Lady hanging hair" is a kindly forest spirit of the Tlingit and Haida in southeastern Alaska; they see her in the long, hanging mossy branches of the great cedars of the rain forest. She is a beneficent Goddess who protects the people of the coastal forests. A nearby whirlpool, Kaegyihl Depgeesk (“upside down place”), was proving to be very treacherous to travelers, dragging down their ships. In a bid to stop the destruction, Gyhldeptis invited the other local powers to a great feast. In her Festival House, she negotiated with the spirits of the wind, the ice, and the forest fire, and they agreed to help Gyhldeptis. Between them, they shaped the coast, turning the whirlpool into a river that would no longer be a danger to the people.
We can learn a lot from the forest. A forest contains many different parts: trees, smaller plants, animals, insects, birds and even wind, ice and fire. But as a whole a forest functions as one organism. Gyhldeptis is here to remind us that we function in much the same way. We have many parts to our lives: personal, family, spiritual, work and more. When faced with a problem we must remember to use all the different parts of ourselves to find a solution.
No comments:
Post a Comment