Especially at this time of year ,when we are gathering together to talk with our neighbors beneath the brilliant tresses of maple trees, perhaps discussing the harvest, perhaps a season of plenty, native traditions appear like colorful threads in the tapestry of contemporary life.
Yes...this year in the valley near our home in Guaxule (the Cherokee name for Asheville, North Carolina) a black bear raised three cubs, the wild turkey family, male, female and seven chicks roamed undisturbed, rabbits scooted here and there while hawks kept an attentive eye. At least one coyote howled loud enough to wake visiting grandkids.
Life outdid itself right out our back door. ..but today it is more evident to many of us.
It's easy to get close to nature here; it's easy to let your imagination be IN nature just by looking out the window of a home I found for you, whether that be in the city, on a horse farm, or overlooking the roaring French Broad River.
I stood by the mighty French Broad River just this week..listening, watching...almost being able actually to see the greens changing to umber and red... quite an experience.
Did you know that Hernando De Soto's1540 chronicles reveal that this River is the source of the Mississippi? "In these mountains we found the source of the Great (Mississippi) River...the French Broad River...the head of the ‘Great River'...."
It's amazing to think that the River we all know, and some care for, is the source of the Mississippi. Equally amazing is another source in our bioregion.
As we journey through time and territory, that source reveals itself as the incredible energy of sense of place. It is so magnetic that few who visit, or are lucky enough to live here, are untouched. Despite rapid and potentially ill-considered urban development, magic happens here.
To keep the magic alive, many (including real estate professionals like me) seek the wisdom of those who first inhabited the lands we now call home.
I'll be talking more about this soon, so please check back...and in the meantime, tell me how the Fall Colors are in our neck of the woods...and if you ,too feel a sense of connection with Native traditions in contemporary life.
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