The Eyes of Children

The first of an occasional series of reflective essays; this commentary is by Atowi Co-Director Melody Walker Mackin.

I went for a walk with my daughter today. I needed a break from the difficulty of human society and a chance to revisit reality. Nothing can be more relaxing and grounding than a walk among our non-human relations.

As a mother, hoping to raise her daughter in relationship with creation, I brought my two year old out to a little park. The park has some particularly beautiful trees and stone walls where she enjoys seeing the squirrels running along the tops and the spiders crawling out of sight among the stones.

I explained to my toddler about grandfather stones, the clouds in the sky, Mother Earth supporting us under our feet, the birds in their nests, busy spider weaving creation, and amidst my long-winded description of the world around us, I forgot to simply listen. Western influences have a nasty way of creeping into our everyday lives and how we parent. We see our children differently in our Indigenous community. They have many things to teach us and have only recently come from the other world where they spent time with Creator. In our councils, if someone would like to speak and make their voices heard, they are allowed to do so, no matter how small. If they have something to say, we listen. Much of our teachings require a great level of humility and a softer way of walking in the world.

She ran to another side of the park and she very tenderly ran her hands down the bark of a beautiful maple tree. She felt its roots going into the ground and picked up one of its leaves on the bed of grass. She looked up as if to take it all in and she gave it a big hug. It was the sort of hug that lasted for a little while with eyes closed and in the silence I saw the gratitude that I was hoping to teach her.

Instead, she showed me that she already felt it. She didn't need me to explain it. I walked back from our adventure with humility and pride in my wonderful daughter.

During our next walk, I will be ready to listen.

#allmyrelations