Caretaking

Roaming around New Mexico, I’ve felt right at home. It’s rained every day! And not just sprinkles. I’m talking full-blown thunderstorms, including hail. When I tell people I left Portland to get out of the rain, they thank me for bringing relief from the drought. While I can’t take credit, I also can’t feel sorry for myself. Besides, there’s nothing like being warm and dry under the covers in the RV when the rain is beating down a few inches above my head!

Susanne is riding along for a week. Saturday night in Santa Fe we ran into two women—sisters escaping Tucson for the long weekend. When it was mentioned that I was traveling the country “looking for God”, the more animated of the two (“Cheryl with a ‘C’”) tilted her head quizzically and said, “That’s ridiculous!” Placing her hand on my chest, she added, “God is right here.”

Earlier in the day, we visited the Taos Pueblo—where we purchased a dream-catcher and Christmas ornament from a Red Willow craftswoman named Jeri. Maybe it was the ornament, or maybe Jeri’s question about where we were from and what we were doing, but somehow the subject of God arose.

“The way I was raised,” Jeri mused, “We don’t talk about God as a ‘person.’ God is Spirit. And we see God in everything—the sun, the moon, the stars, the trees, the plants, the animals, the water. So when we pray, we pray to the Spirit in all life. And we become caretakers of all things. We only use what we need. We respect the land, the animals, and especially the water. Water is our most precious resource.”

Jeri told of rinsing herself in the creek that runs through the Pueblo—to ease her sorrow after the deaths of her husband and son. “My grandma told me,” she concluded prophetically, “that some day men would fight over water…”

Of course my quest is ridiculous. Of course God is a Spirit that animates all. And of course we should take better care of our land, our water, and each other. It’s really that simple. But I wonder: When will those truths sink in? And when will we ever stop fighting?

For now, I’ll keep traveling…

(Santa Fe, NM)