Going to Ground – The Thirst for Indigeny

Home, is a malleable word for those of us from western traditions. After thousands of years moving, conquering and settling new vistas, we as a culture are somewhat disconnected with the concept of place as identity, spirit, culture and history. For me personally, this has become very clear during my yearlong journey across our nation. 

Everywhere we travel we are asked, “Where are you from”, our answers vary greatly, sometimes the last residence, the state we grew up in and sometimes the place of our birth.  This experience has reinforced for me how powerful indigeny is in manifesting a sense of belonging, acceptance and meaning in life.

As we draw our adventure to a close there is a strong pull to return to the place of my birth. The idea of being able to put my hands in the dirt and understand that I come from this place is strong and engrained in my DNA.  Yet there remains the temptation to establish a new “home”; settle in a place and begin again the process of descending our metaphorical roots into the earth.

My spiritual journey began as a deep respect for a native culture that has lived on the same land for 2,000 years.

  Ultimately, my spirit thirsts for the experience of indigeny, a place where my ancestors speak in the wind, the streets are well worn paths of generations and I will one day be made a fraction of the very part of Gaia that I emerged from.

So will we return to New Mexico or Colorado, we still don’t know. What we do know is these places are woven into our very being, a part of us that we cannot turn away from.