What I Have Gathered...

This trip has given me so much to take away from. Every experience has provided me with something new to understand. Coming out to New Mexico and Arizona was the greatest way to escape the craze and chaos of life on the East coast. The warmth and kindness that is shown by the people here is much more powerful than the people back home. To see and experience the lives of Andrew, Joyce, Ruth, Evelyn, and Polly truly shows me that focusing on the large things in life is the way to go. The Navajo people base their lives around kinship (K é), balance of the soul and connection between the human spirit and the Earth . I believe that the Navajo people, with their on living culture have a mental and physical tie with the Earth. The land of the reservation and the canyon speaks to you. You can feel it radiating the love back that has been given to it over the years. You don't get that in New Jersey even if you are in a beautiful preserve or park. There is such a powerful feeling that is perceived from the land and the animals and the people. Their spirit radiates and empowers. As I walked Mrs. Roessel's property on the reservation, a sense of calm washed over me. I felt my inner self become centered and pulled into one. That is one thing that the Navajo people focus on: balance. To know that an 80 year old woman accepted 13 high school students into her home, is one of the most humbling thoughts. The Navajo people are so willing to give back and that is something that we all need to observe and strive harder to do. To see Andrew walk the canyon and descend the mountain face was breath taking. As we followed behind, stumbling and weary, he carelessly flowed down the twisted and rocky paths. When he walked through the trees, he effortlessly found the most comfortable place to step in the sand. When he plodded through the water, his jeans never got a drop of water on them. These are just the beginning of examples of how the Navajo people have an incredible bond with their Mother Earth. The Mother Earth that they have worked so amazingly hard to acquire a relation with. This trip has been an eye opening experience and is something that I will never forget. ♥