I was trying to introduce myself, yet all I could do was laugh as the tears came, giving a shout. A kind person shouted out, 'your name is Ben', as those 200 people shared my laugther. Still crying "my name is Ben Laurie, my family lives in British Columbia" I spoke to an ever changing group of people who gather each February to hear Anishnabe, Haudenashone, Cree, Blackfeet, elders speak. I voiced thanks and shared how the last 7 years my life has changed shape and how words hold richer meaning as I have walked different paths - gardening, hunting, tanning - shaping my focus towards living, not listening. That teachings and ceremonies are part of the larger work of being alive, and it is work.
I'm not sure what I did communicate through those happy tears. The people laughed and whooped and clapped as I came alive, feeling as if I burst through this skin in the best of ways, becoming new in new ways.
Thankful and tired, appropriately.
Sunday, February 20
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