Where the Ancestors Walked
After seeing Pueblo Bonito, I realized something unusual was happening to my brain. My mind was absent of thoughts.
Instead of the usual preoccupations, worries, and ruminations, I was simply being. I seemed to be in some kind of walking meditative state.
Pueblo Bonito is the centerpiece monument of Chaco Culture National Heritage Park, an awe-inspiring ancestral Pueblo people archeological site in Northwest New Mexico. The site dates back as far at 850 AD, and it’s believed to have been a center for ceremonial practices of the ancient ancestors of the Pueblo people.
Having no mobile service certainly amplified my mental clarity, however being in the presence of all that residual spiritual energy in one of the most breathtaking landscapes is what truly enchanted me.
Walking where the ancestors once walked always humbles me in the most profound way. The mixture of time travel and spiritual cleansing reminds me that my troubles are but a blip on the continuum of humanity.
Being in places first imprinted by the indigenous peoples of this country we now call the United States of America also reminds me to honor them. Walking where they walked is in remembrance of them, and it should be a sacred act.
Their energy remains, and so we must uphold it. We must cherish it and keep it alive. We must receive it and care for it.
On this day of remembrance, let us also think of those who lived long before there were borders and governments taking nations to war. Let us think of the ancients who honored the land, and whose ways of life built what we stand on today. Let us honor their spirits as their first fallen heroes of this land.
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This Post is republished on Medium.
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Photo credit: Unsplash