I’ve met all types of people; farmers, cops, bankers, CFO’s, day laborers, bartenders, truck drivers, a few celeb’s, hunters, the unemployed, the old, the young, the retired, etc. Work has blessed me with nights under a canopy of stars, the luxury of staying at five-star resorts, or enjoying the most amazing experiences with new acquaintances.
And then I arrive ,I am lost, I am alone , and I am at a place called Santuario De Chimayo It is just outside Santa Fe which should have been a 20 minute ride from where I was in New Mexico… But on this day after driving for around for 7 hours searching for this magical place I was flustered I was thirsty I was annoyed..
I was had just about giving up on finding this town this church this place that sits on the Chimayo Indian reservation. I was on the phone complaining to my friend about my day and then the road I am on just ended. Nailed to a tree starring at me was a heart painted sigh! Next to that sign were arrows pointing north and south, leaving me with 3 choices: turn around, make a right or make a left… I went left and drove for 15 minutes attempting to find I25…….
The sign, the dirt road, the arches and now I had come to a halt in a empty driveway. I have arrived. Nearly 8 hours after I had begun this journey with the morning sun glaring at me to now watching the sun retreat for the night!
I first felt this “”change”” when I exited the car. My breathing had slowed down but my pulse raced as I took the first steps in the dirt. I felt the chill of the afternoon air on my neck, my eyes start wandering and I am stopped dead in my tracks by a horse with a blue eye….
Entranced by him as he was by me a couple of moments passed and I have a feeling of floating on a level that I have never experienced before anywhere in the world. I am transfixed I am completely out of my body out of my mind out of everything I was taught, everything I believe in.
Here at Santuario De Chimayo the wind speaks, the animals speak, the ground you walk on speaks, I am seeing hues of color, I am talking with out words. Something has gotten a hold of me. I walk through the old stone gates and walking in sync with me was a horse that is behind a fence walking along the fence with me. Instead of my shadow I have this horse. Above many hawks circled around criss-crossing each other flight paths and I noticed that I had stop walking and was looking up at them as turning slightly the horse had stopped to. I take a few steps forward the horse takes a few steps forward. I take a few steps backward and the horse takes a few steps backward. There are a few people in the distance that I noticed watching me watching the horse watching the hawks watching me. I as survey the town, the church, I feel as I am not me . I am someone else. I am here for something, I am in deep thought and I speak up and direct my voice towards the family starring at me from 50 yards away. Do you see this I say? Do you hear me? Is this horse following me some answer me… from another direction a voice who’s pitch is high this child voice is almost like a whisper in my ear he says I acknowledged it I saw the change begin once you left your car. I close my eyes I take a deep breathe and I reopen my eyes and the kid is now walking off heading west up a dirt trail that leads to town.
BLOG.jpg)
I also see that while he is walking away the sun is at the most perfect height and it following him through 2 arches that separate the church grounds and the town. Words simply can’t justify this experience: images cant capture this and here I sit months after this and my hair on my neck my arms stand at attention as I try to explain it……
