From a writing by Elena Bernabé, Indigenous Peoples Cultures, April 2020, as shared by yoga instructor Mary Clauss to yoga class April 22, Earth Day’s 50th Anniversary, 2020.
“My daughter, quarantine is a special, mysterious and sacred period. In my days, newborn children could only leave the house for the first time after their 40th day of life. It is a period of waiting and preparing for a new life. It is the period that produces a great change.”
And how do you prepare for this change?
“With simple, genuine and loving actions. Every morning comb your long hair with dedication and untie all the knots, even the most hidden ones that you have always neglected. It is time to put all the knots in the comb. Then dedicate yourself to untangling even your beloved ones skeins. With patience and you will try to find the end of the skein, the exact starting point of the thread. Already with these simple but powerful actions you will create order outside and inside of you. Undoing physical knots with your hands you will begin to touch your internal knots.”
And after undoing the knots, what can I do, grandma?
Remove all parts of you that are no longer fertile. In many funeral rites of ancient peoples it is believed that the deceased leaves the body entirely on the 40th day after his death. In these 40 days, my daughter, cut your hair, eliminate clothes that you have not worn for a long time or that you no longer want use, open the windows of your home well to let the stale air out, cultivate new thoughts by abandoning the old, dedicated to creating new habits, new customs, new traditions.”
Grandmother, I’m afraid that after this isolation nothing will change. Man quickly forgets…
“How others will react to this quarantine is none of your business. Make a commitment to change and not forget. Make sure this storm shakes you up so much that it completely revolutionizes your life.”
Namasté!
Hi Viviana! My friend is native american and lives on the Ft Peck Montana Reservation. She had posted it on her facebook page and said a friend passed it on to her. I looked up the author and could not find any other information on her. It is a lovely piece!
This is such a moving and poignant quote. I am curious about the author… Your write “From a writing by Elena Bernabé, Indigenous Peoples Cultures, April 2020, as shared by yoga instructor Mary Clauss to yoga class April 22, Earth Day’s 50th Anniversary, 2020” … I can’t find any info on Elena Bernabe… do know anything else about the source? thanks!
Thank you so much for the reply! We can find out and get back to you on that! Our yoga instructor Mary works with native Americans every year through her church and is friends with this woman, from what I understand.