipes in my head for “what we eat” on this day. And, I’m profoundly aware that I am fortunate to have choices about food. Choices, indeed, about many things.

And, I have a bit of news… but, first, a story. From a tree!

I am Elu, which means beautiful in the language of the Cherokee people. I am a Bald Cypress tree, at home near the Chattahoochee River which runs south from this land and into the place called Florida. I am ancient, and powerful. I help filter water and am home to many species of birds and animals. My trunks and limbs and unusual knees are strong and beautiful wood. An air plant named Spanish Moss forms my hair.

I am a keeper of stories. Many of those stories are not happy. People have long been forced from their homes in my land, and there are those in power who would do this still. The orange clay ground is said to be colored with the blood of many battles.

There is an odd place nearby… a mountain which rises alone from what used to be farmland… the largest exposed mass of granite in the world. Long ago, it was called Lone Mountain. For the last two hundred years or so it has been known as Stone Mountain.

Once a home to Indigenous peoples, it became a gathering place for the white supremacy movement known as the Ku Klux Klan. The mountain, itself, was defaced with carvings memorializing the Confederacy over Civil Rights. The carvings remain, to the duress of many. WE DO NOT GO THERE!

Instead, we pray for a time when all people will be seen as beloved of the Great Mother. We make marks… marks of intention… many of them dots, like the countless dots which form my hair.

And we offer a haven to the Great Blue Heron and her future young. This is the heron’s message:

Look inside and nurture all aspects of yourself. Embrace your flaws, uniqueness, and feelings of shame with self-love. Once you love your whole self and find your inner peace, you’ll be able to bring peace to others, spreading healing throughout the world. 

Now, the news! Yesterday was run-off election day in Georgia. You know, primary stuff. Local and state stuff. And one of “my” candidates won.

Lorraine Cochran-Johnson will be the new CEO of DeKalb County. The second woman… and the first black woman, ever, to hold that position. She’s also a grandmother!

And, yes, you guessed it! Stone Mountain is in DeKalb County! Elu and I think things are looking up! We also think that there’s lots of work to do… and lots of it has to do with having choices! Let’s celebrate by listening, again, to the voice of the Great Blue Heron…

Once you love your whole self and find your inner peace, you’ll be able to bring peace to others, spreading healing throughout the world.

So be it. And so be we!

ps… Heron, here! My friend Matilda is still at Scan Camp. She says Barry is closed for Juneteenth, today. The campers are all busy making art and singing Kumbaya. Our favorite verse is the one that goes Someone’s praying, Lord. At our house, we pray for peace… and justice! (If you missed Matilda’s story, just click here!)

pps… Heron, again… I need a name, too! Any suggestions??? You can leave a comment, below, or email us! suesvoice@gmail.com