Finding Freedom

Centuries ago, before the understanding of time and space held in linear frame, there lived a people.  These people where different and separate from near by communities in that lived between the worlds of the grounding roots and of the heightening  branches.  They were a people with a power of choice, for they could choose weather to be seen by the upper or lower worlds.  They’re powers however did not make them particularly special for you see all peoples had gifts and they understood that, the diversity of people were what allowed for such balance, and they honored that.   These people were not known by their neighbors for they had dedicated their lives for the memory.  In order to keep the memory alive each one had to dedicate their life to their gifts and skill, for it was through the expression of their gifts that they connected and woke the sleeping people to the memory.

The memory was a delicate and fragile stone that had been kept for millennium under the care of these people in between.  This stone was said to hold the understanding of all wisdoms, from the smallest seed to the strongest oak all within the fields it surrounded.  The memory was a generous gift of the gods left on earth to maintain the balance and harmony needed for growth and evolution.  It was the responsibility and privilege of these people to see to the safety and protection of this stone.  The greatest accomplishment of these people was to make the stone shine with song, which was only achieved by their full expression.

These people, known amongst themselves as the meMor-I’s, lived in the branches and trunks of their teacher trees.  Two types of meMor-I’s existed, they had distinct roles and rarely were seen with the other.  Although much of them were rooted in place, some of these meMor-I’s were travelers, you see these teachers tress and memory holders were everywhere in ever continent living in every climate; some had to hold the space to grow and others had to explore to expand the possibilities and spread the messages of the memory.  

Much of the details of the  meMor-I’s is still a mystery, for they were a people that would not spill there tongue without need or even less be seen.  They where a people of the wind traveling as light and far as a seed and they were a people of the earth; their communication was done through rhythm. 

One meMor-I’s tale began as a young one born half to a nomad and have to a settler, this was almost unheard of, because to the meMor-I’s living together was of much importance and how can that be done if one settles while the other expands?  She was told a story of when she was still unborn.  Her mother, a settler, had a dream of an ancient Ivy, which came to her when the young meMor-I was still nesting in her womb.  In this visit the Ivy spoke of many things regarding the seed she carried inside her.  She was told that her child was going to be a future seeker and that she was going to have to leave young and wonder strange lands in order to find her complete self. She also made the young mother swear that although difficult she had to send the child at a young age to be able to begin her quest for the search of her expression.  The Ivy planted a small woven bag in a nook of the trunk that she inhabited.  At the same time and without a word the Ivy expanded so large that it woke the partially freighted mother.  Once the mother fully regained her consciousness she felt discomfort under her right hip, she reached underneath her to remove a small worn and faded pouch.  She then heard a message which instructed her to place the pouch around the neck of her soon born and never remove it.  This pouch and the items inside were to guide and remind her when she was to forget or lose sight of what was real.   They were also tools that would assist the young meMor-I in times of need and protect her in times of trouble.

These events were not uncommon among the meMor-I’s, however the mother still a youth herself and laying alone was unsure what to make of this event.  Nonetheless when her child sprouted she immediately did as she was told in fear that harm might become this small creature she loved.

The young mother did what she could to teach her seed the lessons that were needed to thrive in the world between, then as she was told to do she sent the young meMor-I before the costumed time to find her gifts and joys for the world.  She was instructed to expand her relations beyond the meMor-I’s and weave with the other inhibitors of the land.  

As she became older and these events where mere memories of her childhood, distant in detail she could not understand the reasons she was constantly unable to find a place that inspired her deep expression.  She lived for the next move envisioning its perfection only to arrive and envision her next relocation.  The pouch stayed on her at all times, however she never removed or revealed its contents to anybody.  It was only in solitude that she felt comfortable and confident enough to remove the objects and reveal their real beauty.

 She was told that it was time she found her gifts. She asked, however she never received any answers.  Like mentioned before, traveling was a large part of these peoples lives however the meMor-I’s rarely traveled lone.  They always moved and lived as a group. This young one, however, believed she was predestined to walk alone and in silence until she was able to fully express her truth.  And so she did, walk many moons in solitude.  She searched for her path and saw visions into the future of the possibilities that could be.  She searched always looking into the future in attempt to see clearly.  It seemed however that the harder she looked the more distant the images became.  This was always reason for her to keep moving forward.

As this young meMor-I was sent to wander much before the typical time she did not get socialized as a meMor-I.  She reached the age when meMor-Is join to advance and cultivate yet she was sure she had another fate.  Each time this young one left the home it knew to pursue what was still unknown to her, she would imagine the completions and balance that she had never known and always dreamt of.  She accepted that the search was her task and therefore never complained and asked few questions.  She continued to seek still not feeling complete.

Being born of half offered this young one the typical challenges and common confusions, however the gift that this brought the her was a yet unknown personal completion.  This young one through time learned the skills needed of both sides.  This completion was a still unknown value to the young one.  Loosing the direction and stability often given to the young ones this meMor-I was sent on a task to the discovery of self. She was aware of these agreements made between her mother and the Ivy and she continued her search. 

One day in early spring she was witnessing a group of young ones around her age.  So badly she wanted to be with them but she did not allow herself in fear of the pain of departure for she knew she would not be able to stay with them.  She sat, and watched, and wished.  She imagined herself in freedom trusting her truth and creating support for others to find their own.  As she sat daydreaming going higher and higher in the vision she physically lost her balance.  She waved her arms in pursuit of stability but found none.  With a loud thump she fell from the branch she was sitting on, the pouch still around her neck broke free and its contents spilled as she did on the ground below.  This loud disturbance surprised the ones she was witnessing.  Before she was able to re-gather herself she had drawn a crowd around her.  They looked at her with curiosity, she looked like they did yet something about her was odd and different.  She sat scared at first and experiencing a discomfort she had never known.  One of the youngest meMor-I’s noticed a tiny light bouncing around changing colors with each impact.  Once the rest focused their attention on the light she got even more awkward and began chasing the light to return it to the pouch it normally inhabited. 

Once she grabbed hold and began stuffing it back one of the meMor-I’s asked her, why if she had such a luminous light she would keep it in the dark.  She began to answer quickly and then just as quickly she stopped.  She realized that she could not answer him.  She sat in silence and in question.  Why have I been doing this to myself, she thought.  She then opened her palm where this small light was and threw it into the air.  Just then her new tribe whistled and half a dozen similar lights hovered surrounding them.  The curious one then added, “they are much more happy and effective if they are free.”  

She looked at him and started thinking for a long while.  “Of course”… she whispered.  She then reached back in her pouch for the rest of her belongings, spoke of her gratitude, and threw the rest of herself up in the air to find the freedom she had been searching for.

aManda Greene June 5, 2006

Symposium poem as Education outline