According to the Canadian Encyclopedia "Inukshuk (singular), meaning "likeness of a person" in Inuktitut (the Inuit language) is a stone figure made by the Inuit. The plural is inuksuit. The Inuit make inuksuit in different forms and for different purposes: to show directions to travellers, to warn of impending danger, to mark a place of respect, or to act as helpers in the hunting of caribou. Similar stone figures were made all over the world in ancient times, but the Arctic is one of the few places where they still stand. An inukshuk can be small or large, a single rock, several rocks balanced on each other, round boulders or flat. Inuit tradition forbids the destruction of inuksuit. "
I went through a period in my life where I felt I needed an Inukshuk to show me the way. I struggled to find my feet & longed for something to point me in the right direction. Somehow, I found it on my own. After a long hike in the backwoods in southern BC, I sat on the edge of a rock cliff, facing a beautiful green valley belon & found some peace. I didn't need to find myself with someone else's direction, all I was & wanted to be was inside me the whole time & the most soul satisfying place I could find was in the great outdoors!
So right then & there, on that rock ledge, I built myself a mini Inukshuk out of the rocks within reach. It was a reminder. A reminder for myself that I had found a good place, in nature & in my soul. A reminder to others that if they come this way, the path was a good one to follow.
When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, Then You knew my path.~ Psalm 142:3
A number of years ago, there was a very large display of inuksuit at Ontario Place, a popular Toronto venue(www.ontarioplace.com). It was a very interesting display.
ReplyDeleteYou appear to me to be a very deep individual. Sometimes we all need our quiet time in our secluded spot to clear our minds. Mine is at the tip of Turkey Point on Lake Erie. I have spent many a time walking the shorline to clear my mind.
It seems the Inukshuk is the official symbol for the 2010 Olympics (just came back from a whirlwind trip to the coast & saw the symbol every where) Kind of a cool symbolic part of Canada's history!
ReplyDeleteYes, I often need my 'quiet moments' in the great outdoors. Gives me a chance to regroup, refocus & just breathe!
Becky - your writing blows me away. You really come to life in your journalling, the deep pool of your spirituality rises and shines in your writing. Honestly, I thought the inuksuit was rather primitive and childlike - not at all appropriate for our Olympics, however you have given me a new appreciation for it. Thank you my friend!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I wasn't thrilled that it was the choice for Vancouver 2010 as I thought BC had many other great symbols (a killer whale came to mind, the Spirit Bear or even a simple totem pole) but I do like the symbolism of the Inukshuk as a whole. A reminder perhaps that Canada is a great place to travel to, that Vancouver is a great place to visit. I don't know. It has grown on me a bit!
ReplyDeleteMany years before you were born I had a place of such relaxing and finding my centre, it was an old log on a jut above our waterfall, I spent many hours of contentment there,just me and God thinking of where our lives would go. I had forgotten the joy it gave me, this reminder will take me there again,maybe to find the next direction we need to go, thank you
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