Layers of Memory
Table Talk
Setting the Table
As the seasons move through autumn and towards winter, the natural world around us is settling into a time of quiet rest and rejuvenation. Take time to observe this settling in all that is happening outside of you. Take the next moment to allow your own spirit to settle in and rest for a time, as well.
Go outside and look all around you. The surfaces that you see are the newest made memory in a rich, deep history of the land you stand on.
“To feel the intimacy of [brothers and sisters] is a marvelous thing in life. But to feel the affection that comes from those whom we do not know, from those unknown to us, who are watching over our sleep and solitude, over our dangers and weaknesses, that is something still greater and more beautiful because it widens out the boundaries of our being, and unites all living things.”
– Pablo Neruda, “Childhood and Poetry”
Hebrews 12:1a
“So then, with endurance, let’s also run the race that is laid out in front of us, since we have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us.”
Food for Thought
I’ve never been especially interested in Halloween, but as I’ve lived more and more years, All Saints’ Day has grown in significance for me.
We all carry the loss of loved ones with us, and the list of those who have died inevitably grows with the passage of time. All Saints’ Day is the Christian expression of something that other cultures know deeply – that we are surrounded by all sorts of spirits: living and dead, human and otherwise. Even beyond particular people, the elements of places, environments, and expressions in beloved pieces of art, music, and writing are all things that can give us life and energy and wisdom.
I have spent the past twelve summers as Director of Ring Lake Ranch, a retreat center tucked into the Wind River Mountains in west-central Wyoming. The Ranch is surrounded by thousands of acres of open land; the two dozen Ranch buildings confined to a few acres in all of that space feel like we have no more than a toe-hold on the land itself. And all around us, across those vast and breathtaking features, I can feel the spirits and memories of all that have come before.
The land is the traditional home of the Mountain Shoshone people, who lived freely in the area for millennia until pushed eastward onto the Wind River Reservation as Yellowstone National Park was founded. We still find shards of arrowheads that are signs of the people who lived on the land hundreds of years ago.
The Ranch property also has a significant number of petroglyphs associated with the Shoshone people. No one can say for certain what the petroglyphs “mean”, but they are thought to be expressions of the spirits within the rocks upon which they appear. I sometimes pause in their midst and try to see the land as it was when the petroglyphs first appeared: no roads, or vehicles, or permanent buildings. I imagine the passing of the sun and stars over the petroglyphs again and again – spanning years, decades, centuries in their quiet presence.
The Ranch landscape itself was formed by the movement of multiple glaciers, so there are rolling hills formed from glacial till, along with a series of long scraped lines in the rock outside of the Ranch Dining Hall. I look out the windows and see individual trees capping those hills. I borrow the experiences of the Mountain Shoshone and envision those trees and rocks as spirit beings that have gathered like an audience around our buildings, perhaps interested in our conversations and our explorations among them each summer.
I walk among those trees, past the petroglyphs, and on top of those rock scars every summer, and I think about the fifty-seven years that Ring Lake Ranch has been open. It’s barely even the thinnest slice of time compared to the history of the surrounding wilderness. Even so, generations of families have come on retreat for those fifty-seven summers, adding their own memories and history to the place, accreting them layer by layer like topsoil.
I have found it to be a rich and fortunate gift to come to know aspects of a particular place, like Ring Lake Ranch, in so many deep and meaningful ways. But, the gifts of history and memory and gratitude are not limited to my own experiences or any particular place; they are available to anyone who can give a bit of attention to the holy creation around them.
So, as we recently celebrated All Saints Day and now enter an entire season that can be given to reflection and preparation, I hope you will take the time to honor and remember the people who came before you who have given you the life you lead now. I also hope you’ll take the time to honor the creatures, trees, rocks, and other beings who also surround you and give you that life.
Learn about Ring Lake Ranch, its wonderful mission, and the petroglyphs that live on the property.
Consider what you would want to leave behind. In what way would you want your spirit to manifest in the world that comes after you?
For a printable version of today's reflection Click Here!
Blessing
May you move through your days mindful of the great gathering of beings who covered the land before you and who walk it with you now.
A little Table Talk for your table...
Do you know the history of the land you live on now? If so, share it with someone.
Who were you close to 20 years ago? Are you still in touch with them? If not, think of the stories you share together and honor the memories you created.
How have you been shaped and formed by people and places who have come before you?
Try taking it to the Kids Table...
Can you find out who lived 100 years ago in the place where you live now? One thousand years ago?
What is a favorite memory of yours from the past year?
Who are the important people in your life? What makes them important to you?
Meet Our Welcoming Voice!
Andy Blackmun is the Director of Ring Lake Ranch, an ecumenical summer retreat center located outside of Dubois, Wyoming that offers “renewal in sacred wilderness”. Prior to his work with Ring Lake Ranch, he worked in construction and land development with Habitat for Humanity affiliates in Atlanta and Denver. He attended Wake Forest University and Candler School of Theology at Emory University. In his spare time, he plays guitar, flyfishes, and marvels with his wife, Katherine Turpin, at the delights of having three young adult children.
To hear more from Andy throughout the week, follow along on our Instagram!
Here are Five Things to Remember When Setting Your Own Welcome Table!