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Thought Into Action
Day Fifty-Five – April 12, 2010
To prevent my sister from using a cleaning service, I spent most of the morning cleaning the cabin and ensuring that everything was as I found it. Once I finished cleaning the cabin, I packed up my truck and headed to downtown Gatlinburg for a hearty breakfast: a veggie omelet with egg whites, dry wheat toast, and grits! Dee…licious!
After breakfast, I headed down Highway 321, merged onto Highway 441, and then headed east on Highway 411. Highway 411 brought me to Newport, Tennessee, where I merged onto Highways 25 and 70 towards Hot Springs, North Carolina. I planned to camp out at the Hot Springs Campground for the night.
While driving through the Tennessee/North Carolina countryside, I passed church after church. At every church I passed was a cross, which people had planted at the end of their driveway or on a nearby hill. Some of the crosses were small, and some of them were very, very large.
When I arrived at Hot Springs, I located the spa and discovered they charged $20.00 per hour to sit in the hot springs. For some reason, this made me very angry. I thought to myself, “Leave it to the white people to make money on something that was given to us naturally!” I then drove over to the campground to look at some primitive sites, but I was so upset after visiting the hot springs that I didn’t feel comfortable giving them any of my money.
I sat beside the river, trying to decide whether to stay or go. I decided to leave.
I then took Highway 209 and 63 through the country toward Asheville, North Carolina. I arrived in Asheville about an hour later, parked my truck, grabbed my bike off my bike rack, and biked around town.
I biked to the Visitors Center to get information on local campgrounds and see if I could camp out on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I also inquired about possible jobs.
I left the Visitors Center with a handful of brochures, welcome kits, and directions to the employment office. I then biked to the employment office and spoke with a representative about the jobs available in the Asheville area. The first thing he asked me was if I had experience waiting tables. I told him that I was a Web Designer/Manager, and he told me that I would have to go to the Raleigh/Durham or Charlotte areas for that type of job.
I returned to my truck, got online, and began calling campgrounds. I found one at the Lake Powhatan Recreation Area in the Pisgah National Forest.
I went to the campground, obtained a nice, level campsite, and then jumped on my bicycle for another bike ride around the park. It was a beautiful evening, and the temperature was 72 degrees.
I then found a beautiful, secluded spot by one of the streams in the park and reflected on the events of the last couple of days.
At first, I couldn’t understand why I felt so cynical and angry about all of the churches and strip malls I passed between Gatlinburg and Asheville. I guess a part of me was ashamed that we, as a people, took this land from its original owners. These people had lived in harmony with the earth for over 11,000 years, and then we threw crosses in their faces and blatantly raped the land of its wildlife and its natural beauty right in front of them. And then we had the nerve to place them on a reservation and restrict their freedom to roam. I couldn’t shake the anger. I was in a mood.
While sitting by the stream, meditating and figuring out how to lighten up, I suddenly realized why I felt so heavy and burdened. I suspected I had picked a spirit during my dream on the Cherokee Indian Reservation, and he showed me his land through his eyes. Suddenly, Day 53 made a lot more sense.
The crucifix, the three hawks, and the subject of “death” were all focused on my visitor. Judging from the three hawks, I wondered if the first hawk had brought the two hawks to symbolize two spirits. Suddenly, the song for Day 54 made more sense. To help release some of the spirits’ anger, I chose “Silent Warrior” by Enigma for today’s music. I figured his voice deserved to be heard, and to be completely honest, some of the anger was coming from my heart.
The heaviness lifted once I realized all this, and I felt much lighter. I then acknowledged my visitors and told them that as long as I remained on their land, they could show me anything they liked. I only asked that they remove the anger and hatred. It was much too heavy for me to carry around.
As night fell, I returned to my campsite and began working on my journal in the darkness of my truck. After finishing my journal, I sat out under the stars and thanked the creator. It was, indeed, a beautiful night.
I finally went to bed around midnight.