Author Information
DEWE'IGAN
When you take a walk alone in nature…listen to your footsteps
because from the moment that you start…
You’ll hear how the sound your footsteps make…match the beating of your heart.
Check your heart rate as you’re walking…it’s amazing don’t you think
how the sound your footsteps make and your heartbeat are in sync.
And the more you walk alone nature….
through forests, over mountains, valleys and firths.…
you realize your footsteps and your heartbeat
connect directly with the heartbeat of the Earth.
Whether you’re walking under the moon and stars or accompanied by the sun…
you quickly come to appreciate…how your two hearts beat as one.
As you listen to the symphony of nature…as you hear Earth’s music hum…
you realize to her daily operetta
your connected hearts provide the rhythm of the drum….
The Ojibwe word for drum is Dewe’igan (day way eh gun)
which, when you pull that word apart…
means the instrument that creates the sound of a beating heart.
The Ojibwe believe all of nature is animate…alive…
they include their sacred and cherished Dewe’igan too…
On a walk in nature
as you listen to your heart connect with the heartbeat of the Earth…
you begin to understand how this Ojibwe belief…is true.
