I was speaking with a young man at an art gallery here in Sedona about the work of Texas artist and sculptor Bill Worrell. He paints, writes and sculpts, and the bronze deer shaman figures he creates really speak to me. Each shaman raises outstretched arms toward the sky and sends a unique message into the universe. The message is in the form of a prayer inscribed on the back of each figure, and special animals or objects sit atop the Shaman’s stick he holds in his hand. I love every one of them, but my favorites are those with ravens.
This conversation led to this young man telling me the story of a Native American tribe’s Creation legend, and the role of the Raven. A specific tribe was not named…so…like most story tellers…I am telling it here with my own thoughts and embellishments that I hope you will enjoy. Elle
Silence and darkness swallowed everything except the stars until the Creator opened a great shaft of light that glowed brightly in the dark universe. He created a man and a woman and told them to ride this radiant light down, down, down, until their feet touched the earth…earth…the place where the Creator hoped they would take root and grow.
Along with abundant food sources and shelter, he gave to them eyes to see the light in the world, ears to hear the music of the world, strong bodies to make their way in the world, languages to speak to one another, the ability to reason, and hearts that were meant to be shared.
He promised them a long life filled with love, joy, song, laughter, hard work, and satisfaction. He spoke to them of loss, sadness, and other less joyous feelings that would come to pass during their lifetime. These things, he said, would bring greater spiritual fulfillment, if met with understanding and compassion.
For all these beautiful gifts he asked for only one thing in return. He asked the man and woman and each one of their descendants to leave the earth…their home…a little better than they had found it…just a little better…in some way.
He told them that this life on earth would be all he promised, but the next life was where the great mysteries would be revealed to them, and where they would finally fulfill their greatest potential.
However, he foresaw that when the time came to pass over from this life into the next, that it might be difficult for some to leave all they had created, enjoyed, and shared with those they loved. He foresaw that some might choose to wander between this life and the next, still attached to things they once knew, and too afraid to move forward into the unknown. Never truly living in either world…forever lost in between the two.
The Creator pondered a solution to this dilemma and the suffering it could cause, and decided he needed to find a guide who would help to make the journey from this life to the next a bit easier for the spirits traveling that final, tricky path.
His mind searched for the perfect Spirit guide…someone who would be adept at escorting the departing spirits away from their earthly attachments. Perhaps by cleverly unraveling their personal puzzles, lightening their hearts, wooing them with shiny gifts, or joyfully tricking them if necessary, using whatever means at hand, and so eventually creating a willingness in their hearts to step into the unknown of the next life.
He sat down and became quiet and still, allowing his mind to search for the perfect guide, but his peace was disturbed again and again by a deep “brrronk” “brrronk” sound. His eyes flew open each time he heard the sound, and once or twice he caught a slight movement in the trees nearby, but he could not seem to find the origin of the sound, and so returned to his meditation. Eventually, the funny, guttural sounds and the game of hide and seek began to make him smile…and there was something familiar…he just couldn’t put his finger on it yet…but his curiosity was aroused.
Since he was distracted from his quest for the perfect spirit guide, he began to earnestly search for this trickster who was having so much fun playing hide and seek with him. He summoned all the sounds of the world he had created, and allowed them to flow through his consciousness, delighting in every moment of the glorious symphony he himself had written eons ago. Each sound was a gift of remembrance and wonder, and his great being was bursting with joy.
When at last he heard the “brrronk” “brrronk” sound he had been searching for, his eyes flew open and at once caught sight of a big black bird gawping back at him from a lofty perch atop a tree. When their eyes met he laughed and said to himself “So, it’s you, Raven! I should have known!”
In the next instant the Raven took wing and glided down to stand in front of his Creator. He held a bright red berry in his mouth and strutted back and forth in his funny, swaggering walk. He stopped strutting, turned, and gently dropped the berry at his Creator’s feet. He cocked his head to one side, looked up into laughing eyes, and waited.
The Raven is a lover of fun, a great trickster, a solver of puzzles, a collector of tiny gifts, a wooer of favors, and a willing messenger for Spirit. The game of hide and seek was over and so was the search for the perfect Spirit guide.
The Creator had found his perfect Spirit guide…or… had the perfect Spirit guide found him?
ElleSpeak 