I love experiences that fill me with a sense of hope and possibility. One such experience is sitting outside in the mountains of my beloved Yakama homeland. I’ll share with you a few of the blessings who surround me: Breathing in the fresh, crisp forest air, the kind of clean air that lifts your spiritsContinue reading “Morning Blessings, Hope, and Possibility”
Tag Archives: Indigenous cultural teachings
How do you want to feel in April, May, and June?
I am honored to speak with students at Pacific Lutheran University later today about my book Yakama Rising. Thoughtful students sent questions in advance and one question asks about “negative” emotions. I love this question! In our beautiful Yakama storytelling traditions, we learn about the importance of the full range of our emotions. Even one of our mostContinue reading “How do you want to feel in April, May, and June? “
Courage and Wisdom To Do Less
I love planning. Planning, for me, is a time of hope and possibility, a time when I can pause from my daily routine and ask: What do I really want? What steps might I envision to help get me there? I savor these questions and the work they inspire to create my own answers. Many planning approachesContinue reading “Courage and Wisdom To Do Less”
Thoughtful Gifts
Over winter break, I thought a lot about gifts. This holiday season, like always, I was given an abundance of thoughtful, generous gifts by many, many loved ones. In between gatherings, visiting, and gift exchanges, I also took several hikes in the mountains of my beloved Yakama homeland. I love winter hiking–the thoughtfulness I putContinue reading “Thoughtful Gifts”
Celebrating Indigenous Peoples
Today (August 9) is International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. To honor this occasion, I was invited to write for the SAGE Perspectives blog. SAGE Journals are renowned for their high-impact and world-class research across many academic fields. I am hopeful that my blog published today, “4 Ways You Can Support Indigenous Self-Determination Today”Continue reading “Celebrating Indigenous Peoples”
What the World Needs
What the world needs is love–powerful, fierce, quiet, flowing, generous, abundant love. Love you can swim in. Like Nch’i Wána (Columbia River). She gathers up gifts and returns them one hundred fold. She nourishes us. She and her tributary sisters have carved the landscape we know best. She sustains us. What the world needs isContinue reading “What the World Needs”
What We Want for You
Where do strength and creativity come from? Where do vast stores of energy arise from? Where do quick smiles and joyous laughter originate? For me, these gifts come from my strong and unwavering sense of home. They come from a loving and unbreakable connection with all lands and waters that feed and are fed byContinue reading “What We Want for You”
Lost and Found: A Good Story
In Tuxámshish Dr. Virginia Beavert’s book, The Gift of Knowledge / Ttnúwit Átawish Nch’inch’imamí: Reflections on Sahaptin Ways, she tells the story of when she was a very young girl, not yet two years old, when she got lost in the mountains. She was with a young girl she’d been playing with in the mountainsContinue reading “Lost and Found: A Good Story”
Rock Your Mocs (and Your Life)
When I ask myself: What do I want in my work and life–on this chilly dark morning, a time perfectly designed for quiet reflection, a time when Aan (Sun) pauses, delays, and resists the go, go, go push and pull that can feel so common in our lives and work. Aan is such a beautifulContinue reading “Rock Your Mocs (and Your Life)”
Beautiful Time of Preparation
I’ve been too busy lately. I can feel this in my shoulders and neck. I’m craving a slower pace–more spaciousness and sweet, easy fun. Space in my calendar. Space to breathe on my journey of life. I know this feeling. I know it’s time to pause from the busyness of life and do one thing.Continue reading “Beautiful Time of Preparation”
Michelle M. Jacob 